Award-winning travel journalist Peter Guttman lives with an intense passion that has taken him around the world.
“I’ve always been more inspired by crafting a life than by simply making a living,” Guttman says. “Essentially I’m trying to jam as many experiences as possible from earth's wonders into a lifelong adventure.”
There are people who have traveled, and then there are people who have traveled so far and wide that their stories alone become a form of art. Guttman is the latter, having traversed 220 countries across all seven continents. His body of work to date – which includes hundreds of Fodor’s and Frommer’s covers, magazine articles, slide shows and “Top 10” lists along with creating multiple book series and highly acclaimed lectures – feels like a decades-long exploration, because that’s exactly what it is.
Guttman is a visual storyteller who seeks out the world’s hidden corners. Sure, he has photographed the Eiffel Tower, Brooklyn Bridge and other famed attractions. But for the most part, he enjoys the edges of civilization – destinations where indigenous peoples shriek in excitement at the sound of a snapping finger because they have never witnessed the capability, or where a Westerner may let out a similar sound at the sight of enchanting wildlife they never knew existed. For Guttman, capturing these adrenaline-pumping travels visually and artistically is imperative.
“I strive to create new ways for others to see the world,” Guttman says. “I do provide a light touch of familiar destinations, but I’m most inspired by the obscurities and exoticism of our planet.”
Guttman’s storytelling is by no means exclusively photographic. There are substantial elements of writing and research to his visual tours, complemented by innovative shooting techniques. Long before GoPros, drones and selfie sticks ever existed, he was using an extended tripod as a fishing rod to create magical, surrealistic mid-air suspension shots. He has even attached his Nikon to the sails of a Mojave Desert land yacht and the wings of an Allagash Wilderness floatplane.
Guttman has garnered wide notoriety for his spirited work in the realm of wanderlust. He is a two-time Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Travel Writers Society, and has been featured across countless magazines, travel guides, newspapers, TV shows and exhibitions; including Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Los Angeles Times, A&E, NBC, CNN and Travel Channel. His solo exhibitions include Sotheby's, the American Film Festival in Deauville, France, and the United Nations.
In 2014, Guttman was featured at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. His annual lecture events have been called "one of the hottest tickets in New York" by National Public Radio.
Guttman is also the creator of six iPad apps, including the number one bestselling Beautiful Planet HD, and author of six books (with two more shortly on the way). Most recently, he was presented with the inaugural Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater, Binghamton University.
It is an honor for us at Duggal to work with Peter Guttman, named one of the world’s 20 most influential photographers in conjunction with the 2014 George Eastman Power of the Image Award. His work is truly inspiring, as is his perspective of life.
“I connect with Duggal’s constant pursuit of innovation,” he says. “They are always experimenting with new ways to push the visual boundaries of presentation.”
Guttman has been bringing his slides to us for processing and printing for roughly 20 years. A strong advocate of shooting with film, he estimates that he brings 600+ rolls to us per year, and we can tell you first-hand that each one is filled with absolute magic.
To browse the work of Peter Guttman, visit his website, www.peterguttman.com. Also keep an eye out for the ongoing Photographic book series he created with Skyhorse Publishing, which includes the titles, Christmas in America: A Photographic Celebration of the Holiday Season; Extreme Adventure: A Photographic Exploration of Wild Experiences; By the Sea: A Photographic Voyage Around the Blue Planet; and Children Around the World: A Photographic Treasury of the Next Generation.