Bill Cunningham (street photographer)

Yesterday, I watched a documentary of a New York fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. My friend recommended this and I really enjoyed watching it.

To give you a brief description of the photographer, he is a fashion photographer for The  New York Times, who is known for his candid street photography. He photographs people on the streets of Manhattan everyday and he has been doing that for more than half a century. He is a renowned photographer, and despite his fame in the fashion photography industry among celebrities, models, socialists, and fashion personalities, he leads a very frugal lifestyle.

I was really surprised to find out that he lives in a tiny room in Carnegie Hall and he doesn't even have his own bathroom. He is not in the least interested in money he could make out of his work. What keeps him going out to the streets every day on his bicycle and take pictures of people is simply the fact that he loves doing it.

In the documentary, a lady said to him "You are working in your own party." And he answered "It's not work. It is pleasure". And he continued to say  "I don't work. I only know how to have fun every day."

And this is his definition of fashion - the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.

Via Zeitgeist Films

It was truly impressive and inspirational to see how a 83 year old man can be so energetic and passionate about  what he does. And I could see how happy he is doing what he does by looking at him smiling and laughing all the time while photographing people's lives.

Below you can find the trailer of the documentary.

Also, I found it very interesting that in the On The Street section of the New York Times, you can hear Bill Cunningham's comments on the photos he himself took and the upcoming fashion trends.

You can find more about the photographer and the documentary in the Zeitgestfilm website. If you want to be inspired by a New York street photographer, check out this documentary.