Leopoldo Peña is native of Michoacan, Mexico. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1992. 

The main focus of his work is the documentation of mexican indigenous immigrant communities in California through a project titled Oaxacalifornia and the creation of images exploring the symbolism of human-made elements imposed on the natural landscape.

He studied photography at East Los Angeles College. In 2008, he graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in Spanish literature and a minor in journalism. After graduation, he interned as a photojournalist at the Daily Pilot in Costa Mesa, CA. Currently, he is finishing a master's degree in Spanish literature at CSULB and working on personal photo projects.

His work has been published in Al Borde, Derive, Grey Magazine, Retina, NACLA: Report on the Americas, B/W Magazine and El Tequio.