darlings

there’s something Rather heady and splendid and sort of *sharpintakeofbreath* about seeing a Man Ray up close or a Helmut Newton from a distance, a William Klein mirror photograph and the Irving Penn series of men-in-uniforms (no, not that sort of pictures, love – calm down – honest, working class, hono(u)rable-days-work shots) and one can see both at Paris Photo over the next few days.

apparently Ms. Opie is also showing (and speaking at one of the events) but we could not see many Lady Photographers on display – twas the canon of the greats – unless all the Ladies are doing strange abstracts (entirely possible and most rewarding we’re sure they are too) but we’re so attracted to Beauty and beautiful people that we would have Missed those Booths (sorry).

and then there were the odd shots that one had to turn one’s head up the other way and sort of squint and Try to Imagine what (on earth) the artist was thinking inspired by (always amusing to stand behind a Very Blonde and Private school educated wispy type who is Explaining the Title of the Piece at these junctures).

thanks to the lovely M we got an extra special V-I-P pass (don’t you adore a VIP pass?) and so snuck into the Preview this afternoon (on the Paramount Studios Lot, no less) before the glamorous crowds arrived avec entourage (in pork pie hats mostly, it seemed) for the evening’s festivities.

there’s something so delicious about a Back Lot and a crowd of terribly thin people in black who greet each other with lines like:

darling! I last saw you in Munich for the screening of your documentary about the red light district in Amsterdam!

we loved that moment in particular.

we didn’t even mind waiting quite a long time in the valet line/queue/gathering (we usually don’t Valet for this reason but there was no way to “self-park” on the Lot this afternoon) because there were such Glorious people arriving in baby blue thunderbirds and the last remaining muscle cars left in Los Angeles (because the rest of us are all leasing Prius types now).

and then a lovely evening driving-into-the-sunset, going West.