For the past 30 years, I've been taking photos of people with cameras when on location, at home, and in my studio. During this time my camera collection has grown to over one hundred, and I still use every one of them! I got my first in 1965: a Nikon F. Next was a Leica M-2 with a Summicron 35mm lens. Soon after I moved into larger formats. First came a Graflex 4 x 5 and a Rolleiflex. Then Hasselblads, Linhofs and Mamiyas. My most recent purchase is a digital Olympus that I love to use for personal work. They are all close friends. I am truly camera crazy! I think the pictures in this book reflect that I am not the only one! --Arthur Elgort A master of the snapshot aesthetic, Arthur Elgort is one of the most famous camera-toting people in the world. In Camera Crazy, he takes pictures of other camera-toting people, from children to supermodels, from strangers back to himself. There's Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, cameras at the ready. There's a crowd of paparazzi. It's an endless and ever-growing sea of lenses, this camera crazy culture of ours. Sometimes it seems as if we can't even see unless it's through a lens! And who better to capture the contemporary zeitgeist than the maestro of the framed moment: Arthur Elgort.

"Showcasing the most unusual and unique examples of functioning toy cameras--retro analogs, branded novelties, new products from Japan--and the photographs they creat, Camera crazy explores the full range of this incredibly popular, and often quirky, photography niche."--Page 4 of cover.

"An exploration of the origin, development, and societal impact of the camera"--Provided by publisher.