diff --git a/MANUAL.txt b/MANUAL.txt
index 8c65789b9..c7aa299c4 100644
--- a/MANUAL.txt
+++ b/MANUAL.txt
@@ -694,7 +694,13 @@ General writer options
 
 :   List of paths to search for images and other resources.
     The paths should be separated by `:` on linux, unix, and
-    MacOS systems, and by `;` on Windows.
+    MacOS systems, and by `;` on Windows.  If `--resource-path`
+    is not specified, the default resource path is the working
+    directory. Note that, if `--resource-path` is specified,
+    the working directory must be explicitly listed or it
+    will not be searched.  For example:
+    `--resource-path=.:test` will search the working directory
+    and the `test` subdirectory, in that order.
 
 Options affecting specific writers
 ----------------------------------
diff --git a/src/Text/Pandoc/App.hs b/src/Text/Pandoc/App.hs
index a4967e5d1..c874a2cde 100644
--- a/src/Text/Pandoc/App.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Pandoc/App.hs
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ convertWithOpts opts = do
   let eol = fromMaybe nativeNewline $ optEol opts
 
   runIO' $ do
-    setResourcePath $ "." : (optResourcePath opts)
+    setResourcePath (optResourcePath opts)
     (doc, media) <- withMediaBag $ sourceToDoc sources >>=
               (   (if isJust (optExtractMedia opts)
                       then fillMediaBag (writerSourceURL writerOptions)
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ defaultOpts = Opt
     , optIncludeBeforeBody     = []
     , optIncludeAfterBody      = []
     , optIncludeInHeader       = []
-    , optResourcePath          = []
+    , optResourcePath          = ["."]
     , optEol                   = Nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/Text/Pandoc/Readers/LaTeX.hs b/src/Text/Pandoc/Readers/LaTeX.hs
index 30c788666..84758d309 100644
--- a/src/Text/Pandoc/Readers/LaTeX.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Pandoc/Readers/LaTeX.hs
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ import Safe (minimumDef)
 import System.FilePath (addExtension, replaceExtension, takeExtension)
 import Text.Pandoc.Builder
 import Text.Pandoc.Class (PandocMonad, PandocPure, lookupEnv, readFileFromDirs,
-                          report, setResourcePath)
+                          report, setResourcePath, getResourcePath)
 import Text.Pandoc.Highlighting (fromListingsLanguage, languagesByExtension)
 import Text.Pandoc.ImageSize (numUnit, showFl)
 import Text.Pandoc.Logging
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ blockCommands = M.fromList $
 graphicsPath :: PandocMonad m => LP m Blocks
 graphicsPath = do
   ps <- bgroup *> (manyTill braced egroup)
-  setResourcePath (".":ps)
+  getResourcePath >>= setResourcePath . (++ ps)
   return mempty
 
 addMeta :: PandocMonad m => ToMetaValue a => String -> a -> LP m ()