About Diego Montoya
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Diego Montoya is a versatile documentary photographer whose work captures the complexities of political violence, civil unrest, and the beauty of everyday life. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, where he studied International Relations and French language, he has lived in seven different countries and speaks five languages, bringing a unique and diverse perspective to his work.
A Journey into Photography
Diego's photographic journey began 12 years ago, and he has never looked back. He draws inspiration from photojournalists and travel photographers around the world. Over time, he has cultivated a specialty in documenting political turmoil and unrest, as well as beauty and fashion photography. His work has been featured in art galleries in Washington, DC, and has been part of exhibitions in Kyiv, Ukraine, and multiple shows in Tbilisi, Georgia. Additionally, Diego has contributed articles to internationally distributed magazines and self-published a book titled This American Carnage, a documentary photobook exploring election violence during the 2020 U.S. elections.
Access—whether to people, places, or events—is a central theme in his photography. Diego believes that photography is a means of providing others with access to worlds they may never otherwise experience. His body of work offers a raw and unfiltered record of the world he observes: from climbing pyramids in Egypt and Mexico to floating down rivers in the Middle East and Asia, he has witnessed and documented history in the making. He has witnessed events with presidents and prime ministers, as well as three civil wars and riots in Baltimore, Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C.