With camera in hand, Denise Pensky seeks to capture the essence, emotion, and humanity of a place and its people. Her camera compels her to slow down, to stop and truly see. Inspired by Elliott Erwitt, Denise creates visual narratives using humor, perspective, and juxtaposition—whether photographing in Albany, NY, where she lives, on the streets of New York City, or while traveling wherever curiosity leads her.

Denise is an active professional member of The Raw Society, Women Street Photographers, and the National Press Photographers Association, among others. Her work is exhibited internationally and has received honorable mentions from the Paris International Street Photographers, merit mentions from AAP Magazine (Street and Shadow, 2025), and was featured in National Geographic Germany (2023).

She has created several photo-based publications, most recently a nail in his shoe, an identity project examining her father’s mental health following World War II. In 2026, this book will be included in the Shutter Hub Pop-Up Photobook Library at Cambridge University and featured at the Cambridge Festival in the UK.