DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTOJOURNALISM
- Los Angeles-based; available nationally/internationally
- Deadline editorial, spot news, documentary and commissioned coverage
- NPPA and ASMP member; insured
- Captioned IPTC metadata and prompt delivery
- hello@afonso.me / (415) 350-4893
Covering spot news, civic action, public health, environmental reporting and long-form human stories in Los Angeles and beyond. Recent work includes the Lineage warehouse fire, Los Angeles protests, AIDS/LifeCycle, king-tide flooding in Marin County and the ongoing Stories of Resilience series.
Work has appeared on the covers of Writer’s Digest and Renderout!, in Los Angeleno and The Eastsider, and on SIC Television Portugal.
A Los Angeles County sheriff's vehicle and utility crews close Holloway Drive near Sunset Boulevard after a water main break flooded streets across West Hollywood early on July 16, 2026. News crews report from behind fire-line tape as repair work begins. (Afonso Salcedo)
Spot News
BREAKING NEWS AND SPOT COVERAGE OF UNFOLDING EVENTS ACROSS LOS ANGELES.
A WATER MAIN BREAK ON THE SUNSET STRIP
WEST HOLLYWOOD, JULY 16, 2026
A 108-year-old, 36-inch water main ruptured beneath the Sunset Strip before dawn on July 16, 2026, sending water down Holloway Drive and Palm Avenue toward Santa Monica Boulevard and into the Metro bus yard at San Vicente.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power shut off the flow to the damaged pipe by around 7 a.m., and Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies closed a stretch of streets that stayed shut through the morning. Water service to the surrounding area was not interrupted. Officials pointed to the pipe's age and overnight pressure as the likely cause, with a formal determination still pending.
THE LINEAGE WAREHOUSE FIRE
LOS ANGELES, JUNE 17–24, 2026
A fire at the Lineage Logistics cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights burned for more than a week after it began on June 17, 2026. With the structure too damaged to enter, crews fought hot spots from outside, removing siding and directing water monitors at the 491,000-square-foot facility.
The final photograph was made from West Hollywood on June 20 as smoke drifted across downtown Los Angeles. The cause remains under investigation; Lineage has said it believes contractor work on the building’s rooftop solar array may have sparked the fire.
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, May 5, 2026
At a meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, public comment focused on the LAPD’s treatment of journalists, days after credentialed reporters were arrested during May Day protests downtown. Adam Rose of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Los Angeles Press Club, along with photojournalists Nick Stern and Eric Langberg, addressed the board. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said he would order a review.
May Day Strong
Los Angeles, May 1, 2026
Thousands gathered at MacArthur Park on May 1, 2026, for a May Day march marking 20 years since the 2006 immigration protests. The march moved to Los Angeles City Hall, where the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly. The Los Angeles May Day Coalition organized the event.
NO KINGS PROTEST
West Hollywood, MARCH 28, 2026
Hundreds gathered at West Hollywood Park on March 28, 2026, for a No Kings day of action, part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration. The event included speeches by local elected officials, live music and a march along Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards.
Black Lives Matter
Los Angeles, 2020
Thousands marched in Los Angeles in the weeks after George Floyd was killed in May 2020, part of nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. These photographs were made at demonstrations across the city and published in Los Angeleno.
Harris-Walz Campaign Canvassing
Maricopa County, Arizona, October 2024
Personal documentary work made while volunteering with the Harris–Walz campaign in Maricopa County during the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election. The photographs follow canvassers from the campaign bus to neighborhood outreach.
COVID-19 Lockdown
Los Angeles, Spring 2020
Stay-at-home orders emptied streets and public spaces across Los Angeles in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. These photographs document shuttered businesses, deserted landmarks and the city’s altered daily life. Published in Los Angeleno and broadcast 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
In its final year, AIDS/LifeCycle brought thousands of riders, roadies, and volunteers on a seven-day, 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising funds for HIV/AIDS services. Photographed as an official media photographer.
AIDS Walk Los Angeles
Los Angeles, October 2025
AIDS Walk Los Angeles is an annual fundraiser supporting APLA Health and other HIV/AIDS service organizations in Los Angeles County. Photographed as the event’s official press photographer.
ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE REPORTING
DOCUMENTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE COMMUNITIES RESPONDING TO IT IN CALIFORNIA
Arroyo Goats
Pasadena, April 18, 2026
More than 600 goats were released into the Arroyo Seco on April 18, 2026, as part of a City of Pasadena and One Arroyo Foundation grazing program intended to reduce wildfire risk after the 2025 Eaton Fire. The herd will graze nearly 100 acres of invasive plants and dry brush in terrain too steep for mechanical clearance.
King Tides
Inverness and Marin County, January 2026
King tides and recent storms flooded roads and structures in parts of Marin County in January 2026. In Inverness, floodwaters surrounded businesses as emergency responders assessed conditions; in Tiburon, vehicles moved through 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.
The Autry: Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, June 16, 2026
Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles opened at the Autry Museum of the American West on May 30, 2026. Organized by senior curator Carolyn Brucken and Western history chair Virginia Scharff, the exhibition examines American history through Los Angeles, from the Gabrielino-Tongva to the immigration raids and protests of 2025. Photographed with press access.
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Los Angeles, May 26, 2026
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, a touring retrospective organized by Tate Modern, opened at The Broad on May 23, 2026. The exhibition brings together more than 200 works spanning seven decades, including instruction and participatory works activated by visitors. Photographed with press access.
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, 2025–26
An ongoing documentary portrait series about Los Angeles residents navigating significant life transitions. Each profile pairs an extended conversation with studio and environmental portraiture; participants review their published stories for accuracy. Published in Fonzieland.
Post-Earthquake Haiti
Fond Parisien, Haiti, September 2013
Three years after the 2010 earthquake, communities outside Port-au-Prince were still rebuilding. Commissioned by the nonprofit Rise2Shine, I documented its work establishing a daycare and school in Fond Parisien. The photographs helped support fundraising for land and the school’s all-female staff.
ASMP and NPPA member. Available for editorial assignments, documentary commissions and spot-news coverage in Los Angeles and beyond.