Gunther Deichmann is an internationally multi-awarded Australian photographer. Born in Germany on the 25th of April 1951, he spent his early years studying Paleontology. He has and always will love his fossils. At the age of 21, he journeyed to Australia with just one suitcase in hand. He then worked as a geology assistant in the exploration department for a large mining company. This gave Gunther the privilege of traveling throughout the Australian Outback, which to him, is among the most beautiful places on earth. It is nature at its best, and his quest to capture this beauty that led him to photography. In 1974, he became an Australian citizen while in Alice Springs, the very center of Australia, which he remains proud of until today. In 1976 he gave up geology and started his full time career in photography. He started with a small photo laboratory in Darwin, the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, producing the very first Ciba Chrome prints of this magnificent land. He had his first break with an image of “The Olgas With A Rainbow”. The Olgas is a spectacular land formation some 30 miles from Ayers Rock. Many believe that this was the very first image of the Olgas with an actual rainbow. To get the shot, he patiently watched the clouds waiting for the light to be just right, thus creating this amazing image. This image has won him many awards and been used on numerous international book covers. From then on the rainbows seemed to keep following him around, another first was the “Rainbow over Rainbow Valley”, 60 miles south of Alice Springs. He preferred to travel during the worst time of the year when temperatures soared in the hope for clouds in the desert, creating images seldom seen before. Even today, Gunther prefers to travel off-season, as in Santorini Greece in 2005. His choice to go in the middle of winter yielded dramatic results. To Gunther, photography is light and light is photography. He loves strong colours and contrast blending it with plenty of drama. He traveled throughout the Northern Territory, creating an immense amount of images and established one of the first stock image librarys in Australia. He later became a member of the Institute of Australian Professional Photography (IAPP) and achieved 14 merit awards in only three years. He was awarded the associateship and had the honour of becoming one of the judges for the yearly Professional Merit Awards. It was during this time that he started to teach photography at the Community College in Darwin. This was welcomed additional income to fund his extensive travels. In March 1983, Time Magazine used on its cover Gunther's shot of “The Great Australian Dry”. It was his much awaited break. In 1985, the IAAP awarded him the Professional Landscape Photographer of the Year. In 1986, he was named by the Bulletin, an Australia magazine, as one of the leading professional photographers in the country. In that same year, the IAAP requested Gunther to assist renowned New York-based photographer Pete Turner during his visit to Australia. Pete, who at first photographed Ayers Rock, returned a few years later to photograph other great places like the Pinnacles in Western Australia. Gunther and Pete inevitably became good friends and are in touch until today. The reputable publishing company, Rigby Publishers in Adelaide, South Australia hired Gunther over these years for various book projects which includes: My Territory in 1983, his first major coffee-table book and one of the very first books on the Northern Territory of Australia. In 1984 Norfolk Island and Its People followed. For this he traveled to Tahiti and Pitcairn Island, retracing the steps of the mutineers of the famed Mutiny on the Bounty. In 1985 Australian Natural Wonders came out after eight months of shooting in some of the most remote places in Australia, including two of Australia's largest desserts, the Simpson and Tanami. In 1985 Savvas Publishing, Australia, published his book, The Territory, a 256-page coffee-table book featuring the Northern Territory of Australia. In 1989 Collins Publishers, also in Australia, published his book, Northern Images, his first artistic book, which featured his personal favorite images of the Northern Territory. Beyond books, Gunther's work also appeared in international media. His coverage about the killing of Australian wild horses for the German magazine, Stern, helped stop the practice. The message of his 11-page photo essay in Stern found its way to other publications, and the images of carnage soon were seen worldwide, appearing not only in print but also on television, including CNN. As a result of this, he was invited by the Court for Animal Justice (U.N.) in Geneva, Switzerland, to be the key spokesperson to condemn the killing of horses in an inhumane way. The exposé was followed by similar works on other animals such as wild camels and buffalo. The Geo Magazine in Germany used his Australian images both for the magazine and for a