The public goes crazy every time a well-known star makes a big blunder, finding satisfaction when that pretty face isn't so perfect after all. But when celebrities start snapping pictures, photographers take note. Look at how Brad Pitt carries that tripod! How come Seal and Cole Sprouse can get away with selfies in their portfolio and I can't? Many celebrities, in fact, enjoy a little time behind the camera instead of being the one in front of it. While for some of these celebrities, the label “photographer” is applied very loosely, some are surprisingly talented and others have given up their claim to fame to purse the art full time. Here are some celebrities that also snap photos, in no particular order.
Nikki Sixx
Photo copyright: Alec MacKellaig
Mötley Crüe's bass player is a self-proclaimed photography addict, choosing the camera as his new drug. The celebrity snaps shots as he tours, taking rather stunning black and white street style shots of the people he comes across. His camera of choice is the Leica Monochrom and Leica M. “I have an idea and it doesn’t matter to me how it resonates with people,” Sixx said in a interview with Leica (link to: http://blog.leica-camera.com/photographers/interviews/nikki-sixx-one-step-up-from-the-abyss-part-1/ ). “A lot of people say things about my photography that they said about music. There is a little smirk that happens. But I go, 'Well you were wrong once and you’ll probably be wrong again.'
Howard Stern
Photo copyright Howard Stern
Radio and TV personality Howard Stern bought a new camera two years ago—and quickly found a new passion in photography. “After spending most of my professional career on the other side of the camera,” he said, “I developed a strong appreciation of what a difficult art photography is.” With his business, Conlon Road Photography, he captures a variety of photos from family memories to art. He doesn't take a profit from his photography and instead asks happy customers to make a donation to a wildlife rescue center.
Eva Mendes
Photo copyright: nicolas genin
A self-proclaimed amateur in the photography realm, the actress from hits like Hitch and Ghost Rider enjoys a little time behind the camera as well. She has captured events like the Venice Film festival, as well as other aspects of her travel.
Candice Bergen
Photo copyright: Alan Light
Best known for her roles in Murphy Brown and Boston Legal , actress Candice Bergen was also recognized as a photojournalist in the 70s. Growing up with a celebrity parent, she fell in love with photography at a young age and later used it to fight her insecurities as a young actress. “On days off, I slipped away from the acting work I wasn't confident in to make photographs of people whose lives instead were relevant,” she wrote in an article for Click. (link to: http://click.si.edu/Story.aspx?story=756 ). Her photographs appeared in Life , Cosmopolitan, New York, Esquire, Ladies Home Journal , and Playboy ; she snapped shots of people including Richard Nixon, Jane Godall, Sonny and Cher, and Charlie Chaplin. Her first camera was a Nikon.
Brad Pitt
Photo copyright: Eva Rinaldi
The actor that requires no introduction also happens to be a photo guru. His most noted photos are of his wife, Angelina Jolie, taken for W Magazine using rare Tech Pan film. The images show an impressive understanding of light and composition.
Julian Lennon
Photo copyright: Template:PD-Art-Lauren Voiers Creator:Creative Concern
The son of John Lennon and Cynthia Powell, British musician Julian Lennon also finds creative solace in photography. His fine art images often border on the abstract and his collections also include some unusual landscape photography. "My dad wasn’t really a photographer, so it just allows me to breathe a little more," he said in an interview with Rolling Stone (link to: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/julian-lennon-on-his-new-photos-of-u2-kate-hudson-20100917 ).
http://www.julianlennon-photography.com/
Bryan Adams
Photo copyright: Derek Hatfield
The Canadian rocker behind the hit Summer of '69 also has a few photographic hits on his hands. Adams works with portraits and fashion, with work published in places like Vouge, Harper's Bazaar and Esquire.
http://bryanadamsphotography.com/
Jessica Lange
Photo copyright: Simon Chaput
The Museum of Photographic Arts described actress Jessica Lange's photography as appropriately cinematic. Lange has won awards for her acting in Blue Sky , Tootsie , A Streetcar Named Desire , and the TV series American Horror Story , since her big debut in King Kong. Her work with the camera, however, started first—her photography professor introduced her to the person that started her work with film and acting. Her images are documentary in nature and often in black and white. Despite her fame, she prefers to snap candids, unseen.
