Noted photographer Michael J. Christopher transitioned on Feb. 22, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Known as a talented photojournalist, Michael provided photography and videography services for celebrities such as Stevie Wonder and Five Star.
A native of Louisiana, Michael was born July 25, 1955, in Baton Rouge. He began his studies in photography at Los Angeles City College and Otis Persons Institute in 1985. He has been featured in numerous publications including National Geographic and Shutterbug Photography., He is also one of the pioneers of music videos and produced one of the first music videos for Nina Simone in 1982.
Travelling across the globe afforded Michael the opportunity to photograph exotic scenes and record history in destinations such as Belize, Panama, Guatemala, Senegal, Germany, Tahiti, New Zealand, China, Turkey, and many others. During a trip to Haiti after the massive earthquake in 2010, Michael was led to create the Michael J Christopher Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 organization.
He began helping the displaced children, teaching them multimedia production and photography as well as providing support and comfort where possible. After producing educational films such as “The Biography of Haiti” and “Black Roots in Mexico,” the caring philanthropist made it the organization’s mission to reach as many orphaned children across the world as possible to provide a better future through education.
The foundation has since partnered with many organizations in Port Au Prince, Haiti, Cairo Egypt, Australia, and Madagascar offering educational workshops to young people and the underprivileged. Michael has done so much for so many and continued working on his Foundation while hospitalized.
Michael is survived by his son, Dominic Christopher, New York and two grandchildren and a host of friends.