Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship 1977
Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography 1979
Lyndhurst Prize 1984-87
Folio Magazine award for “Editorial Excellence” for DoubleTake Magazine 1996
North Carolina Visual Artist Fellowship 1988
Pulitzer Prize Finalist for non-fiction (with William deBuys) for River of Traps 1991
Evans Biography Award (with William deBuys) for River of Traps 1991
Southwest Book Award for Red White Blue and God Bless You 1993
Ozzie Award for “Best use of photography in a consumer magazine” DoubleTake Magazine 1995
Maine Photographic Workshops “Best Anthology” award for A New Life 1996
Los Angeles Times, “Best Books of 1996” for A New Life 1996
National Magazine Award for “General Excellence” for DoubleTake Magazine 1998
Photo District News 2008 Photo Annual, Best Photography Books 2008
Robert B. Cox Teaching Award for excellence in teaching in the social sciences at Duke University - 2015
Picturing the South Commission from the High Museum of Art, 2016-2018