Polleross has worked in various parts of the world including his native Austria as well as the United States, Egypt, and Thailand. In the 1980s, he moved to New York, where he collaborated with the photo agency JB Pictures, launching his career as a photojournalist. His photos documenting political events and social trends were published in prestigious newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post, and in magazines including Life, Newsweek, Time, Geo, Stern and Spiegel.