My chest swelled with pride Wednesday night at the new Annenberg Space for Photography in Culver City, when four Los Angeles Times photographers took to the stage to be recognized. Not just because they shoot for the same struggling collective of ink and pixels that I do, but because each and every one of them has contributed their considerable talents to making the Image section (the smaller struggling collective of ink and pixels I write for) visually stunning.

Carolyn Cole, who won a Pulitzer for her coverage of the siege of Monrovia, Liberia, recently shot my cover story about rising male models on the subways of Milan, Paris and New York. Kirk McKoy, part of a team that snagged two Pulitzers, has traveled the globe for years with our fashion critic Booth Moore, shooting fashion week runway coverage and capturing behind-the-scenes moments of the stylish set. Genaro Molina and Lawrence "Larry" Ho are two of the go-to guys who help us capture everything from store openings and art installations to runway trends and celebrity basketball games.

The Los Angeles Times fashion coverage was actually reflected in one of Ho's photographs, at a 2006 charity runway show that captured Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron and Adrien Brody in the low light of the front row, watching as a bony hipped model walk past them.

"Los Angeles has things that a lot of other cities have," Ho told me at the opening event. "But we have the celebrities. And there was something about the spectacle and the aura of that shot that made me want to include it in my submission."

The other photographers featured in the inaugural exhibit, which opens to the public today at 2000 Avenue of the Stars and runs through June 28, are: Julius Shulman, Greg Gorman, John Baldessari, Tim Street-Porter, Douglas Kirkland, Lauren Greenfield and Catherine Opie. For more in-depth information about the space itself, check out our sister blog Culture Monster.
-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: (Top) Stuart Townsend, Charlize Theron and Adrien Brody at a Children's Action Network  fashion show hosted by Gucci designer Frida Giannini at the homer of Michael and Eva Chow in November 2005. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times. (Bottom) Los Angeles Times photographer Lawrence K. Ho, right, with his son Julian (and without the camera) at the opening of the Annenberg Space for Photography. Credit: Adam Tschorn.