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| 'Bill Cunningham, Salzburg' - 1981 snake |
Bill Cunningham, the Bowhunter. This photograph is my homage to Bill Cunningham,
the premiere street fashion photographer of the New York Times. Cunningham isn’t just any
fashion photographer. He is arguably, the originator of the genre of
documenting street fashion. This
photograph was taken in Austria in 1981. I saw a pretty, well-dressed, young
woman with a wicker basket and a motorcycle helmet, through the reflection of a glass
door. I knew nothing of Bill Cunningham at the time ( I just learned of him in 2011
when I saw the documentary Bill Cunningham, New York ) but now, when I see this
photograph, I think of his work.
From what I know of Bill Cunningham, I think that he
probably could have been a great bowhunter. If you are familiar with his qualities and the way he
approaches his work, then you know what I mean. For one thing, he is obsessed
with his craft. He is very detail conscious, refusing to let anything escape
his eye. He also has tremendous
integrity, both as a photographer and a human being. Integrity is key to being
a bowhunter. While there are rules of fair chase, in the end, only the hunter
and God, will ever know if a deer is killed within the confines of those rules
or if it was poached.
Had Bill Cunningham pursued bowhunting instead of
photography, I’ve no doubt he would have become one of the legendary icons of
the sport, such as Fred Bear. His daily passion for going out to photograph,
perfectly mirrors the obsession that hunting greats had for going into the
woods in the pursuit of game.
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