Worldbuilders of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Dec 8, 2023 update: well, this update is a month+ late, but I won a Hugo, primarily based on the work I have done on this project! You can see a photo of the amazing looking Hugo statuette here: https://richardman.photo/2023/11/i-went-to-china-with-25-lbs-of-equipment-and-won-a-hugo/

I have just moved the website to a faster server and will be using Smugmug to host most of the photos. More later.

July 23, 2023 update: nominated by members of previous year and current year’s worldcons and voted on by the members of the current year’s worldcon, the Hugo Awards are science fiction’s most prestigious award. I am very honored to be a finalist in the “Best Fan Artist” category in the 2023 Hugo Awards. My work is eligible for the award mainly due to exhibitions on-site and online of this project. Grateful thanks to everyone who has participated in or supported my project!

You can download the PDF of my Hugo packet here: http://richardman.photo/pub/RICHARD-MAN-HUGO-VOTERS-PACKET.pdf

Oct 11, 2022 update: like many photographers, I spend more time taking photos than updating websites 😉 and the below was written in… 2018 -__-. Suffice to say that since then, I have taken even more photos for the project, which some of you might have seen at Worldcon San Jose (2018), Nebulas weekend (2018, 2019), DisCon III (2021), and Chicon 8 (2022). I am now preparing to publish a high quality 10×12″ book of the photos and contributions from the creatives in 2023. More later… Meanwhile, some more photos from recent years. As always, you can contact me at richard@richardman.photo

From Adams to Yolen

Out of text, imagery, and imagination, these people build Worlds. Worlds that we might want to live in, worlds that we might at least want to visit, or even worlds that we recoil at and think “WTF? No way!…” These people create and bring life to characters who might be friends, mentors, terrible foes, or… someone we would secretly long to be.

These photographs intended to showcase some of the authors, artists, editors and other creators who bring us these amazing and wonder-filled worlds. Some of them have been working in the genre for decades, while some have only recently started writing. Some immediately shot up like rising stars, while some plugged away for years before their first story – or, even more difficult – their second story, was finally published. Some are acknowledged “Grandmasters” in the genre, while others may perhaps become Grandmasters in due time.

These photographs are made using a large format camera; the same type of camera that photography was invented on over 150 years ago. This type of camera echoes the imagery of bygone years, even though the new photographs are in color. In an age where everyone can be in some fashion a photographer, and everyone can take “selfies” with their favorite authors, I hope that these images still tell a different story. They cannot capture the souls of these creative people – their own work does that better than anyone else can – but perhaps these images have their own unique stories to tell.

A book with over 120 images is available for purchase. Please Venmo or PayPal $34 ($25 for the book + $9 Shipping) to richard@richardman.photo

You can also purchase individual prints. Just click on the photo. This project is not by any means finished. Your purchase of this book will help to allow me to continue this labor of love.

Click on the images below to start the image display. Click on the “i” icon on lower left to display the person’s info.