Mark Wallheiser Photographic Collection, 1980-2024
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 30 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Mark Wallheiser Photographic Collection, SCA 2024-008, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/SCA-2024-008
Background
- Scope and content:
Digital images, film negatives, and photographic prints documenting the photography career of Mark Wallheiser. Major topics include: Florida State University athletics and campus life; Florida A&M University athletics; National Football League; 2000 US Presidential Election events in Florida; North Florida scenes and locations; and Wallheiser's Pulitzer-nominated photo essays on crack cocaine use in Tallahassee and Hurricane Katrina.
Portions of this collection include graphic depictions of drug use, the aftermath of natural disasters, and human remains. Some content may be traumatic to researchers and difficult to view. See our full Statement on Potentially Harmful Content here: https://repository.lib.fsu.edu/potentially-harmful-content-statement
Selected images from this collection have been digitized and are available through PASS.
- Biographical / historical:
Mark Wallheiser was a staff photographer at the Tallahassee Democrat from 1981 to 2008, and a freelancer from 2008 to 2025. He was known for his coverage of natural disasters, high school and collegiate athletics, and American politics.
He graduated from Western Kentucky University where he initially majored in English before switching to multimedia. he left Tennessee for Alabama to work for the Montgomery Advertiser in 1978.
The Society for Professional Journalism named him Florida News Photographer of the Year in 1989. After multiple individual Pulitzer Prize nominations, Wallheiser was part of a team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service covering Hurricane Katrina. He was nominated again for a Pulitzer Prize for an image he captured of Donald Trump at a rally in Mobile, Alabama. His work was featured on the cover of the Washington Post, the New York Times, USA Today and in other media outlets.
Wallheiser retired from FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in December 2023.
Wallheiser, 72, died of cancer on May 15, 2026.
Sources:
https://www.markwallheiser.com/
William L. Hatfield. (May 16, 2026). A life behind the lens: Local Pulitzer-winning photographer and mentor dies. Tallahassee Democrat. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2026/05/16/pulitzer-winning-photojournalist-mark-wallheiser-dies-tallahassee-photos/90108314007/
- Acquisition information:
Property rights transfer and copyright license executed by SCA Deed of Gift, March 28, 2023.
Negatives, prints, and optical disks transported to FSU Libraries on April 30, 2024.
Transfer of additional digital images expected in May 2024.
- Processing information:
This collection does not have a box 31.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
Boxes 1-32 and 35 of this collection are open to all researchers.
Boxes 33 and 34 are restricted. Access will be reviewed upon request by curators, screening for confidential or sensitive information. Contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu for more information about access to these materials.
All boxes may be accessed by researchers upon request at the Claude Pepper Library.
- Terms of access:
Copyright in images created by Wallheiser are held by the Wallheiser estate.
Re-use or copying of these works beyond Fair Use may require permission from the rights-holder. For more information, contact Special Collections & Archives staff at lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu.
- Preferred citation:
[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Mark Wallheiser Photographic Collection, SCA 2024-008, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/SCA-2024-008
- Location of this collection:
-
116 Honors WayTallahasseeFL32306-2047USA
