BILL CUNNINGHAM

I go out every day. When I get depressed at the office, I go out, and as soon as I'm on the street and see people, I feel better. But I never go out with a preconceived idea. I let the street speak to me.

The problem is I'm not a good photographer. To be perfectly honest, I'm too shy. Not aggressive enough. Well, I'm not aggressive at all. I just loved to see wonderfully dressed women, and I still do. That's all there is to it.

The main thing I love about street photography is that you find the answers you don't see at the fashion shows. You find information for readers so they can visualize themselves.

I'm not interested in celebrities, with their free dresses. I'm interested in clothes.

The best fashion show is definitely on the street. Always has been, and always will be.

I started photographing people on the street during World War II. I used a little box Brownie. Nothing too expensive.

I don't pay attention to celebrities. I don't photograph them. They don't dress so... interestingly. They have stylists. I prefer real women who have their own taste.

I could never concentrate on Sunday church services because I'd be concentrating on women's hats.

When I'm photographing, I look for the personal style with which something is worn - sometimes even how an umbrella is carried or how a coat is held closed.

I had always been interested in fashion.

Everybody else does work - I have too much fun.

Most of my pictures are never published. I just document things I think are important. For instance, I've documented the gay pride parade from its first days.

Legacy? I'm a worker in the factory; all we care about is today! A legacy... what a bunch of baloney.

Women have always been a good influence on me.

I came to New York in 1948 at 19, after one term at Harvard. Well, Harvard wasn't for me at all.

I go to different places all the time. And I try to be as discreet as I can. My whole thing is to be invisible. You get more natural pictures that way, too.

I'm really not good with money, and I don't pay attention.

I let the streets talk to me. The streets speak to you - how you find out what's new, what people are wearing, what people aren't wearing.

There's nothing free. Stay independent and don't fall.

I just loved to see wonderfully dressed women, and I still do. That's all there is to it.

If someone is wearing something terrific, that's what I want to photograph.

I took to New York life like a star shooting through the heavens.

I'm a zero.

My family all thought I was a little nuts.

I made hats until I went into the Army. I was drafted during the Korean War.