Guttenfelder, a National Geographic Society Fellow concentrating on global geopolitical and conservation issues, has covered international events in more than 100 countries, and spent 20 years as a photojournalist for the AP based in Nairobi, Abidjan, New Delhi, Jerusalem and Tokyo. When he helped open the AP bureau in North Korea in 2011, the AP became the first-ever Western news agency in the politically isolated country. In 2016, Guttenfelder broke through another wall when he boarded the first cruise ship in decades to travel from the U.S. to Cuba and returned to the island to cover Fidel Castro’s four-day funeral procession.
His talent for crossing long-closed borders has led to some of National Geographic's most revealing geopolitical photo essays, as well as connecting people around the world through social media platforms like Instagram.
Guttenfelder is a seven-time World Press Photo Award winner and a seven-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has also been an industry leader in smartphone photography and social media and was named 2014 Instagram photographer of the year by TIME magazine.
Guttenfelder’s visit is sponsored by UT’s Office of International Programs and by National Geographic Live, which brings groundbreaking storytelling from the world’s best and brightest scientists, explorers, photographers and filmmakers stories to the stage.