He studied Pictorial Illustration and Design at Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, graduating in 1969 and went on to be a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1982. He is currently a Professor of Photojournalism at the University of Texas but his projects have led him all over the world, including Central America (which led to his admission to Magnum Photos), the Middle East which lead to one of his first published books, Beirut, City of Regrets in 1988.