DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTOJOURNALISM
Los Angeles photojournalist and documentary photographer. Field experience spans social movements, public health, and humanitarian assignments in the United States and abroad.
Recent and ongoing work includes Black Lives Matter and No Kings protests in Los Angeles, AIDS LifeCycle as official photographer, humanitarian documentation in post-earthquake Haiti, king tide flooding in Marin County, and political coverage in Arizona. The ongoing Stories of Resilience series profiles Angelenos in moments of transition.
Cover photography for Writer's Digest (US) and Renderout! (Spain). Photographs broadcast in prime-time news on SIC Television Portugal. On assignment for Los Angeleno during the pandemic and protest coverage in Los Angeles. Additional published work in The Eastsider.
NPPA member. Fully insured. Available for editorial assignments on deadline in Los Angeles, across the United States, and internationally.
(415) 350-4893
hello@afonso.me
A visitor writes on the wall of Yoko Ono’s Add Colour (Refugee Boat) (1960/2016), an all-white room and boat that fills with blue marks contributed by visitors, at The Broad, Los Angeles, May 26, 2026. (Afonso Salcedo)
SOCIAL JUSTICE & CIVIC ACTION
DOCUMENTING PROTEST, CIVIC PARTICIPATION, AND THE EXERCISE OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS ACROSS LOS ANGELES AND BEYOND.
LAPD Police Commission Hearing
Los Angeles, CA, May 05, 2026
Public comment at the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners turned into a sustained argument about LAPD treatment of journalists, days after credentialed reporters were arrested at May Day protests in downtown LA. Speakers included Adam Rose of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Los Angeles Press Club, photojournalists Nick Stern and Eric Langberg, and Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who told the board he would order a review. The hearing came two days after World Press Freedom Day. Published on Fonzieland.
May Day Strong
Los Angeles, CA, May 01, 2026
Thousands gathered at MacArthur Park on May 1, 2026, for the annual May Day march, marking the 20th anniversary of the 2006 immigration reform protests that drew over a million people through Los Angeles. The rally proceeded to City Hall, where LAPD officers in riot gear declared an unlawful assembly as demonstrators held their ground. Organized by the Los Angeles May Day Coalition.
NO KINGS PROTEST
West Hollywood, CA, MARCH 28, 2026
Hundreds gathered at West Hollywood Park for the third national No Kings day of action, joining over 3,000 demonstrations across the country protesting the policies of the Trump administration. The event featured speeches from local elected officials, including West Hollywood City Councilmember and State Senate candidate John Erickson, live music and a demonstration along Santa Monica Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard. West Hollywood, Calif.
Harris-Walz Campaign Canvassing
Phoenix, Ariz., October 2024
Behind-the-scenes documentation of grassroots voter outreach during the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign. Produced while volunteering as a canvasser for the Harris-Walz campaign in Maricopa County.
Black Lives Matter
Los Angeles, 2020
Thousands marched through Los Angeles in the weeks following George Floyd's killing, part of a nationwide wave of protests against police brutality and systemic racism. These images were made during demonstrations across the city. Published in Los Angeleno.
COVID-19 Lockdown
Los Angeles, Spring 2020
In the early months of the pandemic, stay-at-home orders emptied one of the most populated cities in the country. These images document Los Angeles in suspended animation — deserted streets, shuttered businesses, and a metropolitan area of ten million reduced to silence. Published in Los Angeleno and broadcast internationally on SIC Television (Portugal).
COMMUNITY & PUBLIC HEALTH
COVERAGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCACY, LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY EVENTS, AND THE ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO STRENGTHEN LOS ANGELES.
AIDS/LifeCycle — The Final Ride
San Francisco to Los Angeles, June 2025
The 545-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles raised funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS services for over two decades. In its final year, AIDS/LifeCycle drew thousands of riders, roadies, and volunteers for a seven-day ride down the California coast. Photographed as an official media photographer.
AIDS Walk LA
Los Angeles, 2025
The annual fundraising walk supports APLA Health and other HIV/AIDS service organizations in Los Angeles County. Photographed as the official press photographer.
ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE REPORTING
DOCUMENTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE COMMUNITIES RESPONDING TO IT IN CALIFORNIA
Arroyo Goats
Pasadena, Calif., April 18, 2026
More than 600 goats were released into the Arroyo Seco as part of a targeted grazing initiative launched by the City of Pasadena and the One Arroyo Foundation, a community-funded effort to reduce wildfire risk in the wake of the January 2025 Eaton Fire. Over two months, the herd will graze nearly 100 acres of invasive plants and dry brush across terrain too steep for mechanical clearance, returning nutrients to the soil as they work. The launch event at Brookside Park drew Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Pasadena Deputy Fire Chief Tim Sell, and One Arroyo Executive Director Daniel Rossman.
King Tides
Inverness and Marin County, CA, January 2026
A combination of king tides and recent storms brought flooding to parts of Marin County, inundating roads and structures in coastal communities along Tomales Bay and the Highway 101 corridor. In Inverness, floodwaters surrounded local businesses as emergency responders assessed conditions. In Tiburon, vehicles navigated submerged roadways at the intersection of Tiburon Boulevard and Blackfield Drive.
ARTS & CULTURAL COVERAGE
CREDENTIALED COVERAGE OF MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS AND CULTURAL EVENTS ACROSS LOS ANGELES.
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Los Angeles, CA, May 26, 2026
The Broad opened Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, the touring retrospective organized by Tate Modern, on May 23, 2026. The exhibition gathers more than 200 works across seven decades and is built largely from Ono’s instruction pieces, participatory works that exist only once a visitor completes them. These images document visitors stepping onto a canvas, hammering nails into a board, tracing their shadows in charcoal, and writing notes to their mothers on a bare white wall. Photographed with press access during the opening week. The retrospective runs through October 11. Published on Fonzieland.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE & HUMAN STORIES
LONG-FORM DOCUMENTARY WORK EXPLORING HOW INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES NAVIGATE DISPLACEMENT, CAREER LOSS, AND REINVENTION.
Ongoing: Stories of Resilience
Los Angeles, CA., 2025-2026
A documentary portrait series profiling Los Angeles residents navigating significant life transitions. Each profile pairs an extended conversation with studio and environmental portraiture. Before publication, every participant reviews their story to ensure it reflects their truth. Published in the Fonzieland newsletter.
Post-Earthquake Haiti
Fond Parisien, Haiti, September 2013
Three years after the earthquake that killed over 200,000 people, communities outside Port-au-Prince were still rebuilding. Hired by the nonprofit Rise2Shine to document their efforts establishing a daycare and school for children in Fond Parisien, one of the country's poorest regions. The resulting images helped secure funding for the land purchase and hiring of the school's all-female staff. The program continues to provide food, medicine, and education to enrolled children.
MEMBER OF ASMP AND NPPA. AVAILABLE FOR EDITORIAL ASSIGNMENTS, DOCUMENTARY COMMISSIONS, AND SPOT NEWS COVERAGE.