Seal
A well-known singer, Seal's photography is more behind the scenes. His images range from the artistic to the absurd to even a few selfies, but his work shows an eye for detail and composition. The soul singer and celebrity judge on The Voice works with a Leica M.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sealsong/show/
Mick Fleetwood
Tyra Banks
Photo copyright: Rita Molnár
While it's hard to find photos that Tyra Banks actually took in the sheer volume of images of her, she has been known to take pictures herself, sometimes on her show, America's Next Top Model. But, it's not too surprising that the daughter of a professional photographer and someone who is always in front of the camera knows a few things about photography and composition. Her work is mostly in portraits and fashion.
Viggo Mortensen
Photo copyright: Stefan Servos
An actor in over 30 movies, including the Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen also dabbles in a little bit of a few different art genres, including photography. His work ranges from recording behind the scenes action on the set to gallery exhibits.
https://www.facebook.com/ViggoMortensensArt
Leonard Nimoy
Photo copyright: Gage Skidmore
Best known for his role as Spock on the original Star Trek series, actor and director Leonard Nimoy picked up photography long before the digital age, developing his own photos from a 1930s bellows-style Kodak in the family's apartment bathroom as a teenager. “The camera is only a tool. I don't carry a camera,” he told Collector's World ( link to http://www.collectorsworldonline.com/interview-leonard-nimoy.html). “When I have a concept which intrigues me, I get my cameras to find a way to explore that idea visually.”
Dennis Hopper
Photo copyright: antje verena
Late actor Dennis Hopper's daughter once called his camera “an extra appendage.” His latest gallery, The Lost Album, was discovered posthumously and included historical black and white images of figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and events such as President John F. Kennedy's funeral. His first camera was a Nikon, a gift from his wife.
Jeff Bridges
While he had dabbled in photography before, actor Jeff Bridges picked up a camera again for his 1976 role in King Kong and has stuck with it ever since. He started with a Widelux camera, which lends an ultrawide perspective to his images. The six-time Academy Award nominee is best known for his role in The Big Lebowski.
Kenny Rodgers
With over 120 million albums sold worldwide, classic country artist Kenny Rodgers is also known for his work with the camera, with shots ranging from Americana to celebrity portraits. He's been an established photographer since the 80s and was even invited to take First Lady Hillary Clinton's portrait. He has several photography collections out as books, including Your Friends And Mine (1987) and a section in his memoir, Luck or Something Like It.
http://kennyrogers.biz/old_website/photography2.html
Norman Reedus
Walking Dead star Norman Reedus is expected to release a book at the end of this month containing his snapshots from the past 15 years, The Sun's Coming Up...Like A Big Bald Head. Reedus, who said he has used a variety of different cameras and formats, included images from his world travel, shots of people and a few off-the-wall compositions
http://www.bigbaldhead.com/photography/
Cole Sprouse
Child star Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) also has taken up an interest in photography, though his website hasn't been updated recently. Still, his fans go crazy over his photos. Sprouse was known for acting with his twin brother, but also performed solo in Friends as Ross' son.
http://www.colesprousephotography.com
Queen Elizabeth II
Photo copyright: Agência Brasil
While there's little info out there about Queen Elizabeth II as a photographer, she has been spotted on several occasions snapping with a Lecia. Whether or not she should be described as a photographer is up to debate, but the royal family does have a tradition of photography. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was said to have added a darkroom inside Windsor Castle.
James Dean
An American icon that needs no introduction, many of the actor's popular portraits have him with a camera in hand. Images where Dean is behind the camera, however, are hard to come by. Photography however, was a hobby of the late actor, and he picked up tips from Roy Schatt.
Graham Nash
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Graham Nash (The Hollies, Crosby) developed a passion for photography when he took a photo of his mother at age 11. "That was the moment when I knew that I saw differently,” he told Rolling Stone (link to http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/graham-nashs-photographs-20130411). “This wasn't just a snapshot of my mother – I captured a person far away in thought. I've wanted to capture people ever since." His work has been featured in several gallery exhibitions.
Antonio Banderas
Photo copyright: che
The actor and director describes himself as a “casual photographer” but he's had a few exhibitions in Spain. He took photos for several years before the first ones went public in 2010, however. His latest collection is Women in Gold. (Link to http://www.womeningold.com/es ) The profit from his artwork is donated to charity.
