“IT’S A POWERFUL and unsettling experience to be drawn into the orbit of someone possessed by an impossible dream. At times I wondered if Lou Sapienza would awake and abandon his quixotic plan to find three airmen entombed in a glacier. Or maybe he’d suffer one too many sacrifices and surrender to self-preservation. But no matter how many setbacks Lou faced, nothing deterred him. The Duck Hunt expedition was the accomplishment of a rare and remarkable man. If I’m ever lost, I hope that Lou decides that I need to be found.”- Mitchell Zuckoff, Frozen in Time
The World Through a Curious Lens
Luciano Sapienza is a photographer, explorer, facilitator, speaker, and mentor whose work has been published worldwide in LIFE, National Geographic, Forbes FYI, Paris Match, Le Figaro, Cigar Aficionado, Reader’s Digest, Gulliver (Italy), Air & Space, Outside, and many more.
From the rainforests of Borneo to the vast Greenland ice sheets, from Paris to Prague, Rome to the shores of Sicily, and beyond, Luciano Sapienza’s artistic vision is driven by an unwavering obsession to capture iconic images that reveal the beauty and wonder of the world. His approach to photography is deeply personal—creating images to satisfy his own artistic sensibilities rather than for accolades or competition. Now, through his curated photographic print collection, you can experience these moments firsthand.
Often asked what he photographs – his response – always met with a quizzical expression - is always the same: “Nouns – People, Places, Things.”
The Beginnings
“I acquired my first camera, an Imperial Satellite 127 plastic camera, in third grade as a prize for selling magazine subscriptions to support my school. I’ve been making photographs ever since. But even before I could speak—ever since I could raise my head from the crib—I remember visualizing compositions and forming mental snapshots of my world. The camera allows me to craft, permanently memorialize, and share these moments in time.”
Expedition & Documentary Work
Early in his career, the Greenland Expedition Society selected Luciano as the photographer of record for its final three missions to recover Glacier Girl, a WWII P-38 fighter aircraft entombed 268 feet beneath the Greenland ice sheet. But his role extended far beyond photography—operating specialized recovery equipment, devising a solution to extricate a New York Air National Guard Ski-130 trapped in the ice, and even serving as the expedition’s cook for 90 days after the team’s chef was lost.
Near Death Experiences
Life as an expedition photographer is not without risks. Luciano has survived several life-threatening incidents.
Exploding Aircraft Engine On Take Off
· During one mission, a WWII-era DC-3 engine exploded mere moments before lifting off from the ice sheet’s surface during a military max-power takeoff. As the sole passenger and the only one aware of the failed engine, Lou unbuckled from his seat in the tail and ran thrown from cabin wall to cabin wall, tripping, stumbling and falling on bare diamond plate floor - jostled by the planes rough ice takeoff surface - to the closed-door cockpit, screaming all the way, “Shut it Down, Shut it Down.” If the pilot had attempted takeoff, they would have nosed into the glacier, most likely with deadly results.
Run Over by A DC-3
· In another harrowing instance, a failing ski forced a DC-3 aircraft to veer directly toward him at maximum military power. With cameras in hand, at the very last second, he dove face-first into the snow, narrowly escaping the crush of the minivan-sized right ski and just three feet away -the slicing action of full RPM max-power 11-foot propellers as the wing passed over him.
Constant Piteraqs
· In yet another incident, a sudden 75 mph katabatic storm forced him to abandon his tent and cameras in zero-visibility conditions as snow buried his tent under four feet of ice. The safety of other tents was not visible in the nighttime gale’s driven snow, but by tying a 25-foot cord to his buried tent, he was eventually able to make it to the safety of another.
Expedition Features
His images from these missions are featured in The Lost Squadron (Hyperion Press) and the History Channel documentary The Hunt for the Lost Squadron. As producer Michael Hussain remarked, “Without his photographs, we would not have had a television show.”
The Department of Defense
Luciano’s expertise in these expeditions led the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard to recruit him to lead three missions to locate three WWII U.S. military personnel missing in action (MIA) aboard an amphibious biplane buried deep within the remote Greenland ice sheet. “These men are the true ‘Captains America’—entombed within their aircraft, buried up to 300 feet below the Greenland ice sheet surface for over 80 years.” Mitchell Zuckoff chronicled these missions in the New York Times bestselling book Frozen in Time.
The Fallen American Veterans Foundation, Inc.
This experience also led Luciano, alongside the families of three missing U.S. Navy aircrew members lost on Thurston Island, Antarctica, to form the Fallen American Veterans Foundation, Inc. (FAVF) (www.FallenAmerican.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the search, recovery, and repatriation of U.S. service personnel missing in action from WWII through the Cold War. Luciano continues to lead recovery missions worldwide.
Camel Trophy 96 Kalimantan - Borneo
Land Rover North America selected Luciano to photograph Camel Trophy 1996, documenting Team USA’s competition against 21 nations in one of the world’s most grueling off-road endurance races—often referred to as the Olympics of 4WD. The race took competitors coast-to-coast through the unforgiving jungles of Borneo. (Team USA placed second!)
As an elected member of the esteemed New York Explorer’s Club, Luciano mentors fellow explorers and aspiring photographers—guiding them in their careers while helping them balance the demands of adventure and family life.
