photos capture the utopian glamour of the West Coast’s scene in the 1970s and ’80s. From Sunset Boulevard to the Santa Monica Pier, Elterman used the sunny backdrop of his native Southern California as the setting for his snapshots of some of the era’s most recognizable rock and pop stars. Though the photos often have the feeling of paparazzi snaps or publicity shoots, the real power lies in their intimacy. Like the protagonist in, Elterman started out as a teenager with a passion for music, straddling the line between professional and fan, never quite revealing to his subject which role he was inhabiting in any given moment. This duality comes across most distinctly in his photos of Joan Jett and the Runaways. With her black eye makeup and black leather jacket decked out in safety pins and badges, Jett stands in stark contrast to the glitz of Hollywood. Yet Elterman’s photos of her and her bandmates aren’t just about their grit—there’s also an alluring softness captured in their expressions. It’s clear that Elterman was there through it all, documenting the Runaways from their humble beginnings in LA’s suburbs to their packed gigs at the Whiskey A Go Go.