Hi, I’m Deanne Fitzmaurice – photographer, Nikon Ambassador, and lifelong adventurer.
Hi Im Deanne
I go to where the story is. Then I get closer.
A war-injured boy coming from an Iraqi hospital. A seagull mid-heist in a Dublin park. A stranger on a plane who, by the time the flight lands, becomes a story I dream of capturing.
I've spent my career getting close enough to find the humanity in all of it – as an eyewitness to some of the biggest stories of more than three decades, and as a trailblazer in the ones that arose purely from my love of adventure and insatiable curiosity.
That curiosity has taken me a long way from where I started — continents away, more often than not. I've gone to the top of a bridge tower to get the perfect shot, found the soul of a country I’d never stepped foot in before, and said yes to assignments mostly because I wanted to know what I'd find on the other side.
I spent two decades as a staff photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, capturing the emotional landscape of America during some of the most pivotal moments of our time.
I spent two decades as a staff photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, capturing the emotional landscape of America during some of the most pivotal moments of our time.
That work carried me across the country and eventually around the world, into assignments for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, National Geographic, TIME, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR, among others.
Then came Saleh, a young Iraqi boy suffering devastating war injuries. The photo story I told about his recovery earned me the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, and more than 25 years later, we're still telling his story together.
Since then, I've been named a Nikon Ambassador and co-founded the camera bag company Think Tank Photo with my husband and fellow photographer Kurt Rogers. Today, I also speak to rooms full of people about what more than three decades behind a camera actually teaches you about resilience, creativity, and getting a total stranger to trust you fast enough to let you see who they really are.
AWARDS, RECOGNITION AND EXHIBITS
The Pulitzer Prize, Feature Photography | 2005
Solo Exhibition, Xposure International Photography Festival, UAE | 2026
Solo Exhibition, Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France | 2025
Prix de la Photographie de Paris | 2025
State of the World Exhibition, Paris | 2025
American Photography (AI-AP) | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2025
W. Eugene Smith Finalist Grant Recipient | 2024
International Photography Awards | 2024, 2020
United Nations International Photographic Council Achievement Award | 2024
Pictures of the Year | 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2020
PDN Photo Annual | 2016
Communication Arts | 2013
Alexia Foundation Grant for World Peace, Finalist | 2011
NPPA Best of Photojournalism | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010
Advertising Photographers of America | 2009
TIME Magazine, Pictures That Mattered | 2008
UNICEF Photo of the Year, Honorable Mention | 2005
Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism | 2004
Mark Twain Award, Associated Press | 2004
My Kit
People ask about my gear more than almost anything else. Here’s everything I use – all of which has survived tough conditions and global adventures.
Photo credit: Ray ChavezThink Tank Photo
Creating a cult favorite camera bag
In 2005, my husband Kurt was helping design a belt pack for photojournalists with designer Doug Murdoch. Doug had spent years designing gear at places like Lowepro before setting out on his own, frustrated by companies that kept cutting features to cut costs. Kurt and Doug quickly agreed: “We should get Deanne involved.”
We launched Think Tank Photo at the Canon Super Bowl party that year, handing out belt packs to the credentialed photographers. Word traveled fast in that world — it's a small, tight community — and less than a year later, I won the Pulitzer.
Twenty years later, Think Tank is the bag you'll find in press rooms at stadiums all over the world. It's not a photography accessory brand to the people who use it — it's the standard.
Stories of heart, soul, and humanity.
What’s your story, and where will it take us?