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Announcing my NFT genesis collection on @withfoundation This collection is titled GODS OF TECH AND INTERNET PIONEERS. Two assignments done for Vanity Fair magazine (‘00 & ‘08), this collection highlights some extraordinary individuals who’s work and legacies will have an eternal impact on how we live or life’s. View the collection here: foundation.app/collection/gotit or see link in bio. Each collector will receive an archival print. Big shot out goes to my friend @trevortraynor for his patient help and consultation on this major collection. A percentage of the proceeds will go to an LA based organization which receives victims of domestic abuse, family violence as well as homeless women and children: www.losangeleshouseofruth.com. Thank you for your interest as always. @withfoundation #godsoftechnology #internetpioneers @vanityfair #nft #nftcollector @davekebo #largeformatphotography #portraitphotography #legends #celebrity @kodak #elonmusk @mayemusk #christianwitkin (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CivY7VTvKdn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

In preparing for my first short film, art direction/scenic/prop- master are just some of my responsibilities. More to come! #shortfilm #losangeles #passion #independentfilm #christianwitkin (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChySeSlLMiK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

In celebration of WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY I’m posting one of my favorite images from the archive, (first image that came to mind). Photography is a medium we can’t do without. It is everywhere and we communicate our feelings and objectives through images the world over. Pictured here: “Homeless Male Playing Harmonica, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 1992”. From the series “New York City Street Portraits”. As with so many of my street portraits, I frequently wonder how there lives turned out. 🙏🏼. #worldphotographyday #brooklyn #streetphotography #homeless #nyc #people #mamiyarz67 #kodaktmy400 #daylightphotography #christianwitkin (at Hollywood) https://www.instagram.com/p/Chc-hQavta0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Camping in the Sierra’s (Convict Lake, June Lake and Mono Lake) with my fav person in the world, my daughter India! 3 days was short but we did a lot, including lake swimming and paddle boarding, rock diving, geothermal pool chillin’, hiking, photography and at the end of day rosé from the box 😂 I love living in California! What a treasure 🙌🏽❤️#inyonationalforest #sierra #williesgeothermalpool #monolake #convictlake #junelake #rosé #daughterdaddylove #christianwitkin (at Hollywood Hills) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgnOu8WPH3U/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Happy 55th Birthday to funnybone Will Ferrell! My photograph of Will for the GAP in 2001 was inspired by Irving Penn’s image of Mikhail Baryshnikov in Kafka’s Metamorphosis shot in 1989. Actor, comedian and producer, Ferrell made some memorably funny movies. My favs: Talledega Nights, Stepbrothers, Roxbury and Ofcourse Zoolander. His 7 years at SNL (George Bush!) were classic. Homeboy is from around here in suburban Irvine, CA. Pay your respects on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!💥🙏🏼 #willferrell #snl #talladeganights #stepbrothers #zoolander #hollywoodwalkoffame #largeformatphotography #kodakportra400 #sinar4x5 #christianwitkin #hollywood #actor #fratpack (at Hollywood Hills) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgFfZ1bPkOm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Over the weekend we lost Tony Sirico, known as the gangster Pauline Walnuts on HBO’s The Sopranos. I’m gonna quote a funny section from the NYTIMES’s obituary: “Pauline wore track suits, slept with hookers, was phobic about germs and watched TV in a chair covered in plastic. His hair had two silver ‘wings’ on each side and he blow-dried and sprayed it himself.” I took this portrait for TV Guide in 2003 at Silver Cup studios in LIC. He’s 2nd from right in case you never watched this amazing show! #thesopranos #hbo #tonysirico #gangsterlife #silvercupstudios #tvguide @thesopranosfamily #largeformatphotography #kodak400nc #linhofftechnika #christianwitkin #newyorktimes (at Hollywood) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf4tj3xvGen/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Happy (belated) Birthday to Anjelica Huston! (July 8) In this portrait, taken for the GAP in 2001, Anjelica sits with former husband/sculptor Robert Graham. I remember her smiling kindness and patience. So elegant! Best known as an actor in Prizzi’s Honor (Oscar, best supporting actress), The Grifters, The Addams Family and The Royal Tenenbaums. In her modeling days she cut a gorgeous, dark silhouette and was one of Halston’s Halstonettes. @anjelicahustonarchives #anjelicahuston #robertgraham #gap #celebrity #legend #largeformatphotography #celebrityportrait #oscar #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf2OuKPvrYz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Happy Birthday 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson). Born July 6, 1975 in Queens NY, 50 has become one of the heavy hitters of hip hop. His debut album “Get Rich or Die Trying” is a classic. I photographed him here for Vibe in 2003, just after the album’s release. I’ll never forget how he shot down my suggestion of getting into a pair of leotards…”Nahhh man, that’s too fruitie”💥 #50cent #curtisjackson @50cent #hiphop #rapper #getrichordietrying #portrait #vibemagazine #christianwitkin (at Hollywood Hills) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfsEXguvBOj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Listening while working, Beach House is one of my fav bands to get a beautiful day started. Photographed in my Union Square studio for Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. @beaccchhoussse @rollingstone #harmonious #melodic #chill #largeformatphotography #kodaktrix320 #linhofftechnika #daylight #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfXABrhPQeq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Ray Liotta (1954-2022). RIP. I took this portrait of Ray in Los Angeles for the GAP in 2001. He was quiet and intense. No helpers, no managers, no bullshit. He had a bruise/cut on his right cheekbone. He said he walked into a light stand on a movie set… Anycase, he will always be one of my fav bad guys portraying the gangster Henry Hill in Scorsese’s “Goodfellas”(1990). The director Howard Deutch told the NYT “He’s very powerful his stillness. You have this sense that he’s combustible”. 🙏🏼 #icon #rayliotta @rayliotta #martinscorsese @martinscorsese_ #goodfellas #gap @gap #sinar #4x5photography #kodaktrix320 #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeCJn37PRTG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Happy Birthday Trent Reznor. Photographed him in New Orleans back in 1996. Brilliant musician. Great collaborator. Kind soul. Styled by Jennifer Elster. Shot at his home in his garden. All daylight on #kodaktrix320 #4x5 #sinar #christianwitkin #trentreznor #musician #neworleans (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdt_zQ7p5Jm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Last night’s full lunar eclipse, AKA Blood Moon. This was shot around 9:49pm PST, about 1 minute before the fully shaded moon got exposed to the sun’s rays. Shot high up in Beachwood Canyon May 15 ’22. #fulllunareclipse2022 #bloodmooneclipse #beachwoodcanyon #heavenlybodies #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdowK9qPXpg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

