About
Sandy Santra is a photojournalist and fine arts photographer based in Hudson Valley, New York. He shoots events and casuals, producing work with a clean, quirky aesthetic that emphasizes authenticity, humor, and narrative.
Sandy was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in the California Bay Area. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon and began doing photography there in the late 1970s. After returning to San Francisco in 1980, he studied filmmaking at San Francisco State University and subsequently won multiple awards for his film shorts. Sandy moved to New York City in the late 1990s and worked there as a professional photographer—on assignment for a newspaper in Queens and exhibiting his work in Manhattan—before moving to the Beacon area in 2018. His most recent show “Readers of Beacon” was hosted by the Howland Public Library in Beacon, NY during June 2025.
Exhibitions
Video “Sock” shown on cable TV in Salinas, CA
July 1991
Video “Sock” awarded honorable mention at East Bay Video Festival, Berkeley, CA
October 1991
Video “Due North” awarded Second Place at East Bay Video Festival, Berkeley, CA
September 1992
First Solo Show New York City (Zanny’s Café)
2002
First Photojournalism Assignment (Times Newsweekly, Queens, NY)
2002
Solo Show “Readers of Beacon” at the Howland Public Library, Beacon, NY
2005
Education
Reed College: Theatre Arts
1974-75
San Francisco State University: film production course
1991
International Center of Photography School (NYC): “Developing a Personal Vision,” taught by Joyce George
2002
Recent Clients
Jim Seegert
Deborah Kapchan
The Beacon LitFest