Some would say Bill is nothing like the stereotypical fashion lover, and I guess they would be right! Most people probably don't even look twice at Bill cycling around Manhattan with his trademark battered blue jacket but that doesn't matter to Bill, all he wants is photographs of real people with real style.
Bill Cunningham is definitely one of the most well respected and most famous fashion photographers within the industry. His ideas and views are so different to any other photographers. He believes movement and odd angles are much more interesting than standing at the end of the runway and getting straight on photographs, and i have to say i agree! His work has started a street style phenomenon on blogs and social network sites and being stopped in the street to be asked to have a photo taken for someones blog is almost seen as the norm nowadays.
Bill started his career as a journalist and then progressed onto fashion photography in an attempt to make his life-long passion his career. His love for fashion is clear in his images. Bill tries to capture the movement in the clothes when the wind blow or the way a skirt falls when a woman is walking down the street. All of this gave fashion photography a new lease of life and allowed people to see a different side which, by some people, is considered a lot more fun and interesting. Especially by me!
His column in 'The Times' allows all fashionistas to see the most popular trends on the New York streets according to Bill and the best bit is that he doesn't photograph stereotypical fashionable people and instead focuses more on individual style and even those that are considered VERY wacky!
When we went to see 'Bill Cunningham New York' I honestly did expect it to be a bit dull and boring but I was pleasantly surprised! The documentary shows very intimate and personal details of Bill's life and his thoughts towards fashion. I was extremely inspired by Bill's images and how passionate he is towards fashion, so much so that he refuses to be paid for his work, which is extremely different to many other materialistic people within the same industry. The dedication he puts into his job, the passion he has for fashion and the amount of motivation he has really encouraged me to see this project in a different light.
Me and my group started off taking images where the people were quite posed and almost looking a a bit awkward at times but after watching this film we decided to take a different angle on the task. We began to take photos of people just walking down the street not aware that we were taking photographs and this surprisingly gave us some of the best images! This allowed us to get images which showed the movement within the clothes or how the colour and pattern within the outfits looked different as they walked down the street. One of my favourite images from the whole task was the black and white one where only the couple are in colour. I loved this as it shows them being natural and just them selves which I think overall gives a much better photo and has a lot more depth to it! It also shows me how certain 'tribes' do stick together which is something I've never really thought about but now the more I'm wandering around the city centre the more I see it.
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