Elbert is an award winning photographer, editor and musician. Okay, music is a stretch, but he did win the Indiana state championship in trombone at age 14.
Elbert was the Assistant Managing Editor of Photography for The Washington Post newspaper from 1988 through 2007. Under his direction The Washington Post photography staff won more awards than any other newspaper in the history of journalism.
Those awards included 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 2 Best World Picture of the Year awards from the World Press Photo organization, 6 Photographer of the Year awards from the National Press Photographers Association and 17 White House Press Photographers' Association Photographer of the Year awards.
In 1995 the National Press Photographers Association named Elbert Editor of the Year and in 2003 he received the Joseph A. Sprague award, the highest award given by the National Press Photographers.