Topic: Bill Eppridge....an American Treasure

[astrobeck]

While I was mostly offline this past weekend, and apart from delving full speed into infrared I did manage to do part of the Art Walk in Santa Fe last Friday afternoon.

The showpiece opening was at Monroe Gallery with the very fine photographer, Bill Eppridge.
He, for me at least, epitomizes greatness behind a lens and he's a really nice guy to boot!
The prints in the show were stunning examples of some of his work for Life magazine and most of them are in the link here:
http://www.monroegallery.com/showcase/index.cfm

I also managed a meager  snap or two (with my Olympus XA) of him greeting guests.  It's hard not to like a guy that's just as comfortable in front of the lens as they are behind.

Monroe Gallery is my favorite gallery aside from Photo-eye mainly because they have a print of Eisenstaedt's children at the puppet show that I am so smitten with.

[Miles]

Wow, the first pic of Bobby K in '68 "hanging" in the car is amazing !

http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfm?ID=845

[astrobeck]

That's the cover shot for  Eppridge's book and it is breathtaking in person.

I felt quite large just being in Eppridge's presence.   He has a charming power that just permeates a room.

[Ed Wenn]

Sounds like a wonderful show, with fantastic, iconic images and the icing on the cake...the presence of the great man himself. I'm very jealous.

[gothamtomato]

I met him at a photography workshop, about 20 years ago (which was a thrill for someone who, as a kid, ran home every Tuesday because the new LIFE magazine would be there). When you meet him, you realize how he captures such soul in his photographs. And it was emotional listening to him talk about Bobby's assassination, because it was clear that he was still haunted by it. Both he and Harry Benson captured (very different) iconic images of that scene, but when you hear him speak about it, you get the feeling that Eppridge's was an emotional self-portrait.