Peter Bennett was born in Queens and grew up in Greenwich Village. He picked up his first camera and took his first darkroom class at the age of twelve. Inspired by his maternal grandfather, who had a photo studio on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and his father, an avid amateur photographer who travelled around the country documenting post-WWII America with a medium-format camera.

Peter’s work has appeared in hundreds of publications including the New York Times, Sierra Magazine, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Sunset Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, and New York Magazine.n

His fine art prints hang in the California State Capitol, California Science Center’s permanent Ecosystem exhibit, and many other museums, private institutions, and collectors’ homes.

He has also worked with numerous local environmental organizations over the years, including FoLAR (Friends of the LA River), The Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Heal the Bay, 5 Gyres Institute, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Communities for a Better Environment, and the LA Conservation Corps.

Peter has been an instructor for over twelve years at the Los Angeles Center of Photography and has published seven books, including The Los Angeles River, Photographs by Peter Bennett, published in 2021.