Bill Cunningham New York

 photographer unknown, from Bill Cunningham New York

Well, I know it's been a while.  I've been pretty busy here on the island... the ice is melting, so I've been out paddleboarding, and we also had an island talent show which I spent a long time preparing for.  Oh, and then there's the Madison Film Festival.

The first film of the festival for me was Bill Cunningham New York, which is a documentary of one of my favorite, and arguably the first, street style photographers.  I've been a fan of his work (he would say it's not his work, it's the people and their clothes that are the art) for quite some time... sometime in middle or early high school, I started getting New York Times Sunday papers from my local library a week after it would come up.  Bill's spreads were always some of the most interesting to me... I could visit New York or Paris while growing up in small town New England. 

Some of his photos are so great I would cut them out and tape them to bedroom walls... in fact, one such photo I still have and can be seen in the 7th second of the trailer that's below.  Those colors, that jacket!  And to be running, how marvelous!  Bill is a true original, and the film gives testimony to his simplicity, principles, and most of all his laughter and joy for life.

photographer unknown, from Bill Cunningham New York

photographer unknown, from Bill Cunningham New York

 In a fantastic moment of serendipity as I was exiting the film, I noticed a lady on the street with a jacket print similar to one that I had seen during the film.  The above photo (from the film) features the print and captures a moment where two lifelong friends are describing to Bill that they've always dressed like the other.  Below is my take on the street moment that can only be captured in an instant.