Gabriel Vargas is an award-winning director of photography and underwater cinematographer based in Los Angeles. Originally from a coastal town in Puerto Rico, he developed a passion for the ocean and visual storytelling at a young age.

Gabriel began his career in 2013 as a freelance photographer after earning his degree in photography from Universidad Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico. He transitioned into cinematography, focusing on adventure and environmental storytelling.

His recent work includes Emergér, which won the 2020 RIFF Directors' Choice Best Documentary Short and the BWFN Best Cinematography Award, and Sawubona, which won the 2019 Coast Film Festival Audience Choice Award. Both films were commissioned by the World Surf League.

Gabriel has lensed over fifty episodes of UHD adventure-reality television across more than ten countries, including the first action sports series shot entirely in HDR for INsight TV. He also co-produced and filmed Red Chargers, a surf documentary that won Best Feature Film at the 2017 San Diego Surf Film Festival.

His work has been commissioned by a diverse range of clients, including the World Surf League, INsight TV, AMG Mercedes-Benz, Outside Television, Red Bull, Volcom East, Tag Heuer, Eastern Surf Magazine, Surfline, The Inertia, and many others.