Christopher Riesenweber

Christopher passed away on July 18^th on 2019, he was joking, smiling, and laughing until the day he died. He was surrounded by family and friends and felt loved and content.

Christopher was born in Phoenix, Arizona on March 2^nd, 1950 to Carl and Margaret Riesenweber. His family moved to Kennewick, Washington when he was a child and he spent his childhood there through junior college. He graduated with a degree in anthropology from Central Washington University, but his true love was always photography.

He was a primary photographer for class year books both in high school and college. He began his career working for Battelle Northwest as a commercial photographer.  His real gift and passion was photographing people. He worked, and eventually managed, a Yen Lui portrait studio in the Seattle area. During that time, an executive of a large photography lab told him he was a “diamond in the rough” and encouraged him to open his own studio. He then started Christopher of Kirkland Photography, and was in business for 35 years.

He won numerous awards locally and nationally and was recognized as one of the top portrait photographers in the Northwest. A wall-sized portrait of Christopher’s was displayed at Epcot Center. His legacy is the relationships he made with his customers, family, and friends and the phenomenal portraits he took of them. He had a knack for capturing the unique and beautiful essence of a person, to be remembered forever. He photographed several generations for many of his clients, often starting with weddings, followed by baby portraits, then graduation portraits, then their children’s weddings.

Christopher was the official Seafair Pirates photographer and an honorary pirate. He loved riding on the duck at events. He also did the first firefighters’ calendar for the burn victims’ charity.

Christopher met his wife Gretchen while photographing her and her daughter on Valentine’s Day in 1983. He is survived by Gretchen; his daughter, Kirsten; his son, Alex; as well as his siblings brother Steve and wife, Winette; sister Margit and husband Perry Bushnell; and brother Carl and wife, Patricia; and their many children and grandchildren.

Christopher kept his big Heart, great sense of humor, and smile to the end.  He was a loved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend.  He will be sorely missed, but his memory and portraits will live on.