Technical Sergeant Efren D. Lopez is a United States Air Force Reserve combat photographer, 4th Combat Camera Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C., which reactivated in 2017 after being inactivated in 2015 at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., where he served for 16 years.
Sergeant Lopez has 19 years of photojournalism experience, having honed his craft documenting numerous military exercises and real-world missions. He also began his career teaching photography at his alma mater. Not only does Sergeant Lopez document real-world action and training exercises for the military around the globe, but he also captures stunning images in his home state of Arizona as well. He has a keen eye for all types of photography including architecture, landscapes and people in their environment. His passion for photography has taken him to places very few photographers have been.
In 2009, Sergeant Lopez deployed to Afghanistan, where he documented combat and humanitarian missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was awarded the Army Combat Action Badge and the Air Force Combat Action Medal for his actions while deployed, and shortly thereafter was selected for the Military Visual Journalism program at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communication. He is the only Reservist of any branch to attend the prestigious program in its 55-year history.
Sergeant Lopez was a runner-up in the 1st Combat Camera Squadron Workshop 2004, and his work has been featured in various publications, including the book, Arizona 24/7. In 2008, he was awarded first place in the Professional Photography category at the Arizona State Fair, juried by Arizona Highways Magazine. Sergeant Lopez images have been displayed in galleries across America. He has won multiple awards in Feature, Portrait, and Pictorial categories in MILPHOG and AFRC Media Contests in the past 10 years. In 2012, he was selected Artist of the Year by Syracuse University’s La Casita Culture Center College of Arts and Sciences.
EDUCATION:
Sergeant Lopez graduated with an A.A.S, Visual Communications, Degree from Phoenix College, Phoenix, Ariz., May, 1995; Certificate, Combat Photography Documentation, Defense Information School, Fort George G Meade, Md., March, 1998; Ground and Water Survival, January, 2001; NCO Preparatory, September, 2004; Certificate in Commercial Photography, June, 2015; actively pursuing a degree in cinematography.
WORK EXPERIENCE:
1999-Present – Combat/Aerial Photographer U.S. Air Force Reserve March ARB, Calif. Documented over thirty humanitarian, training, and contingency missions around the globe from multiple attack, fighter, cargo, refueling mission-based airplanes.
2004-2009 – Digital Photography Instructor Phoenix College Phoenix, Ariz. Created the first syllabus for digital photography courses for all Maricopa Community Colleges. Taught both introductory and advanced courses in digital photographic techniques and Adobe Photoshop.
2000-2005 – Aerial Photographer / Photoshop Technician Todd Photographic Services Phoenix, Ariz. Photographed subjects from various ultra-light, rotary, and fixed-wing airframes, with both film and digital cameras.
2008-2009 – Photoshop/Aerial Mapping Technician Kenny Aerial Mapping. Phoenix, Ariz. Scan aerial photography negatives and created orthophotographs (aerial photographs that correct distortion caused by tilt, curvature and ground relief) for mapping. Correct and adjusted photos for accurate color.
2012- Present – Self Employed / Route 66 Images Camp Verde, Ariz. Commercial, travel and scenic photography for magazines and stock.
(Current as of December 2017)
