Fernando Bengoechea

Fernando Bengoechea was a New York City-based Argentine photographer who specialized in interiors.

He was born in August 1965 in Buenos Aires and grew up mostly in Brazil. Fluent in five languages, he arrived in New York to study cinematography and photography.

Bengoechea and his partner, interior designer Nate Berkus, were vacationing in Sri Lanka when the 2004 Asian tsunami hit. Both were in their hotel room discussing what they would do for the day when the deadly tidal wave slammed into the island. They were carried away by the wave, but both managed to grab hold of a telephone pole. When a second wave hit, they were torn away from the pole and from each other. Berkus made it onto the top of a roof, but Bengoechea did not and was swept out to sea. It is presumed he did not survive; however, his remains have not been located.

Bengoechea’s work has appeared in magazines, including Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, and O: The Oprah Magazine.