Helena Christensen
Danish supermodel Helena Christensen has been finding herself behind the camera lately. The 44-year-old and former Victoria's Secret angel was recently rumored to be switching careers and focusing on photography.
Scott Caan
Hawaii 5-0 actor Scott Caan started learning about cameras and lenses in preparation for a movie, when, for a birthday gift, his father gave him a 1970s Nikon PE. His dad continued to give him a camera every year on his birthday. Cann's work includes international street photography, Polaroids and more.
David Beckham
Photo copyright: Calebrw
Soccer star David Beckham is a hobbyist photographer, recently studying the art and picking equipment nicer than most professionals. After he came out of the photography “closet” a year ago, however, his images aren't easy to find.
Dean O'Gorman
Dean O'Gorman is a celebrity that seems to be just as much a photographer as he is an actor. Known for playing Fili in The Hobbit, he is also a reputable portrait photographer. He also has work on exhibition.
Patrick Adams
One of the stars of the USA Network show, Suits, Patrick Adams owns over 60 cameras. But, that doesn't make him a photographer, his unique work, however, does. His shots range from landscape and travel to the uniquely artistic.
Roddy McDowell
Roddy McDowell, an actor in over 140 films including Planet of the Apes, was also noted for his photography until his death in 1998. He was the official photographer in several TV shows and motion pictures; he also wrote several books, put on three exhibitions and contributed to magazines like Life and McCall's.
http://www.roddymcdowall.info/Photo.htm
Randy Johnson
Photo copyright: 1ST
Major League pitcher Randy Johnson got his start in baseball while studying photojournalism in college. After he retired, he focused on his photography and is now a reputable concert photographer. He donates some of his profits to charity.
Drew Carey
Actor, comedian and game show host Drew Carey combined his passion for photography and soccer, working the sidelines in several games, including the 2006 World Cup in Germany. His lesser-known work was recorded in a Travel Channel series, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.
Larry Fitzgerald Jr.
Arizona Cardinal's wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is a travel photographer in the offseason. The son of a sports journalist and a disease intervention specialist, he travels to both help sick kids and to take pictures. He uses a Canon G12 and a 5D-Mark 3. “I take a lot of pride in what I do for a living, but it's a big world and there are a lot of great things you can be involved in,” he told Sports Illustrated.
Kevyn Major Howard
Known for his role in Full Metal Jacket, Kevyn Major Howard is a headshot photographer for the Discovery Channel and a prominent Los Angeles photographer. His headshots emphasize his subject's eyes.
Christie Brinkley
Boxing, baseball and racing may not seem like it goes with the feminine model Christie Brinkley, who was the face of Covergirl for five years, but she has photographed all of them. She was a photographer for Don King and took images for a series of baseball cards. Her work has appeared in American Photographer and Photo as well as several other publications.
Jason Mraz
Singer Jason Mraz is known for his music, but as he performs, he travels with a vintage Polaroid camera. In 2008, he released a book of his photography, A Thousand Things.
Don Borrows
An Australian jazz musician, Don Borrows' interest in photography began at age 11 with his first camera, a Kodak Box Brownie. The sale of a portion of his images goes towards a fund to assist young aboriginals interested in pursuing music as a career. “With my eyes I'm always searching for things of interest, that may make a nice picture. Same as I hear sounds without even trying, I'm sort of on duty all the time,” he said in a radio interview with Peter Thompson (link to http://www.abc.net.au/tv/talkingheads/txt/s2383877.htm ).
Andy Summers
For English instrumentalist Andy Summers, photography is the visual component to the music that's in his head 24/7. He's been known as a photographer since 1979, with published books, exhibitions and presentations.
Lou Reed
Photo copyright: dannynorton
American music legend Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground) is also an avid photographer. The star, now in his 70s, has published several photography collections in book form.
Brett Ratnew
After taking a photo of Helmut Newton the night before his death that was picked up by Vanity Fair, Brett Ratner started to seriously consider the label photographer. The producer of the TV series Prison Break as well as major motion pictures like 21, he's snapped portraits of Al Pacino, Mariah Carey, Kirk Douglas and Edward Norton, to name a few.
Lenny Kravitz
While his photography isn't well known, rock star Lenny Kravitz has been known to snap photos, particularly of other celebrities. His work was once featured in a Russian issue of Vogue.
Moby
An American singer and songwriter, Moby is also known as a photographer. His work is mostly landscapes and travel.
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