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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NO PHOTOS!

NOTED PHOTOGRAPHER BRAD ELTERMAN TO DESIGN AND DEBUT HIS “PAPARAZZI CHIC” LINE OF HIGH-END T-SHIRTS

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – August 24, 2005 – Noted photographer, author and digital image pioneer Brad Elterman (http://www.bradelterman.com) will enter the world of apparel this fall by creating and designing his own line of custom T-shirts under the brand name “Paparazzi Chic.” The first examples will be unveiled at the upcoming MAGIC Marketplace fashion trade show in Las Vegas, taking place from Aug. 29 through Sept. 1. Additional information and a preview of sample designs may be found at http://www.paparazzichic.com. “Paparazzi Chic” is a division of Streets Ahead, Inc., a twenty-four-year-old clothing company based in Vernon, California.

Sherman Oaks, California-born Elterman has chronicled and documented celebrity culture, fashion and music and film figures since 1974. His new collection of 100 per cent cotton “Paparazzi Chic” high end T-shirts will integrate his own powerful text captions into the individual slogans, commenting on today’s insane paparazzi celebrity world. “I wanted to do something creative and I’ve always been interested in the apparel business,” Elterman mentions. “I toyed with going back to the photo business, but it’s been diluted by so many unprofessional people.”

David Sack, a decades-long close friend of Elterman and owner of Streets Ahead, Inc., will join him to produce and market the new “Paparazzi Chic” line. “We always wanted to work together on a T-shirt company,” Sack explains, “combining our design, P.R. and marketing talents. Celebrities, style and cool fashion are all happening now in Los Angeles, right here in our backyard.”

“The paparazzi name is a very sexy thing now,” says Elterman. “It’s an eye-catcher. I was partially associated with paparazzi, but it was rare, because I was involved during a period when we were all invited to take photos of celebrities and stars, usually in cooperation with their own PR people and nearly always at staged and invited public events.”

Brad Elterman also has some insightful views of today’s red carpet culture and the frenzy and hysteria that has developed and engulfed today’s media; views specific to stars on parade, what’s fair and honest reporting, and proper procedure. “The red carpet has become the event. There never used to be a lot of ‘glam squads’ and stylists. The events and premieres are now very staged and controlled. The stylists are the real stars, since they pick and coordinate the clothing and work together with the talent to best display and present their body image that is shaped and reflected in the fashion creations they pose in.

“The problem is that there is no money to be made photographing on the red carpet and everyone wants unguarded photography. The fees paid are enormous. The current paparazzi are photo hustlers and stalkers who aren’t even in it for the art or documentary aspects of photography. Most of them are quick-buck artists and are making the talent retreat and flee after they initiate confrontation. I’m actually shocked at what has emerged since I sold my company to Getty Images in 2000. After the sale, I spent some time in Paris and New York City, studying the visual arts and finding out there is more to life than occasionally hounding celebrities. I’m amazed to see paparazzi, most of whom don’t even deserve the name, gaining unwanted access, and now they are daily front page stories, the subject matter of network TV shows and cable programming, and a big factor in ongoing legislation that hopefully will protect people we know from the public eye. They are making massive incomes from dangerous situations. I’m concerned about these high speed chases, in which unsuspecting bystanders, even a child or some 80-year-old woman, could eventually be hurt or maimed.

“When we were forced to use the paparazzi approach, there was always a story involved, like when I did photos of O.J. selling lemonade in front of his house, prior to getting out of jail. He was not amused that I was taking his photo, but too bad, it was a major story and made the front page of the New York Post and publications worldwide. Nowadays there is no story and the photographers hope to make one with their unprofessional antics.

“Today, it’s all driven by the bounty, which US and People have created. So now there are tag-teams, squads of people, legal and illegal people, foreigners in chase cars cruising Britney’s house. Take away the large bounty and these folks will find another profession.”