major calendar production. Airone Magazine in Italy sent Gunther to Nauru and the Philippines for photo assignments. He also covered major stories for Animan Magazine in Switzerland. It published his portfolio in 1990, and then later, his photo essays of the Philippines, the Mekong River in Indochina, the Australian Aborigines, and Australia each featuring spreads from 24 to 26 pages and two covers. Gunther's images have also appeared in other major book productions, including The Racing Game, National Geographic, Time-Life, Reader's Digest, BBC (London), and in magazines such as the cover of Der Spiegel (Germany), Bunte (cover), National Magazine (South Africa), National Geographic , New York Times (USA), Sued Deutsche Zeitung (Germany), Grand Reportage (France), VSD (France), GEO (France), Terre Savage (France), and Figaro (France). He was featured in a documentary titled Visions in the Making, which was broadcast on ABC ( Australia ). Of the four Australian artists featured, he was the only still photographer. 1982 to 1985 - He has won an impressive 14 merit awards from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (IAAP). 1985 - Australian Professional Landscape Photographer of the Year. 1986 - A collection of Gunther Deichmann's photographs in an Australian tourist promotion won for its publishers a unique clean sweep of prizes in its category at the International Travel Awards - first prize for Best Domestic Brochure, first prize for Best International Brochure and the National Tourism Award. 1986 - One of Gunther Deichmann's photographs was used in an advertising campaign that won awards at the Art Directors Club in Melbourne, Australia. 1987 - The NT Press Club Annual Media Awards in Australia awarded Gunther Deichmann the ‘Pictorial Excellence Award'. He also received the ‘Sheraton Award' for pictorial promotion of tourism in the Northern Territory. A photo-essay for Thai International Airlines won him a PATA category award, and he has been on the PATA Gold Awards Honors Roll in Osaka, Japan, since 1987. Gunther rocks, too! In 1989 the Australian rock band, Midnight Oil, used one of his images for the cover of their album, “Blue Sky Mining” . Other highlights of his career include writing and directing the music video for the English band Electronic (Warner Bros., USA ) in 1991. Also, the first 35mm MTV production in the Philippines of the single “Get the Message”, which enjoyed top ratings on international music charts. He has also excelled in advertising. In 1994, Seiko used his work in its worldwide television and print advertising campaigns for Kinetic watches. Gunther and his family are now based in Manila Philippines. It is from here where he covers Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He held a photo exhibit at the Australian Embassy in Manila in 1997. He has since also set up Dream Time, which specializes in tourism, environmental issues and underwater projects. In 2000, Dream Time published his book, The Dive Sites of Puerto Galera, Philippines, a guide book on diving and marine environs, with text by Frank Doyle. Its revised edition came out in 2004. In 2001, he published his book on Palau, Micronesia, with marine photographers Kevin Davidson, Ethan Daniels and text by Gunther Taus. In 2002, Gunther, who is Dream Time's Creative Director, together with Rene Olbes organized and produced new advertising collaterals for the Palau Visitors Authority earning the company honorable mention during the 2002 international PATA Conference. In 2006, the German publishing group, ARAKI, used on the cover of the book Die letzten Nomaden his image of the “The Olgas With A Rainbow” - indeed proof of the timeless value of this 30 year old photograph. In March 2007, Gunther Deichmann received his Apple Training Certification for Aperture. Gunther still travels throughout Asia and Micronesia covering remote places in the region. Every year he chooses new destinations to capture images, if only for his own personal satisfaction. An Australian by heart, he dreams of returning one day for a six-month shoot, visiting again the place he loves so much—the Great Australian outback, which inspired and challenged him to make the great shift from Paleontology to Photography. To see his latest published works please click the links below: iMag Photography Magazine, May/June 2007 Asian Photography Magazine August 2007 CLICK Magazine, Malaysian Photography Magazine, July/August 2007 iMag Photography Magazine, August 2007, Cover “The Heat is on” August 2007, Gunther was one of the guest in MEDIA IN FOCUS hosted by Che Che Lazaro at ABS CBN on the ANC Channel which featured a 1 hour on Photography. The topics during the interview where Photojournalism, travel, the past and future and the art of photography, the show was a live broadcast, on ABS CBN and was broadcast also outside the Philippines on Cable TV. Gunther is also organizing photo workshops through out Asia,
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