Soon after graduating with a B.S.C. degree in Economics at Santa Clara University Dennis began to take photography courses and discovered profound enjoyment in photographing landscapes and a special appreciation for the inspiring countryside throughout the American Southwest. During his early studies he won first place that included a Toyota truck in a 1980 Pentax sponsored photo contest called "Capture The West" that included over 15,000 entries nationwide.
He began photographing landscapes mostly shooting 35mm Kodachrome; then spending a number of years shooting with other transparency films with medium and large format cameras. Currently he shoots digital with the Canon 1Ds Mark III and occasionally transparency film with a 4x5 Toyo A. Both give him the ability to bring out fine detail and produce exceptional large prints.
Dennis DiLaura has now been a professional photographer based in Los Angeles for over 25 years, alternating between landscape photography and commercial photography. During his career he also taught photography at Santa Monica College for 10 years and at Otis College of Art and Design.