ABOUT
Dennis Santarinala (b. 1976, Pasig City, Philippines) is a Filipino American photographer and filmmaker based in Vacaville, California. Raised in Cainta, Rizal, he studied at the Philippine School of Interior Design before moving to the United States, where he later earned degrees in Media Arts and Graphic Design from Platt College San Diego. He currently serves as a Multimedia Specialist in U.S. Air Force Public Affairs, overseeing the Visual Information Management program.
His work spans documentary photography and conceptual fine art, exploring people, culture, place, and human behavior. His approach is informed by a diverse background in military aviation, design, and visual communication. He served in the U.S. Navy from 2002 to 2007, deploying aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Unified Assistance following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and later served in the U.S. Army from 2010 to 2013. Santarinala's photography, filmmaking, and multimedia work has earned numerous Air Force Reserve Command honors, including 2024 Digital Art of the Year; 2023 Multimedia Product, Portrait, and Video Story of the Year; and 2022 Multimedia Product of the Year. He is also developing a field-based visual storytelling curriculum for Air Force Reserve Public Affairs professionals, emphasizing documentary methods, narrative development, and visual communication.
Santarinala’s ongoing documentary work includes a project in Abra, Northern Luzon, tracing the legacy of his aunt Puraperla “Pura” Sumangil and the women who worked alongside her in community advocacy and peacebuilding. Sumangil was among the Filipino women included in the global 1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 initiative. He is also developing a long term project in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, returning more than two decades after participating in the humanitarian response there in 2004.
Working across digital photography, film and historic photographic processes, Santarinala approaches photography through observation, proximity and deliberate framing. His work considers the photographer’s position within a scene and the decisions involved in what is included, excluded and ultimately preserved in the photograph.
CONTACT
Military assignments on DVIDS:
https://www.dvidshub.net/portfolio/1626482/dennis-santarinala
Instagram: @the_denshow
Assignments, editorial work, collaborations, commissions, and workshops:
