Pretty Shabby Chic: ‘Fashion’s Night Out’ in Beverly Hills

Okay, right up front I should say that my attending the recent Fashion’s Night Out in Beverly Hills on September 8th, 2011 was for the sole purpose of shooting some frames of fast film with some even faster Leica and Zeiss glass mounted on my M7.

But I’m a critical sort of motherfucker. So, in between trying to catch some of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my camera’s viewfinder, I did manage to cast a critical eye towards the event itself.

First, I think it’s a great idea. I’m a photographer. I love beauty and fashion. I have no connection, however, with beauty or fashion as a photographer, or in any other way except as a admiring male who doesn’t leer from behind a camera.

Much. Come on, I am perfectly capable of taking a great picture of a beautiful woman without leering. In theory.

Anyway, I didn’t attend the event in 2010 so I have no reference point to compare this year with last. But I was surprised at how little there was actually going on at this event on the very premier blvd of shopping and fashion: Rodeo of Beverly Hills.

Not to be overly critical, but I expected many small continuous fashion shows outside of some of the major trendy stores. A little more effort from the big fashion houses. An appreciable media presence. A few big names.

Pretty much nothing like that here. There was a set up for a fashion show, so maybe I was late. Got there at 8:00 and the event was scheduled till 10:00. Stores were pretty much an indoor thing, just like any other day. Except this was night.

There was a makeover area which was certainly busy. A street portrait artist working in charcoal, I believe. Food was supplied by a handful of not very interesting food trucks. People were lounging on the curb eating.

At one or two of the stores, there was an actual doorman allowing entry to only, I supposed, an invited few. Nice touch there as some pretty fancy Beverly Hills wives were turned away. Ouch. I have pictures of that. ;-)

I’m sorry. I just think that this is a great idea that should be done with a little more attention to class and detail and results. The number of people in attendance clearly demonstrated that there is an appetite for this kind of event right there on Rodeo Drive.

Come on, Beverly Hills, you can do much MUCH better than this.

That said, please enjoy the pictures.

Shooting film with the Leica M7

Shooting nothing but film now out of an M7 I picked up unused but previously owned by a collector for half what they go for new. I’m a 50mm guy. I have a Leica 50 Summicron which is a great great lens for who I am but I also just bought another 50, a Zeiss Sonnar, which is a lens design from all the way back in the 1930s. Zeiss has upgraded the housing, of course, and coatings, but it produces a classic look and that’s what this rangefinder stuff is all about. But film is film is film and nothing digital has quite the character of even drug store film.