https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:48:09 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-519180 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:29:54 +0000 Inge 519180@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Joy and Sona, I'm so glad you got a chance to watch the documentary, and that you were as taken by it as I was.<br /> I love it that for both of you Bill's humility and ethics stood out so much (Joy, your late father sounds like a wonderful man!).</p> <p>And so true, Sona, it's all about the clothes and how people in the street (and I dare say, we at YLF;-) are wearing them. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-518555 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:11:04 +0000 Sona 518555@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I finally got time in our busy household to watch this movie. I was choked with emotion like many of you so many times. two things that really stand out for me: when he talks about celebrities and their dresses being for free but the real story is the non celebrities. I really like that from a role modeling perspective as well. And his humility and ethics. How he doesn't even drink water at NY gala events. A rarity, a gentleman, a historian with a lens.</p> <p>Salut! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-506850 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:18:52 +0000 Anonymous 506850@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm late commenting but wanted to say that, as much as I enjoyed this movie, I'm enjoying the comments here just as much and want to see the movie again.<br /> Bill Cunningham reminds me in many ways of my late father who always took the high road even when it meant less money and sacrifices. I'm not sure we can measure up to that generation.<br /> Bill's photos in the Sunday NYTimes are the first thing I turn to in the paper. It's incredible that he can still do all he does at his age on a bicycle and with a film camera. May he stay safe and enjoy many more years of doing what he loves. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-506096 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:43:35 +0000 Inge 506096@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Super, thank you for your thought-provoking comments, Isabel! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-506092 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:41:22 +0000 Isabel 506092@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Of course not Inge ! I would love to discuss that with the other ladies. Thank you ! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-506090 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:35:52 +0000 Inge 506090@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Your comments are fantastic. Clearly this documentary leaves no-one untouched.</p> <p>Denise: I absolutely do!!</p> <p>Janet: The Jay Maisel workshop sounds fantastic, wow! I love your last paragraph and what you are aspiring too!</p> <p>I wanted to add that I love the runway shows and the often super gorgeous fashion spreads in magazines, the online fashion reportage... Definitely very inspiring, but in the end I too am most influenced by street style: how individuals decide to wear a certain item, how they put together outfits, how there's always someone with a fresh take on things, that's what it's all about for me. </p> <p>Isabel: You raise some interesting points. If you don't mind, I'm going to start a separate thread about the "daring vs environment" topic. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-506086 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:34:14 +0000 Isabel 506086@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I do, I do, Cocolion !!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-504510 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:42:25 +0000 Refugee 504510@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. I had never heard of this man until the press coverage of the film release. I realized after watching it that although I love seeing photos of fashion shows and what celebrities are wearing, I am much more interested in and inspired by street style. What people are actually wearing as they go about their lives. I also enjoy the photography of street style more than posed fashion photography. There is something about natural unposed photos that communicate more about the outfit for me.<br /> My favorite street style blog is advanced style. I especially love seeing the dapper gentlemen. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-504360 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:49:10 +0000 CocoLion 504360@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am enjoying all of your comments! Does anyone else ever stop and think, this is such an intelligent (and stylish bien sur) group of women on YLF? </p> <p>Thank you Inge for introducing me to the film via this book club. