Doug’s Career

A man smiling, holding a camera around his neck with a Canon strap, wearing a white shirt with a badge, and carrying photography gear, standing on grass.
Man dressed in outdoor winter gear holding a professional camera with a telephoto lens on snow-covered mountain slope.

“For decades, we saw life, sports, joy, defeat, pain, celebration and love through Doug’s eyes.”

The Denver Post

  • Doug started his professional photography career at age 15 as a freelance newspaper photographer in his native Pennsylvania in 1980. After a stint at Penn State University, he landed his first staff job at the Gannett-owned Public Opinion in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

  • He attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California and simultaneously worked as a staff photographer at the Santa Barbara News Press.

  • Connections in Washington D.C. found him a position with The Army Times Publishing Company. News coverage included the invasion of Panama, the Gulf War, unrest in Bosnia and humanitarian aid in Somalia. He found balance to the world of military coverage by shooting freelance sport assignments for Allsport Photography.

  • Contacts made with President Reagan’s press pool helped solidify relationships that would launch a freelance career in Washington DC which included The Washington Post, The Associated Press, TIME Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

  • A subsequent contract position with Allsport evolved into a staff position with Getty Images after its acquisition of the Allsport agency in 1998. Doug remained with Getty Images until his death in 2016.

  • After his sudden and untimely death from cardiac arrest at age 51, the Doug Pensinger Photography Fund was established to support emerging sports photographers.

In Memoriam Tributes