Lemberger has been an active photojournalist and artist for more than 50 years. His interest in photography started at age 9, and by high school he was winning awards. After service in the U.S. Air Force, during which he was trained in aerial photography, and a stint as a movie news photographer for television station KTVO (Kirksville, Missouri and Ottumwa, Iowa), he was chief photographer for the Ottumwa Courier for 17 years. He has published an estimated 25,000 photographs and actively collects thousands more.