An American Journey
The Collected photography, video and writings of Richard Olsenius and Christine Olsenius
Wyoming Winter, Photo ©2026 Richard Olsenius
Snow takes the sound first — Horses carry what remains — Home through the white.
Backwaters of the Wye - Music Video by Richard Olsenius
Photo Copyright ©2025 Richard Olsenius
Along the East Coast flyways where the wild geese gather, their wings beat ancient rhythms that seem to touch us all. They settle in the shallows with the wind sharp as a knife, a promise of the winter and the turning of life on the Wye, where the river meets the Chesapeake.
Introduction for “Backwaters of the Wye”
“Backwaters of the Wye” is a short film born of a lifetime on the water. Its images and voice carry the weight of Richard Olsenius’s nearly fifty years under sail — from the quiet tidal creeks and rivers of the Chesapeake to the long blue reaches of the Atlantic, from the islands of the Caribbean to the Inside Passage and the Arctic’s Northwest Passage. His photographs, along with some from the storied Marion Warren collection, honor the working shore: watermen, skiffs, marshes, and the quiet backwaters where time moves with the tide. The voice you hear is Eden Rowe, an AI voice, but the sensibility behind it is shaped by real voyages, real weather, and a life spent watching the world from just above the waterline. The song itself is new, yet it feels old: a reflection shaped by the voices of watermen, winter geese, marsh winds, and the unhurried rhythms of the Chesapeake.
Backwaters of the Wye is both a remembrance and a homecoming — a song for the places and people that taught a photographer how to see. Who is EDEN ROWE?
Explore The Work
JOURNEYS
A collection of videos and stories by Richard Olsenius. Some are 4k video to stream to Apple or smart TV.
COLLECTIONS
A compendium of Richard Olsenius’s photography that has been shown in museums or published in books.
GALLERY
From the collected works by Richard Olsenius. Many of these images are from his work for National Geographic Magazine
PRINTS
Fine art prints by Richard Olsenius along with Marion Warren signed proofs.
Featured
THE AMERICAN WEST
EXPLORE THE AMERICAN WEST AND THE PEOPLE THAT CALL THIS HOME
As a photojournalist for over 50 years, I was always drawn to the American West, to the rolling prairies beyond the Missouri River, to a land that slowly rose to meet the continental divide.
NOVA SCOTIA
A LAND OF WIND-SWEPT COASTS & SMALL FISHING VILLAGES
Nova Scotia boasts breathtaking coastal landscapes, characterized by rugged cliffs, picturesque lighthouses, and charming fishing villages. Join me as I explore in narration, images and music, this rich maritime culture.
Original Music and Images ©2026Richard Olsenius
How curiosity, people, and place shape a life with a camera
Richard Olsenius speaks to Tucson, Arizona area camera club 2026
The above video is not a technical workshop or a discussion of equipment, but a reflection on seeing — how curiosity, access, and a sense of place shape a photographer over time. Beginning with a childhood camera and a basement darkroom in Minnesota, it traces an early pull on Richard Olsenius toward people and the environments that define them at a moment when photography itself was changing.
The images follow Olsenius’ natural progression from local stories to broader ones, from newspapers to National Geographic Magazine, and from assignment-driven work to a more reflective exploration of landscape and time.
Created for a camera club audience, Richard Olsenius’ talk speaks to photographers at every stage by returning to why, offering a conversation about curiosity sustained over decades, the quiet privilege of looking closely, and photography as a lifelong act of listening to both people and place.
