A “celebrity photographer who also photographs celebrities”, Russel Wong is one of the most profiled photographers in Singapore and Asia. He enjoys the acclaim of being the first Singaporean to break into the notoriously difficult Hollywood movie industry, and is also among the elite photographers commissioned to photograph covers for Time magazine.
From his beginnings in sports photography covering world record miler Sebastian Coe, Russel went on to carry out coveted photographic work for Nike, capturing luminaries including Carl Lewis, Mary Decker and John McEnroe. A Fine Arts degree in Photography from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles followed, and it was then that Russel began to establish a name for himself in international fashion photography, working for the world-renown Elite Modeling Agency.
His celebrity fashion spreads for the Los Angeles Times opened the door to working with top celebrities like Joan Chen, Isabella Rossellini, Oliver Stone, Paloma Picasso, Michael Jackson, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Glenn Close, David Lynch, Bruce Willis, and Jackie Chan. In developing a signature style amidst this highly competitive culture of fashion photography, Russel strove to distinguish his work by re-defining and re-styling the images of these glamorous figures with greater depth, texture and imagination. Supermodels, designers and musicians soon populated his portfolio – Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Amber Valetta, Kenzo, Anna Sui, Yo Yo Ma, and Luciano Pavarotti.
The establishment of his photographic studio in Singapore in 1989 brought in accounts with Raffles Hotel, Singapore Airlines, Cartier, American Express, Nike, British Airways, Sony, Visa, Compaq, Four Seasons Hotel, Nokia, The Ritz Carlton Hotel, the Development Bank of Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore Telecoms and Apple. Meanwhile, the success of his commercial work also began to draw the attention of leading publications, which all sought Russel’s work to grace their covers. These include the debut cover of Vogue Singapore, and international covers for Time, Fortune, Elle, GQ, Marie Claire, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
The allure and acclaim of Russel’s work draws from his ability to infuse his commercial accounts with creative elements, combined with a sensitive, thoughtful take on his subjects. This is clearly in the vein of the photographers he admires and appreciates – Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts. Such balance and versatility may be seen in Russel’s work photographing stories and fashion spreads for movie sets, such as Oliver Stone’s Heaven and Earth, and publicity shoots for Lee Ang’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou’s Hero and House of Flying Daggers, as well as portraits of Asian movie starts like Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fatt, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi.
Russel’s latest work in filmmaking has also been an impactful one, having recently attended the prestigious New York University Film Program, and with plans underway for directing his first feature film. To date, he has directed numerous award-winning commercials, from a Breast Cancer spot that earned him a CLIO award – the advertising industry’s Oscar equivalent – to commercials for Discovery Channel featuring Joan Chen, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung. Also referred to as “The Richard Avedon of Asia” by many, he was recently commissioned to photograph a set of portraits for the Prime Minister of Singapore.
Today, Russel’s photography continues to make its mark both regionally and internationally. In its millennium issue, a top regional magazine voted Russel as one of the Asians to look out for in the next millennium. He is the first Singaporean photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum (Russel Wong: 1980 – 2005), and also the first and only photographer to be invited for the art residency at the renowned Singapore Tyler Print Institute. In addition, his art works can be found in public and private collections, with his “Bamboo Forest” print going for a record US$40,000 at a recent Christies auction in Hong Kong.
Russel is one of the extraordinary guests featured on The One Way Ticket Show.
In the podcast, Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they'd go if given a one way ticket, no coming back! Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.
Several of Steven's guests have included: Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; CNN's Richard Quest & Bill Weir; Journalist-Humorist-Actor Mo Rocca (of CBS Sunday Morning & The Cooking Channel's "My Grandmother's Ravioli" fame); Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.; as well as leading photographers, artists, writers and more.
Prince Dimitrije "Dimitri" Karađorđević was born on 18 June 1958 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Also known as Dimitri Karageorgevich, or Dimitri Karađorđević, he is the Founder, President and Creative Director of the jewelry firm bearing his name, "Prince Dimitri Company".
Prince Dimitri was raised in Versailles, and attended boarding schools in France and Switzerland, before graduating from the University of Paris with a degree in Business Law. He then moved to New York City in 1983.
Originally pursuing a career on Wall Street, he decided to move into the field of jewelry. He was offered a position in Sotheby's jewelry department, eventually rising to Senior Vice President. During his 15 years at Sotheby's, he also became an appraiser and studied gemology.
In 1999, Prince Dimitri began designing jewelry, with a collection of gemstone cufflinks that was sold at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. He also designed a line of women's jewelry for Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus. In 2002, he moved to the Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg auction house to head their jewelry department. In 2007, he and business partner Todd Morley founded the Prince Dimitri Company. His jewelry has also been sold at auction by Christie's.
Prince Dimitri was named to the International Best Dressed List's Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1958, with his brother, Prince Michael of Yugoslavia, they became the first set of twins born to Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and his first wife, Princess Maria Pia of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Umberto II of Italy. Alexander and Maria Pia had a second set of twins, Prince Sergius and Princess Helene of Yugoslavia in 1963. Prince Dimitri has a younger half-brother, Prince Dushan of Yugoslavia, from his father's second marriage to Princess Barbara of Liechtenstein.
Prince Dimitri belongs to the cadet branch of the Royal House of Yugoslavia, descending from Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia. He is a third cousin of Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.
His maternal grandmother was Princess Marie José of Belgium, whose father was Albert I, King of the Belgians. His paternal grandmother was Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark (sister of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent). His paternal great-grandfather was Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, an avid oil painter and son of George I (1845–1913), King of the Hellenes. His paternal great-great grandfather was the Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia, patron of the avant-garde, who spurred the creation of the Ballets Russes. From here, Prince Dimitri’s lineage of creativity can be followed, as can his curiosity and love for fine gems and jewelry. It was his paternal grandmother who related first-hand the magnificence of the jewelry collection of her mother and grandmothers. His great-grandmother Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia had inherited all of the diamonds belonging to her mother, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, a collection renowned the world over for its lavish, exquisite breadth.
Prince Dimitri is also a first cousin of Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, the son and heir of the pretender to the throne of Italy, and also first cousin of the actress Catherine Oxenberg. Through Prince Dimitri's parents he is related to every royal family in Europe, making him over 1000th in the line of succession to the British throne.
Prince Dimitri is one of the extraordinary guests featured on The One Way Ticket Show.
In the podcast, Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they'd go if given a one way ticket, no coming back! Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.
Several of Steven's guests have included: Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; CNN's Richard Quest & Bill Weir; Journalist-Humorist-Actor Mo Rocca (of CBS Sunday Morning & The Cooking Channel's "My Grandmother's Ravioli" fame); Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.; as well as leading photographers, artists, writers and more.