Go To Photo LA!

Tonight was the grand opening Gala for Photo L.A at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. We had the time of our life there and ran into some photo legend friends including Eckhardt Schmidt, Pulitzer Prize winner Nick Ut, Francoise & Douglas Kirkland, Jim McHugh and Jeff Dunas. Wait a sec, the Helen Levitt of Punk Rock, Jenny Lens was there in fine form, as always. We met the legendary Jock Sturges and he posed for a photo. Also spotted was Jonathan Schilder Brown from Leadapron Gallery, Damon Webster from Photo Induced and the lovely Nana from Ghana.

Photo L.A. runs though this weekend and it is a must see. Make sure you do not miss Eckhart Schmidt’s Window Girls. You can meet him there at Galerie Hoffman, booth D7! See you back there this weekend.

The Window Girls Opens!

Last night Seyhoun Gallery in West Hollywood held the opening night gala for German director Eckhart Schmidt’s “Window Girls”.

“To me, these dolls are like empty silver screens for our desires. I look at them and I see the loneliness that characterizes life in Los Angeles,” explains Eckie. “I happen to love this loneliness. It sparks creativity because the only way to meet people in Los Angeles is through work.”

Variety editor Steven Gaydos was there to speak some moving words about Eckie and this brilliant collection. Do not miss this exciting exhibition! It is on for one week only at Seyhoun Gallery located at 9007 Melrose Ave in West Hollywood.

Editors Note: Publicists in Los Angeles and New York are welcome to contact Buzz Foto to cover your event. We need provocative imagery for these pages!

No Visa Required For The Window Girls

Last night there was an ultra cool VIP reception at the German Consulate office in Los Angeles. There were no long lines of people waiting for visas, instead it was jammed with local writers, artists and directors who all came out to pay tribute to our dear friend Eckhart Schmidt and the unveiling of his Window Girls photography exhibition.

Checking out the art was directors Percy Adlon, Vincent Patterson, Achim Freyer, and Leander Hausman. Also spotted was painter Judith Liebe who has an exciting new exhibition running this summer at Gallery 17 in Venice. We were delighted to meet photographer Jordan Reznick who is working on a photo series of dead animals. Norman Klein spoke to so eloquently about Ecky’s work and Marvin Paige was reminiscing with us about some of his favorite films.

After the bash, we wined and dined at Le Petit Four and helped Robert close up as the sun came up in the early hours.

Watch for The Window Girls grand opening exhibition in Los Angeles this fall.

We Lift Our Glass To Murray Garrett!!

Are you ready for the bombshell? Paris and Nicky Hilton were in an art gallery last night! Actually a photo gallery. The Photographers Gallery on La Brea. Yes it is true and we were there first hand to witness the rare phenomenon. Incredible, but this post is not about a couple of philistines and their quest for some free PR. This is all about Murray Garrett.

Murray was one of the original press photographers working in Hollywood in the 1940’s. 50’s and 60’s. Murray ruled Hollywood with his camera and his keen eye for iconic photographs. His subjects had real talent, style and grace. Monroe, Grace Kelly, Liz Tayor, Murray knew them all and had the best possible access.

We personally did not come on the seen until the mid ’70’s so we did not have the pleasure to meet or work with Murray until last night. We chatted about some of the other photographer greats like Galella, Darlene Hamond and the charming Nate Cutler from Globe Photos. These were all brilliant and prolific photographers and were incredibly important to the press machine of Hollywood.

Now Hollywood is all corporate and ruled by sponsors and power hungry publicists. Good luck trying to get MoMa in New York to hang an event photo from our era. Will there be books and exhibitions of Lindsay, Britney, Paris and Nicole from red carpet events in a a decade or two.? No way! Just too boring and way too over produced. It is all about the elegance of paparazzi these days.

As we left the event last night, we ran into a couple of old friends on the press line. Dave Keeler who is famous for his Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra coverage of twenty years ago and Phil Roach who has been in the industry for about five decades. Phil, always the consummate gentleman, was the photographer who made the iconic first photos of Elvis with his girlfriend Liinda Thompson ( the mother of Brody Jenner ).

Dave and Phil, behind a velvet rope just isn’t fair. Would you make Matisse stand behind a velvet rope in front of his beloved Villa le Reve?

Guess we have to be fair to Paris and Niki, they actually did purchase some of Murray’s lovely Monre photographs and the Hilton’s are big fans of Murray’s. Guess this is their entry to the arts! Look forward to seeing them at LACMA soon.

Nude Girls At Hollywood Bash!!

If you were not at the “L.A. Nude 10″ party in Hollywood this evening, you really missed a cool party. Don Weinstein from A & I Photo Lab invited us to his opening night exhibition and as soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted by a couple of lovely nude models posing for fotos.

Besides the girls there was incredible photography by some of Los Angeles top photographers including Dennis Hopper, Julius Shulman and Eckhart Schmidt. Go check it out!