If I had to chose a photographer role model it would be Bill Cunningham. After watching Bill Cunningham New York I found myself in awe of him. A Harvard dropout turned fashion documentarion, Cunningham has been shooting fashion since the 40s. He makes clear that he does not care about celebrities, he'll shoot anyone if he finds their clothing interesting. My favorite thing about Cunningham is his abhorrence towards money. Although he works for the New York times and is considered one of the best photographers of this generation, he refuses to take a large paycheck because he feels it gives others power over his work. He has never owned a television and lives in a tiny apartment filled solely with filing cabinets full of negatives and a small bed wedged in between. He doesn't own a kitchen and uses his apartment's public bathroom to shower. Cunningham truly lives his work. He bicycles around the city and stands on street corners shooting people as they walk by. He uses his pictures in his weekly New York Times print in which he cuts and pastes images together on a single page all involving a certain trend he noticed that week.
Another great quality of Cunningham's is his egalitarian outlook. Cunningham treats everyone as equals and only portrays people in a positive light (no pun intended). Anything from a drag queen to a sharply dressed business woman is beautiful in Cunningham's mind. If he doesn't find one's clothing artful, he doesn't take a picture of it. As mentioned earlier he has no interest in celebrities, and keeps his photos tied to the common individual. Even when shooting Runway shows, he only takes pictures of something he believes someone will wear.
In Bill Cunninham New York one is able to fully see the love he has not only for photography--he claims to "eat with his eyes", but his love for his subject also. He begins to cry when he declares in a speech that whoever thinks fashion is declining is ridiculous; fashion is as brilliant as ever. Cunningham introduced me to a new level of love; I've never seen anyone so enamored by their job. I admire him completely. I encourage everyone to check him out in the fashion section of the New York Times!!
Previous Cunningham pages:
Cunningham's one room apartment
P.S. I forgot to mention that Cunningham continues to shoot in color film!
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