Vassi Koutsaftis (Born 1952) is a Greek photographer who has explored the globe for more than 30 years. He specializes in travel photography of the extreme kind, more so the mountainous regions of Hindu Kush, the Karakoram, Himalayan and other very remote areas of Asia. Koutsaftis was born ad brought up in Athens, Greece and crossed the oceans of the world working on freighters and cruise ships. That was just the beginning of his career because has continued to examine the earth traveling to remote areas on his own, both from the ground and from the air. He studied aeronautics and became a pilot in the United States. Koutsaftis leads exploratory tours and treks in Mongolia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Tibet, Iran, Pakistan, Burma, Bhutan, India and Turkey, and he contributes essential research to remote and unusual itineraries for Geographic Expeditions.
This is one of the most respected and the best expedition companies in the United States. His travel and expertise in photography has been helpful in scouting for films including productions by Dreamworks, PDI and CBS and a number of independent filmmakers. His photographs have been published in many leading magazines including Photografos, Geo (European edition), Asia Week, USA Today, Marin Magazine and National Geographic Traveler. Koutsaftis is well known for his gripping images of the Dalai Lama. His photograph is included in the collections of Steve Wynn Casinos, U.C. Berkeley’s Blum Center, and the Center for Buddhist Studies of Stanford University. His images have been exhibited widely in the US and abroad.
