BIOGRAPHY

Chris Rainier is considered one of the leading documentary photographers working today. His mysterious images of sacred places and indigenous peoples of the planet have been seen in
the leading publications of the day including: Time, Life, National Geographic publications, Outside, Conde Nast Traveler, Equinox, The New York Times, Smithsonian, Men's Journal, Islands, The New Yorker, German and French Geo, and the publications of the International Red Cross, The United Nations, and Amnesty International. Rainier is a photographer for National Geographic Society and specializes in documenting indigenous cultures for the Society. Rainier is also Director of a website connecting tribal cultures around the globe, called CULTURES ON THE EDGE (culturesontheedge.org), under the auspices of The Cultures Project at The National Geographic Society.

His photographs and books have been widely exhibited and collected around the world including with: The George Eastman House in Rochester, The International Center of Photography in New York, The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, The Australian Museum in Sydney, The Biblotheque Nationale in Paris, The United Nations, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Friends of Photography in California, The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American Art library in Washington DC, The Native American Indian Smithsonian Museum in New York City, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art library in California, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Banff Center for the Arts in Canada , The Chicago Cultural Center, The National Geographic Society Explorers Hall in Washington DC, and The Houston Museum of Science, Texas.

He has received awards for his photography including: Five Picture of the Year Awards for his continued documentation of vanishing tribes, A Communication Arts Award for his last book on New Guinea, a recipient of an Alfred Eisenstadt Award in 1998 for his photography of the Sahara desert, and an International Golden Light Award in 1994 for his first book: KEEPERS OF THE SPIRIT.

Chris was recently included in American Photo Magazine's 100 most influential people working in Photography today list.

Rainier has traveled to all seven continents, and has been apart of a 1992 expedition to the North Pole and seven expeditions to Antarctica. During the 1990's he worked as a war photographer for Time Magazine covering conflicts in: Sarajevo/Bosnia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Middle East. He is a member of the Explorers Club in New York City, and in 2002 won their prestigious Lowell Thomas Award for Adventure story telling

His second book: WHERE MASKS STILL DANCE: NEW GUINEA was published in 1996 with an exhibition that is presently touring Museums both in North America and Asia. Presently he is working on a book documenting tattooing and scarification around the world in both traditional and contemporary cultures. ANCIENT MARKS will be published this year and will tour Museums in Canada, USA and Europe.

From 1980 to 1985, Rainier was photographic and environmental assistant to the noted landscape photographer Ansel Adams.

Rainier continues to lecture and teach seminars on the use of photography as a social tool both Internationally and in North America. He lives among the mountains and streams of Aspen,
Colorado, and in Washington DC.