David Charles Peterson is an American photographer and journalist, winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography is one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or phot ...
in 1987. Peterson also shared the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for Community Service with two other staff members of the Des Moines Register.
David Charles Peterson was born on October 22, 1949, to John Edward Peterson and Florence Athene, in
Kansas. In 1971 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education from the Kansas State University. Three years later he received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Kansas. In 1975 he became the staff photographer at the
Topeka Capital-Journal, after two years he switched to the
Des Moines Register.
In 1986 Peterson took a
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
and split it into three parts, a month per season, to cover the growing cycle and work on the "Farm Crisis", the stories of
Iowa farm families in the middle of a six-year-long crisis. The chronicle depicted the tragedy of a family forced to sell their land, a deserted town, and a woman, visiting her husband's grave after his suicide. In 1986 he was awarded the National Press Photographers Association Prize. In 1987 Peterson was chosen by jurors of the
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for Feature Photography for ‘depicting the shattered dreams of American farmers’. He also received the Regional Photographer of the Year Award in 1979–81.
Married to Julie Ann Peterson, has three children Brian, Scott and Anna
References
Literature
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Living people
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography winners
1949 births
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