A banker and amateur photographer whose photo from the site of the Oklahoma City bombing tugged on heartstrings worldwide won a Pulitzer Prize on Tuesday.
Charles H. Porter 4th, a credit specialist for Liberty Bancorp, Oklahoma City, won journalism's highest honor for spot news photography.
The prizewinning photograph was of firefighter Chris Fields carrying the body of 1-year-old Baylee Almon after the April 19 bombing that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
The photo was reprinted around the world.
"I'm very excited - and shocked," Mr. Porter said in an interview Wednesday. "At the same time ... my feelings are very much tempered with the emotions that are going on."
He said he had not "lost sight of what the picture means" and the tragic event that made it possible.
"I would give up this award in a minute" if that meant a picture of a joyful event could win it, he said.
The prize is administered by Columbia University in New York. Like all Pulitzers except the one for public service, it comes with a $3,000 cash award.
Fame from this and other photographs of the bombing's aftermath thrust Mr. Porter, now 26, into the spotlight last year. He appeared on numerous television and radio programs and has continued to discuss the experience.
In January he was invited to London to talk about the photos.
Mr. Porter was working in the bank's loan documentation room when he heard the explosion. He went outside to see what had happened, grabbed his camera from his car, and began shooting pictures of the rescue efforts.
He took the photos to the Associated Press. The possibility of a Pulitzer was mentioned. He now declines to say what the wire service paid for the photos.
Mr. Porter doesn't rule out pursuing a career in photography. After winning the Pulitzer, he took the day off to field phone calls - but he remains on the staff at Liberty.
"I'm still a banker," he said.
