Vivienne Gunning is a South African fine art and documentary photographer whose work is driven by a lifelong fascination with light and its ability to transform an ordinary moment into something timeless.
For her, photography is a way of preserving fleeting encounters—capturing the interplay of light, atmosphere, and emotion so that a moment can endure long after it has passed.She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Pretoria and a Professional Digital Photography certification from the University of Cape Town, completed in 2025.
Known particularly for her black-and-white photography, Gunning creates images rich in texture, contrast, and narrative. Her photographs reflect a patient observational style developed through years of living and working within the environments she documents rather than simply passing through them.Based in Cape Town, she has spent much of her professional life leading expeditions across 34 African countries, travelling far beyond conventional tourist routes.
This extensive experience has shaped her photography, which is a natural extension of a life spent exploring diverse landscapes, cultures, and communities.Working across Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Mediterranean, her images range from intimate portraits and street scenes to wildlife encounters and evocative landscapes. Whether photographing a Maasai elder in East Africa, a fisherman along the Swahili Coast, an elephant emerging from the dust of the Kalahari, or a quiet moment in a Sicilian village, her work seeks authenticity, atmosphere, and emotional depth.
Through these subjects, she explores the connections between people, place, culture, wildlife, and the environments they inhabit.Her growing archive represents a lifetime of exploration and storytelling, capturing both the grandeur and the intimacy of the natural and human worlds.
Through fine art prints, she aims to share not only what she has seen, but what she has felt while travelling through these remarkable places.
Vivienne Gunning lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