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread/page/2#post-504346 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:25:19 +0000 Janet 504346@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm away on vacation right now, but I had downloaded the movie to watch while we're away, and I got to see it a couple of night ago. </p> <p>Suffice to say, I loved it. I'll probably watch it again, soon. It combines some of the things I absolutely love -- photography, fashion, NYC, and compelling people who are passionate about what they do and show a childlike sense of awe at what they see and capture around them. I was lucky enough to take a photo workshop with another NYC photo legend, Jay Maisel, a couple of years ago, and it strikes me that both of these men, who are now in their 80s, seem totally young when you see their expressions of joy and fascination when they're out shooting. I've caught myself enough times with a big goofy grin on my face when I'm out with my camera that I feel pretty comfortable saying that I relate to that sense of joy and awe. </p> <p>I'm so inspired by this film. Not only as a photographer, but as someone who doesn't want to look "boring" and "like everyone else." I will continue taking chances, in my style and in my art, and I'll continue seeking out the joy in both. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-504345 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:25:00 +0000 Kappy 504345@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I finally had a chance to finish watching this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention; it was a truly moving documentary to watch. I agree 100% with Denise's thoughts above. </p> <p>I was moved by his single-minded dedication to one thing. Do people like this even exist anymore? I'm sure they do but it seemed such a selfless, almost Quixotic (as Mr. Cunningham himself said) quest that it made me wonder. </p> <p>I also love "his utter contempt for celebrities with their free dresses". As a "newbie" to fashion I made the mistake of assuming "stars" are stylish but obviously that isn't true. I still make the "mistake" of looking for someone to tell me what is right (I guess because I have no *talent* for fashion).</p> <p>I don't agree at all that his "uniform" isn't stylish; I actually thought the blue jacket looked great on him, and I loved his light blue sweater tied jauntily over his shoulders and found his cap quite flattering.</p> <p>Angie, I'm so sorry your encounter was disappointing. I do think you should write him a letter with your thoughts though; he seems quite "old school" and would probably reply! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503987 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:15:34 +0000 Amy 503987@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I didn't expect to grow teary-eyed over a documentary about a fashion photographer, but I certainly did. What a fascinating individual! I admire his dedication, joie de vivre and his personal integrity. I'm also blown away by his dedication towards documenting this facet of our culture.</p> <p>I do believe my ideas about fashion are greatly influenced by street style, certainly far more than they are by fashion magazines, because I don't read them.</p> <p>To me, YLF is a unique vantage point to view street style. I'm continually inspired by the WIW's posted by the women here who share a similar lifestyle to my own. </p> <p>Fashion as displayed by celebrities, models and couture houses never felt that relevant to me.</p> <p>Bill Cunningham's fascination with unique self-expression makes me wish I was more of a risk taker than the boring cookie-cutter types that bore him. I'm sure I fall into that latter category, lol!</p> <p>Also, I loved how he looks for images with motion and spirit. His photographs of New Yorkers in the blizzards were THE BEST. They exude character and life. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503969 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 19:51:24 +0000 CocoLion 503969@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My thoughts:<br /> - A beautiful documentary which my non-fashion loving mother also enjoyed. I want to give the filmmakers their due credit, it is not easy making a documentary.</p> <p>- I was very struck by his "lesson" learned from being sponsored by Rebecca Harkness the heiress (who also had an eponymous ballet company). Don't be "bought" by anyone! This indifference towards money was interpreted by people as meaning he came from money. With the underlying assumption that only someone who always had money could care so little for it. When in fact he described his background as working class. His independence in this regard is remarkable and inspiring.</p> <p>- I love that he has found fame in his second half of life, after age 40 when he started shooting the counter-culture fashion scene in the late 60s or early 70s. This too is inspiring to anyone over 40 who feels there is still much to do in life, and that youth is not "everything" in life as our popular culture seems to say it is. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503356 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:59:23 +0000 Isabel 503356@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>There is so much to this documentary......</p> <p>The single most jarring thing for me is that he considers himself a historian....an actual observer of history. That fascinates me. The whole time, however, that he is documenting the evolution of how people adorn themselves, he himself doesn't evolve, he doesn't participate in order to be removed enough so as to completely unbiased. The fact that he was upset that WWD daily made fun of people and judged it made me think that the people at Glamour should see the documentary.</p> <p>I particularly liked the self-proclaimed dandy. He was so proper in how he switched hats and how he "prepared" everyday to leave the house, almost as if i character. Editta, was another fabulous character. She was almost child-like.