About me

My name is Pablo Unzueta, I’m a first generation Chilean-American (b.1994) currently exploring the Bay Area as a CatchLight and Report for America Fellow at El Tecolote, with roots in Los Angeles, California, USA. My maternal grandmother was the first person in my family tree to plant seeds in the states, calling Los Angeles home—where she became a wedding photographer and ran her own photography business in the 1990s and 2000s. I still remember accompanying her to the local darkroom in the valley at 4 years old.

I come from a legacy of artists on both sides of my family—painters, musicians, and photographers. My father is a well-known photojournalist in Santiago, Chile, where he has documented the legacies of violence in the post-dictatorship era, as well as covering the Libyan war. The people in my family created a foundation for creativity, with photography becoming my main outlet, evidently.

At 17 years of age (2013) I decided to become a self-taught photographer, where I began doing street photography all over downtown Los Angeles. During my young career, I was invited to The New York Times Portfolio Review (2014) and the Eddie Adams Workshop (2015) where I was awarded the Nikon Gear Award. I was also recognized by Instagram as an ‘Emerging Talent.’ Those recognitions helped propel me forward in the ever-changing and challenging landscape of photojournalism.

After studying journalism and earning a Bachelors at Cal State Long Beach, my formal career began in 2021 when I became a photojournalism intern at CalMatters, covering the entire Los Angeles region. After my internship, I became a full-time freelance photojournalist, documenting a variety of topics such as, environmental pollution, portraiture, news, politics, homelessness, the Mexico border, social unrest, and more. My work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Guardian, High Country News, CalMatters, LAist, and others. In addition, I am the recipient of the Magnum Foundation Healthy Equity Grant, and the Circle of Blue fellowship program.

In 2023, I moved to the Bay Area to become a CatchLight and Report for America Fellow in partnership with El Tecolote, the oldest running bilingual newspaper in California. I’ve been fortunate to work at a newsroom that centers its stories on representation and diversity, specifically in the Latino community, where I have been able to continue to tell stories that I’ve always been passionate about documenting.

For inquiries on collaborating you can email me at: punzuetaphoto@gmail.com