Christian Gerard’s early childhood was spent in the opera houses of Europe. His mother, American soprano Carol Todd, was a leading opera star. In 1977, when Christian was eight, the family returned to the States minus Christian's father, French actor/model/photograher/rogue Phlippe Gerard. Christian’s next few years were spent among San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. New York City in 1978 was a tough place to raise a child. 

With crime out of control and city still gripped in fear from the Son of Sam killings, it was decided that Christian should go to school in a safer place. He found himself in the middle of New Mexico, speaking broken English and meeting cousins with 10-gallon hats (the amazing Sundt family). Christian spent the ’78-’79 school year in New Mexico, a place far removed from the lush Bavarian forests of his younger childhood.

It was in New Mexico that the desert caught his imagination; it would later serve as his palette. By the fall of ’79, Carol Todd moved to Los Angeles and Christian joined her.

It was in the fall of 1980 that Christian had a life-changing moment as he sat through the film “Lawrence of Arabia.”  It mesmerized him. The cinematography moved him and continues to influence him to this day. It wasn’t until he visited his father in Seattle, in the summer of ’85, that divine intervention was born of restlessness.

While spending most of his time bored out of his mind in a city he barely knew, he wandered the streets using his father’s Pentax camera, and shot a dozen rolls of film. It wasn’t until school started again that he finally got around to developing the film from Seattle. That’s when he discovered his passion: photography.

After high school, he continued under the tutelage of his high school photography teacher, Tim Brehm, who was running the R.O.P. (Regional Occupational Program) in Burbank, Calif.

Brehm introduced his aspiring student to the work of Ansel Adams. Christian loved the contrast and stark beauty of Adams’ photographs. Here was another influence that would shape his developing style. Brehm took his students on weekend jaunts to the California deserts; they would do their class assignments visiting Lone Pine, Death Valley and every inch of the Owens Valley.

Christian found these adventures to be an inspiring atmosphere for the development of creative ideas. The backdrop for his photography was there; he just needed to find the right subjects. Spending most of his hard earned money on gas, Christian would drive to find inspiration in the desert — much like Lawrence.

During ’88-’91 Christian worked as a professional photographer shooting weddings, family portraitures and anything else that would enable him to finance his fine art portfolio. In the winter of ’92 he got the opportunity to do some advanced training at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. Digital photography was in its infancy at that point. Wanting to be ahead of the curve, Christian sunk his teeth into this emerging technology.

As much as he loved the idea of being rid of chemicals for the developing process, he was reluctant to leave film behind when it came to shooting. Meanwhile, Christian also had developed skills in graphic design and motion graphics. With the explosion of desktop publishing, he found himself getting more work as a motion graphic artist than as a photographer. He spent the rest of the ’90s working as an animator/graphic artist ... but never abandoned his passion for photography.

In 2000 Christian started Chroma, a company specializing in DVD menu design, which includes motion graphics and authoring. During this period he's been able to work with such artists as Marilyn Manson, The Police, Queens Of The Stone Age, Rufus Wainwright and many other talented musicians.

The 2000s was also the decade in which he finally went digital. At the behest of his colleagues, he laid down his Nikon F3, got over the fact that Polapan film no longer exists and went forward with what he loves best: the art of photography.