Celebrating a decades-long career in country music
Actor Jeff Bridges is an accomplished photographer. He started using a camera in high school, and began taking pictures seriously on the set of 'Starman' in 1984. He's pictured in 2004 at the launch of his book of photographs entitled 'Pictures.'
Long before he became one of the greatest filmmakers in cinematic history, Stanley Kubrick earned a living as a photographer with Look magazine in the late 1940s. He's seen here in 1949, aged 21.
One of the most in-demand supermodels of the 1990s, Helena Christensen co-founded Nylon magazine in 1999, in which much of her photographic work is published. Still modeling, she also photographs for Marie Claire and ELLE. One of her most noted photographic assignments was documenting the threat of climate change on people living in Peru. She's pictured here at the 2009 London exhibition of the trip to South America.
Musician and singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz has collaborated with Leica cameras on a range of photographic projects, including "The Correspondent" in 2015, and 2019's "Drifter" (pictured).
Actor Viggo Mortensen established the Perceval Press publishing house in 2002 to help promote artists' work. But it also serves as a platform for his own non-acting pursuits, which includes photography. His book 'Coincidence of Memory,' a collection of photos, paintings, and poetry from 1978-2002, was well received.
Singer-songwriter and musician Bryan Adams enjoys a highly successful parallel career as a photographer. He's been published widely and has exhibited his work around the world. Adams supports the "Hear the World" initiative as a photographer in its aim to raise global awareness for the topic of hearing and hearing loss.
Iconic German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was the creative director of Chanel for 36 years. He was also a prolific artist and photographer. His black and white celebrity portraits became his trademark as much as his signature white hair, black sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and high, starched, detachable collars.
British singer-songwriter Seal is seen here taking a photo during the 16th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party. The musician is a Leica camera ambassador and frequently appears at Leica functions across the world.
Forever recognized (minus pointy ears) as Spock from 'Star Trek,' Leonard Nimoy was a lifelong photographer, and studied the subject at the University of California in Los Angeles. He's pictured presenting his photography exhibition and his book 'Shekhina' at the Skirball Cultural Center in 2002.
Actor Mathew Modine documented his experiences on the set of Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' using a Rolleiflex camera. By the end of filming, he had taken hundreds of photographs capturing real-life drama on set, many of which were reproduced in the photo book 'Full Metal Jacket Diary.'
Country music star Kenny Rogers was passionate about photography and authored the photo books 'Kenny Rogers' America' (1986) and 'Your Friends and Mine' (1987).
Actor and filmmaker Dennis Hopper began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s. He was also a skilled painter and sculptor. His book 'Dennis Hopper: Photographs 1961–1967' remains a remarkable history of art, artist, places, and events of that time.
Few are aware that Italian film actress and one-time international beauty symbol Gina Lollobrigida is also a noted photojournalist, a profession she took up as her movie career slowed. In the 1970s, she achieved a worldwide scoop by gaining access to Fidel Castro for an exclusive interview.
Michael Stipe, former lead vocalist of the band R.E.M., takes a photograph as he attends a presentation of his 2019 photo book 'Our Interference Times: A Visual Record.' After R.E.M. disbanded, Stipe settled into life as a visual artist.
When he's not working in film, actor Michael Madsen picks up a stills camera and travels. His first photographic book, 'Signs of Life,' published in 2006, features full-color photographs of unusual signs from hotels, diners, lounges, small businesses, and more, and is also scattered with Madsen's free-verse poetry.
Best known as the guitarist for the rock band Police, Andy Summers has also achieved considerable fame as a photographer, a discipline he's practiced since the late 1970s. He's seen here mingling with unsuspecting members of the public as he photographs a concert in 1982.
Former Talking Heads front man David Byrne has had a keen interest in photography since college. Besides music, the singer-songwriter is also a noted visual artist.
Influential musician and singer-songwriter Lou Reed is best remembered for his work with the Velvet Underground and his collaborations with David Bowie and John Cale. Beyond music, Reed was a highly regarded artist, poet, and photographer. 'Romanticism,' his third book of photographs published in 2009, and which showcase a series of landscapes, was especially well received.
Graham Nash was a photographer before he was a musician. A member of the Hollies and later Crosby, Stills and Nash, the singer-songwriter exhibited his Graham Nash Collection of images in more than a dozen museums worldwide.
With a string of acting awards under her belt, Jessica Lange is also an acclaimed photographer. She has four published works to date, and was presented with the first George Eastman Museum Honors Award in 2009.
Norman Reedus ('The Walking Dead') takes his photography very seriously. He's seen taking a selfie at his 2016 exhibition to publicize his photo book, 'The Sun's Coming Up... Like a Big Bald Head,' at Galerie Hors Champs in Paris, France.
"Punk poet laureate" Patti Smith has been an influential presence in music and art since the late 1970s. Photography is a natural extension of her visual art. Her exhibition "Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith," a 300-work retrospective, was organized by The Andy Warhol Museum in 2002 and traveled to numerous venues worldwide.
Not someone you'd immediately associate with photography, musician and activist Henry Rollins surprised everyone with his 2011 book 'Occupants,' the result of a 25-year project that saw him travel to some of the the most desolate and inhospitable corners of the Earth and photographing the communities he stumbled across.
American actress, photographer, and one-time girlfriend of Prince Andrew, Koo Stark is credited as one of the first people to turn the tables on the pursuing paparazzi by taking photos of them. Pictured here in 1984, she is a patron of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, the museum of the pioneering Victorian-era photographer.
When not in front of the cameras, actor Gary Oldman involves himself in writing, music, and photography. He's pictured attending a 2011 exhibition of his work and that of Jack English taken on the set of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.'
Throughout his life, the 'Planet of the Apes' actor was renowned for his candid documentation of his celebrity friends at work, rest, and play. Much of this was made using cine or video cameras (pictured), but McDowell was also a noted stills photographer. His commissions included assignments for Vogue and Life magazines.
The son of actor James Caan, 'Hawaii Five-O' star Scott Caan is handy with a camera. He's seen here photographing actress and model Mena Suvari during the 2006 Diesel Portrait Studio session in Toronto, Canada.
See also: 30 photography tips for beginners
It may come as a surprise to many, but some of the best-known celebrities from the worlds of film, music, and fashion are also great photographers. In fact, a few enjoy highly successful second careers behind the lens, photographing anything from portraits to landscapes. So, who's the focus of all this attention?
Click through the following gallery and put yourself in the picture with this portfolio of celebrities who are handy with a camera.
An avid photographer, the actor is known for his series of intimate portraits of Angelina Jolie shot for W magazine when the pair were married to each other.
Co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the band Mötley Crüe, Nikki Sixx is another fan of the Leica camera. Photography is his secret obsession: his first photo book, 'This is Gonna Hurt: Photography and Life Through the Distorted Lens of Nikki Sixx,' was published in 2011.
Celebrities who are also great photographers
In honor of #NationalCameraDay
CELEBRITY #nationalcameraday
It may come as a surprise to many, but some of the best-known celebrities from the worlds of film, music, and fashion are also great photographers. In fact, a few enjoy highly successful second careers behind the lens, photographing anything from portraits to landscapes. So, who's the focus of all this attention?
Click through the following gallery and put yourself in the picture with this portfolio of celebrities who are handy with a camera.