Hans Sautter, a graduate of the Munich Academy of Photography in Germany, has a highly defined point of view, focusing on editorial, corporate, medical, and energy-related projects. A significant part of his work has been dedicated to documenting the imminent loss of nature and indigenous cultures.  Hans has been involved in projects involving not only photography and multimedia but also video production. Fluent in English, Japanese, and his native German, Hans has lived and worked from Tokyo and Southeast Asia for over half a century. His work has appeared in media by institutions like National Geographic, 

the WWF and Smithsonian; corporate clients like Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, All Nippon Airways and Mitsubishi; as well as in leading magazines like Time, Nature, GEO and Stern.

My photographs are personal visions of selected moments in time. A professional photographer’s work is intended for publication and therefore must contain content that transcends the personal. 

Most of my photographs are not merely collected but pre-conceived in careful detail. This is achieved through assiduous research, deep immersion with people and environments, and crafting the best techniques to realize the pre-visualised image for an authentic narrative. Such commitment often requires spending weeks or months gaining the necessary knowledge and trust of a subject to tell their story.  

My camera has taken me to places I would never have ventured otherwise and made me do things I would not do for love or money. I would never have crossed scorching deserts, moved through sweltering jungles, or lugged heavy equipment to heights beyond the clouds if not for the zeal to capture the images I saw in my mind. I certainly wouldn’t have climbed the masts of a tall ship in a storm, crawled through mud with a python, mingled with tigers, or operated in a violent typhoon.  

The glass eye allows me to observe people without staring and to document their lives and habitats in mostly harsh, but sometimes plush environments. It offers a way to experience life up close—a ticket to the best seat for any moment in time. The most gratifying exposures are often those where I exposed myself and was most vulnerable to man, beast, or the elements.

Besides occasional assignments, I currently chase typhoons to document nature's raw power—and to pump some adrenaline into my old, battered body.