DARRYL NORENBERG

View Collection

Darryl Norenberg’s photographic career can be traced back to his high school days in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin taking an interest in the high school yearbook.  The love and passion for photography took him after graduation to New York to attend the NY Institute of Photography.

Shorty after, Darryl was drafted by the U.S. Marine Corps and proudly served this county from 1954 to 1957 with assignments in Korea, Camp LeJeune and Cherry Point. He ended his military service as a Sergeant after working in the Washington, D.C. headquarters.

In the fall of 1957, the family moved to Pomona, CA where he attended Chaffey College in Ontario, CA where his love for photography continued in Liberal Arts/Photography and worked part-time in the summer months for a newspaper in Pomona.

From 1959 to 1962, Darryl worked at the Progress Bulletin newspaper where he served as chief photographer doing news assignments and sports. It was during that time he began to photograph the Los Angeles Rams. His sports editor, Fred Claire eventually became the General Manager of the LA Dodgers. During this time period, he also worked freelance for yearbooks out of the New York City area.

Darryl’s military service gave him insight as his photo career took him to General Dynamics in the Naval Weapons Division in Pomona as an Industrial Photographer photographing classified military projects, studio work and high speed camera work.  He then went to Petersen Publishing Company in Hollywood, CA. as a staff photographer for a leading national automotive and special interest and marketing projects in publications such as Hot Rod, Motor trend, Car Craft, Rod & Custom, Sports Car Graphic, R&C Models, Teen Guns & Ammo, Skin Diver and numerous book projects. He continued to work freelance projects for east coast publications including Conde Nast, Sam André, Street & Smith’s, McFadden Bartell Publishing, and Sport Magazine. It was during this time when Darryl was first contacted by David Boss at NFL Properties. He began photographing assignments for PRO Magazine, the official magazine of the NFL at the time. Darryl photographed 5 of the first 10 Super Bowls including the very 1st in Los Angeles in 1967. He also covered the Los Angeles Lakers from 1962 to 1971.

In 1966, Darryl joined Interstate Electronics in Anaheim as an industrial photographer where he was responsible for photographing electronic equipment related to naval weapons. It was after his tenure at Interstate Electronics, Darryl decide to start his own business and in 1968 launched Norenberg Photography. He eventually added a partner and operating as Norenberg/Wilson Photography in Pomona specializing in Industrial, Sports, Commercial, Advertising and Public Relations photography. Their clients included GE Aircraft, Lockheed, FMC Corp. U.S. Bank, Allstate Savings and Loan, Sunkist, Dodge New Bureau, Petersen Publishing, Toyota, Volvo, Saab, and BMW as well as a host of other commercial clients. During this time Darryl became the official team photographer for the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels.

Darryl decided to sell his business and in 1979 moved to Crescent City, CA and joined Pelican Bay Travel with offices in Crescent City and Brookings, OR. During this time Darryl continued photographing some NFL games in Seattle as well as commercial and automotive magazine work. In 2005, Darryl retired after closing both businesses.

In addition to all the experiences, Darryl served as a photography instructor at the College of Redwoods for 2 years and was a photo organizer for the inaugural Indy car race at Ontario Motor Speedway where he staffed the event with 25 photographers. Darryl also served for 4 years on the Crescent City Planning Commission and 6 years on the board of Economic Development Commission then 6 years as an officer on Del Norte Chamber of Commerce and 4 years as officer on the Redwoods National Parks System.

During his stellar career, Darryl won several awards including the 1973 Pro Football Hall of Fame contest in the color action category, 1st place in the LA Press Photographers B&W division and the Eastman Kodak Kodarama Times Square New York Display to name a few. His pictures have been used and seen in media everywhere throughout his career and his pictures have inspired many young photojournalist and colleagues alike.

His life’s work has been complied over many years and his collection of sports images is one of the comprehensive in the U.S. Darryl and his wife of 49 years still live in Northern California.

David Boss | Malcolm Emmons | Manny Rubio | Herb Weitman

Darryl Norenberg | Rod Hanna | Richard Mackson | Dick Raphael | Leo Mason | Peter Brouillet | George Long