</p> <p>It struck me that some the women talking about Bill had jackets on that fit perfectly at the shoulder.</p> <p>Regarding his sexuality and being alone, TIm Gunn has spoken about having one relation and ended it. Yet this man turned out to be the love of his life. He never had another relationship and considers himself asexual. That made me sad. But maybe they really just can't handle the distraction.</p> <p>I find it interesting that MaryK thought of autism. That is a possibility. It is also a possibility that the love of Bill's life is taking pictures. I am always amazed at what artists will put up with to do what they feel they must, without intefering with the sugject matter. On some level that is really admirable....to have something that you are THAT committed to. I recently saw a documentary about female scientists in Borneo and Africa studying monkees and elephants. And their personalities seemed so similar to Bill's. One minute they were all smiles and engaged in conversation, the next they were running off because an animal "said" something. The similarities are uncanny.</p> <p>Finally, I found the fact that they labeled people "real" and "people on the street". thought provoking. Some of those people brought Carnival to mind. It also made me think that the majority of "real" people don't and can't dress that way due to social mores and location. So are the people of New York ( SoHo ) the "real" people who have landed in a place where they can really be themselves ? Would I dress like that it SoHo and find it freeing ? Would you ? And does it really take courage to dress that way in a place where no one really cares and those that do appreciate it ? </p> <p>I don't know.....but I do know that if I dressed like that around town, one of our local police officers ( we have 6 ) would come by for coffee and a chat to make sure I was "feeling" ok. So would that be courageous ? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503327 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:33:18 +0000 Isis 503327@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I loved this documentary!!! I actually won it in a YLF contest, and watched it right away.</p> <p>I love this thread too, great and thoughtful comments from everyone.</p> <p>Bill came across as a wonderful and obsessed man, almost like a monk devoted to fashion. I loved the view of his apartment (he slept on a cot in Carnegie Hall, surrounded by file cabinets. His few clothes hung a a handful of hangers on the handle of a cabinet). </p> <p>After seeing the doc, Angie, I am not surprised by his response to you. But I think you did not do anything wrong. Although you interrupted him working, Bill is a shy man not comfortable with accolades, so I think he would have brushed you off in any circumstance! Not out of arrogance, but only because he is not comfortable in the limelight, or even with personal encounters.</p> <p>I also felt sad that he seemed to have sacrificed having close relationships with anyone, and perhaps love, for his work. </p> <p>I loved his documentation of fashion, that he holds the archives to American street fashion, for decades, in his apartment!</p> <p>I loved that Anna Wintour said, "We all dress for Bill". </p> <p>I loved that he rode a rickety bicycle eveywhere (though I feared for his life as he unsteadily veered into traffic!).</p> <p>I loved that he appreciated fashion EVERYWHERE, in friends, in high social circles, on models, on the street.</p> <p>And I loved that he seemed like a genuinely nice man, who was kind to everyone. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503290 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:13:43 +0000 Angie 503290@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks, Inge :). And I agree with your perceptions wholeheartedly. </p> <p>Thanks, Jonesy! I appreciate your empathy and validation. </p> <p>Jean, WOW. I love your take on this. It takes an artist to understand another one.</p> <p>Back to one of your questions, Inge. Street Style inspires me to get a new vibe going for my own style by about a million percent. My own style is most inspired walking the streets of London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Paris. It's no wonder that all designers are first and foremost inspired by what's on the streets! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-503036 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:10:13 +0000 greenglove 503036@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love this thread and I loved the movie! I thought that it was brilliant and the fact that it was not filmed in a technically perfect way complemented the portrait of Bill. He was in no way slick.<br /> He was human, imperfect, vulnerable, kind, cranky and positively brilliant!!<br /> His imperfections are what make his artistry so compelling. He takes pictures from his heart.<br /> I think that he had sadness in his life and an obsessive quality that is often found in artists. Pain can be avoided by overwork and that may be how he managed that pain. He had no time for much other than his work and it seemed that this may have had some consequences. But art does have demands that require sacrifice.<br /> I think that Bill Cunningham had a devout side to him that he protected and cherished. Maybe he felt that being too much in the world would interfere with that.<br /> All speculation, but this documentary was remarkable! I feel such gratitude to this man's devotion to style and his love of all the real people that actually wear the clothes off the runway. