Lou Dematteis

Lou Dematteis is an internationally acclaimed photographer. Lou spent much of the last twenty years working in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. A former staff photographer with Reuters, Lou was based in Managua, Nicaragua, during the height of the Contra war. In 1986, his photographs of downed U.S. soldier-of-fortune Eugene Hasenfus received international recognition, including a citation from the World Press Photo competition and inclusion in the New York Times' and National Press Photographers Association's Pictures of the Year. His photographic anthology, Nicaragua: A Decade of Revolution, was published by Norton in 1991. Lou's photos have been widely exhibited in the United States and abroad, including showings at the Ansel Adams Center in San Francisco and the Photographers Gallery in London. In 1992, he directed and participated in the first exhibit by U.S. photographers in Viet Nam since the end of the war; and in fall 1994, he presented the first exhibit by Vietnamese photographers to show in the United States as well. Lou is a regular contributing photographer to Destination:Vietnam. Our readers have had the opportunity to see many of his photographs over the past two years.