Chris Rainier is considered one of the leading documentary photographers working today. His life mission is to document the disappearing cultures and tribes remaining on the planet. His photographs have appeared in: Life, Time, National Geographic Publications, Smithsonian, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, The New Yorker, German, French, and Russian GEO magazines, Men's Journal, The New York Times, and the publications of the United Nations, the International Red Cross, and Amnesty International.
Chris's pictures are in numerous permanent collections around the world including: The International Center of Photography in New York, The George Eastman International House in Rochester, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., The Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, The Center of Creative Photography in Arizona, The Australian National Museum in Sydney, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and The National Geographic Society in Washington D.C.
He has published two photographic books: Keepers of The Spirit and Where Masks Still Dance: New Guinea. He is presently working on a third book, documenting traditional tribal tattooing around the planet. Chris is director of an international cultural website called Cultures on the Edge featured as a part of the National Geographic Society's Cultures Initiative. Chris is co-director of the team producing the Cultures Program at National Geographic. He is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler, specializing in indigenous cultures. From 1980 to 1985, Chris was a photographic assistant to the late Ansel Adams.