My mom, Kieny, in the South of France circa 1964. She passed in 2013. She was tough, sometimes cold and prone to depressive moods. My relationship with her improved when I left for the US. The love I missed growing up made me who I am today. I’m forever working on a little deficit here and there. But she taught me independence and to be a go getter. I don’t take shit for granted. Slaap lekker, lieve Kien 🙏🏼❤️ #mothersday #kienypompen #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdT2i-Fvjje/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Christopher Hitchens(13 April 1949-15 December 2011). I had the pleasure of photographing him on 5 or 6 occasions. All for Vanity Fair. Controversial and extraordinarily charming, Christopher was a prolific British-American author, political journalist and literary critic. ‘Hitch’ is recognized as a public intellectual and was a staple of talk shows and the lecture circuits. He was a columnist and literary critic for media outlets such as Vanity Fair, The Atlantic and The Nation among others. It’s been 10 years since his death. He died of esophageal cancer at 62. “In whatever kind of ‘race’ life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist”, Christopher wrote in Vanity Fair. I was honored to have some of my portraits grace the covers of two books he wrote: The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001) and Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001). The attached image is from our first session in Washington DC in 2001. He is missed. @vanityfair @vfphoto @susanwhiteprojects @davidmfriend1 #craydoncarter #carolblue #christopherhitchens #author #literarycriticism #daylightphotography #4x5photography #largeformatportraits #polaroidtype55 #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcSIbrPrFVd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cwitkin]

Sad to hear the news about Bruce Willis stepping away from acting yesterday. As some of you know he was recently diagnosed with Aphasia, a neurological disease that disrupts the ability to speak, read and write. Thoughts are with him and his family. In 2009 I photographed Bruce for Sobieski Vodka. He was cooler then a cucumber and took direction very well. We had a good time. Especially at the end when we started shooting ice cold shots! My fav Bruce performance has got to be as the boxer Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction (“Zed’s dead, baby” and “Honey Pie”)! @dobledebruce @emmahemingwillis @demimoore #pulpfiction #diehard #actorlife #aphasia #mamiyarz67 #kodaktrix #daylight #christianwitkin (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbycXDyJr7f/?utm_medium=tumblr

[cwitkin]

New work: “Woman Before A Mirror, Olivia, Los Angeles, 2021”. In the next few posts I’ll be sharing some imagery from an exciting new project. It centers on looking at ourselves in an alternative way and bypassing the traditional photographic document. The distortions are achieved in camera and is a concentrated collaboration between my subject and myself. @oliviamaeinla @nikonusa @zeisscameralenses #womanbeforeamirror #photography #abstractart #beachwooddaylightstudio #christianwitkin (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbsq-SZP_6o/?utm_medium=tumblr

[cwitkin]

On Wednesday, 3/23 former Clinton Administration AND the first female Secretary of State Madeleine Albright passed,(1937-2022). Vanity Fair magazine assigned me to photograph Secretary Albright in summer of 2003 in Washington DC. I was struck how smiley and kind she was. She was attentive, collaborative and patient. I photographed her in her office, and she was ready for her close-up! She was known by world leaders everywhere to be highly knowledgeable, informed and indefatigable. She also spoke 7 languages, including Czech, French, German, Russian and Polish. The list of firsts of her career are pretty striking. And not without its controversies. In 2012 she was awarded the Presidential Award of Freedom by President Obama. #madeleinealbright @vanityfair #clintonadministration #secretaryofstatemadeleinealbright #madamesecretary #politicians #daylightphotography #linhofftechnika #largeformatphotography #washingtondc #christianwitkin (at Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbf4TrqvDvV/?utm_medium=tumblr