Crash kills renowned photographer

By Peter Bowes
BBC, Los Angeles

Newton's large-format photos of nude women shocked some

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton has died at the age of 83 after a car crash in Los Angeles.

Mr Newton was pulling out of the car park at a Hollywood hotel when he lost control of his Cadillac limousine.

The hotel, which is just off Sunset Boulevard, is a favourite haunt of many of the stars he photographed.

Known for his erotic black and white images, Mr Newton's work appeared in some of the world's best known magazines such as Playboy and Vogue.

Newton's style was world famous

According to an eyewitness, his vehicle accelerated rapidly and crashed into a wall across the street from the hotel. He was taken to hospital but died shortly after arriving.

Mr Newton, who was Jewish, was born in Berlin in 1920. He fled Germany for Singapore in 1938 and eventually settled in Australia where he became a citizen.

He then moved to Monte Carlo. He gained worldwide notoriety for his stylish, sometimes sado-masochistic portraits of naked women.