Brad Elterman’s career started with a borrowed camera at the age of 16. His first photo, of Bob Dylan performing onstage, was published in 1974 by Sounds magazine. “I had no connections,” he allows, “except for a few pals who supplied me phone numbers and addresses when I was in high school, like Harvey Kubernik and Rodney Bingenheimer. They were the first two names thanked in my book, Shoot the Stars: How to Become a Celebrity Photographer. That was a time when everyone helped everyone else out.” The book, which Elterman wrote and published in 1985, garnered him interviews on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” CNN and “AM Los Angeles.”

“In addition,” Elterman continues, “in the last ten or twenty years, entertainment industry publicists have limited or prohibited access to their clients, and very generic poses and ‘photo ops’ are the result. The PR people have taken the fun out of the scene and hampered the art. The photos I took in the ’70s and ’80s could never happen now.

“I’d like today’s current stars and newsmakers to wear my shirts and parade my clothing statements. I left the photo business a few years ago. When I was in the photographer pack, we were credentialed media people and where I was coming from was a nod to Federico Fellini’s classic film ‘La Dolce Vita.’ So I wanted to embrace my past, but I certainly have nothing in common with these unprofessional thugs harassing and hounding the talent and jamming cameras and video machines at them, violating acceptable boundaries between artists and reporters. I’ve been around models and fashion for decades and also wanted to be involved in that arena with my T-shirt line.”

Elterman has created and copyrighted zestful slogans for his debut foray into the designer clothing world. Buzz words like “No Photos,” “No Stalking,” “Stop Taking My Photo,” “Call my agent,” and “PR Nightmare” are among the first batch of text to grace the front of his “Paparazzi Chic” T-shirts, all designed by Elterman. “You have to have a sense of humor in any venture you undertake,” offers the Los Angeles area native. “So the humor is important, underscoring the risk-taking and the fusion of the clothing with my commentary. My age and my history work for me in this venture. The wording is commentary, but it’s also a direct plea to instill some space between the paparazzi and the talent, who are often out to have a nice time away from the movie or TV studios and don’t want to be photographed in hassled, compromised situations. Many of the slogans are a play on words, but they’re also the kind of wording and banner-style messages that non-pros and kids can relate to. I want the short phrases and the messages to enter the lexicon. I like to be creative and rooted to both the visual and graphic worlds.”

The veteran lensman also feels “my collective statements can spread because it’s chic and will be cool. Everybody wants to be a star. Overtly or secretly, everyone covets the people on the magazine covers and in the tabloid show business parade. My market focus will initially be toward the top TV and movie celebrities of our time, be it Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, or Mischa Barton.”

Like the photo agency he formerly owned and operated (Online USA), where he oversaw an influential photographic image house, Elterman’s new move into the clothing world continues his hands-on participation, from concept through execution. “I designed my own samples,” he says. “With my early photo endeavors, I used to take the picture, develop the image, and send it by FedEx for publication. Later on, I helped create the digital delivery methods that the media employs nowadays. I went to New York a dozen times, to meet with editors at US and People and other major periodicals. I tried to educate their staff and convince them that images would get more popular and they would need to allow me to send them electronically for their publications, because the computer was going to be the way of the future. Their answer was always, ‘We are too busy. Send it by FedEx!’”

About the wording that adorns his new line of T-shirts, Elterman explains that the phrases are boldly displayed and pop out at the viewer. “The layouts on the fabric are reminiscent of a tabloid paper like the New York Post or the National Enquirer. The font is called ‘Impact’ and it’s very ‘tabloidesque.’ Striking black lettering and fire engine red accents make it look like you are walking around with a copy of the New York Post on your chest. So there is a conscious alignment with the text of the tabloid papers. For decades, the New York Post was my favorite publication to work for,” Elterman remembers. “We worked for them for two years straight during O.J. I sold my first photo to them when I was 19!”

Brad Elterman can be reached in Los Angeles directly at (310) 441-4464 or by e-mail at brad@paparazzichic.com.