On Street Carts and Bill Cunningham New York

Photo by myself on Sixth Avenue around 32nd Street, in Midtown.

There are so many street carts out on the sidewalks right now, one doesn't need to find a restaurant for dinner.

I was shooting a cart vendor who was framed in light. We happened to look up at each other at the same moment, just after a woman passed by.
--I had a long day on Friday. To cheer me up, Mark turned on a movie he thought I'd like. And we watched it. And I loved it.

Bill Cunningham New York is a documentary about Bill Cunningham, a street fashion photographer for the New York Times. His 'On the Street' feature is firmly established in the Style section, showing New Yorkers grouped according to fashion theme. It might be denim or slingback heels or cut-offs, whatever happens to be the fashion zeitgeist on the streets or on the runways.

Cunningham himself is a colorful character. He has almost no belongings, save his photo negatives, which are kept in dozens of file drawers. He often works for free. He wears the same blue jacket all the time. He lived in a tiny, tiny artist studio above Carnegie Hall for years.

The documentary shows him in his 60s through to his 80s (he's 82 this year!). To watch him biking around the city and spryly taking photos of passersby on the sidewalks wearing a big toothy grin is absolutely inspiring. He is obviously in love with looking at what people are wearing and taking photos.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. If you're interested in fashion and New York and photography, you will enjoy it.

To learn more about the documentary and watch it online, click here.

 

Related posts: Off-Kilter, on 18th Street, Faces in Fashion, in Bryant Park, and Fashionista Not.