Wendell Phillips began his career in 1981 as a staff news photographer in Manitoba, Canada. His book "Just Passing Through" was published while staff at the Winnipeg Free Press (Canada). In 1983, Wendell left photojournalism to work with a commercial photographic company in Lima, Peru. He returned to his roots in photojournalism earning 17 Picture of the Year Awards and most notably, was voted Canada's News Photographer of the Year in 1988.