Getting Inspiration From Other Works

The end of the week is a great time for relaxing a bit. I was lucky enough to spend my free periods in school on Friday watching Bill Cunningham New York (2010) on Netflix. In brief, this film documents the life work, artistic ideas, and opinions of (now 85 year old) fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. He works for the New York Times creating columns that capture clothing in their natural spotlight -on the street. The documentary captures the interactions that Cunningham has with his subjects who range from eclectic to "high fashion". This movie is significant to me, because while Bill rides his bike throughout New York City and shares his philosophies, it also gives an excellent snapshot of the variety of life and culture that exists in The City. 

Cunningham discusses how his photographs capture the moment. He shares ideas about how the people in public set what is in fashion by letting their unique trends be seen and noticed on the street. There are many people who are interviewed about various past and present events that they face in New York. These include the Carnegie Hall Studio artists who are being asked to move out of residence and who give their memories about Bill Cunningham, men who were not allowed to be published in The Times because they were wearing dresses but now are fully a part of Cunningham's spreads, and the general reactions of New Yorkers, ranging from positive to neutral to negative, of Cunningham snapping photos of them walking by.

I think I can take a lot of hints from Cunningham's philosophies and techniques and incorporate them into my documentary. I want to capture Ithaca in moments of time that define it. The people are an extremely important part and I hope to capture many different perspectives that are real and natural.

In addition, I viewed a short documentary that a former WISE student created last year. He interviewed different people around downtown Ithaca. I want to approach this idea a bit differently in depth and scope, but it was definitely interesting to see another perspective!