Background
John Dominis was born on June 27, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Photographer photojournalist war photographer
John Dominis was born on June 27, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, United States.
John Dominis studied cinematography at the University of Southern California.
In 1943 John Dominis enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war, he worked as a freelance photographer for several publications, such as Life magazine. In 1950 he went to Korea as a war photographer in the Korean War. Later he worked in Southeast Asia, in America, Africa and Europe, including President John F. Kennedy's 1963 West Berlin speech. John Dominis went to six Olympic Games. One of his best-known pictures was shot during the 1968 Summer Olympics, when he pictured Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their Black Power salute.
John Dominis worked for Life magazine during the Vietnam war and later also went to Woodstock. In the 1970s he worked for People magazine. From 1978 to 1982 he was an editor for the Sports Illustrated. He often pictured stars like Steve McQueen or Frank Sinatra, and these photo series were later published as illustrated books. Together with Giuliano Bugialli he published several books about the Italian cuisine, with Dominis being responsible for the food photography.
John Dominis died December 30, 2013, in New York City of complications from a heart attack. He was 92.