doug’s career

Doug Pensinger rides a gondola on Feb, 11, 2015. Photo by Al Bello

Doug Pensinger (1964-2016) was a Denver Colorado-based photographer for Getty Images Editorial Sport. He traveled the globe photographing both popular and niche sporting events including multiple Olympic Games, World Championships, Tours de France, World Cups, World Series and Super Bowls. After his sudden and untimely death from cardiac arrest at age 51, the Doug Pensinger Photography Fund was established to support emerging sports photographers.

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. 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.

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.

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.

Tours de France Covered

Olympics Covered

events covered for Getty Images

Images filed for Getty

doug’s legacy

“As I got to know Doug, I appreciated his work ethic and professionalism. He worked harder than anyone to get “the shot.” Not only did he end up getting the shot he wanted, but he also represented a huge company that distributed his shots around the world. He made all of this look easy, and so I thought I must be doing things wrong. Unknowingly, he pushed me to become better. He opened my mind to a sense of creativity that I hadn’t had before. And although I had already been around for several years, he opened my eyes to a beauty that I hadn’t seen in the sport.”

-Photographer Jonathan Devich in Cycling News