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502923 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:23:14 +0000 annagybe 502923@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I loved the documentary. I saw in the theater a while ago. What struck me most was how he was laser focused on fashion on everyone else but himself. It almost made me miss NYC, but I never saw that part of NYC. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502907 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:16:18 +0000 Inge 502907@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angie: thank you so much for sharing your encounter with Bill. It's bittersweet and really a very good example of how committed he is to his work and passion. I can totally picture him being "in the zone" and not wanting to be disturbed for one second. But I don't think you were being selfish at all. I think it's brave to walk up to someone you respect and admire to tell them exactly that!</p> <p>Nancy: that must have been a very awkward moment too. I'm sorry. Glad to hear DS was with you at the time for moral support and a spot of analysis ;-)</p> <p>Rachylou: ouch!-) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502892 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:06:40 +0000 Inge 502892@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>First of all: Angie, of course that's alright! I start these first threads for a new Book Club title with a few questions, but that's just to get us going. I absolutely want to hear all your thoughts and insights, they absolutely don't have to be about the initial questions at all. </p> <p>I kept on nodding while reading all your comments, my view of Bill and what he stands for is very similar to yours. I thought the documentary was beautiful, very touching, sad and uplifting all in one.</p> <p>I think it takes enormous courage to be as uncompromising and consistent in your choices as Bill, and to dedicate your entire life to the one thing you are so passionate about. That Bill doesn't think this special at all, and doesn't want any fuss to be made about him, to me says it all. He's a very private person, but the documentary makers did a super job of showing him as he really is: a very kind, humble man who genuinely respects other people.</p> <p>What has really stuck with me is how often he laughs, and the smile you so often hear in his voice. I like to believe that's the smile of a happy person. All the stories he recounts are told with so much gusto, the enthusiasm with which he talks about a picture, an outfit and the people he photographs is infectious. Many would have become jaded or cynical after so many years, but Bill clearly still LOVES what he does just as much as when he first started out, and just can't wait to get on his bike again to snap the next picture. I'm in awe. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502838 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:11:49 +0000 rachylou 502838@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Nancy: I have a rule, formed after meeting Darth Vader when I was 9. Never meet 'em in person. Avoid this at all costs.</p> <p>David Prowse (the actor behind the breathing mask) was just one sour bugger. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502829 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:03:26 +0000 rachylou 502829@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow! Bill is a GREAT man. An idol.</p> <p>I'd not heard of him before (I'm allergic to the NY Times) and I'd just come off a lecture from my brother, the film maker, on why documentaries are visually boring and how they don't have to be. The documentary's film work wasn't hot, to be honest. But I was just so affected by the man himself, that I stopped caring 30 minutes in.</p> <p>I had a number of thoughts:</p> <p>1) It struck me how old school he was - a professional artist and full of passion. Not an artiste looking to make the big bucks or who can only work when the stars are aligned.</p> <p>2) It struck me that he epitomizes what, to me, is the ideal Catholic (my peeps are Catholic too). He had a silly sense of humor - silly in the original sense of the word, "innocent and blessed." He kept his spirits light and those of the people around him. He was extremely kind. At the same time, he was sharp, had a mean face in his repertoire, and not in denial about the bad. I was impressed he went to church on Sundays, because that takes extreme fortitude IMO. I agree with Roger Ebert that his non-response, to being asked about his orientation, suggested that he didn't think much of thinking much about sex. So it was interesting how he could lobby for a gay man in a dress to get printed up in the Times. Bill promoted expression while ignoring navel-gazing expression. That's a man who took his Catholicism to heart! </p> <p>3) I agree that the brilliance of fashion has always come from the street, but I also feel the art of fashion is dwindling. Maybe it's because people don't sew so much anymore; they buy, mix, and match. Also, with the democratization of design, everyone can "hire" a designer to do the work. I do wonder a little bit if Bill contributed any to this dwindling, by cracking the incubator egg open.</p> <p>4) I think his insight that people can have taste without creative daring is a monumental one.</p> <p>ETA: Because I think EVERYONE has aspergers, I think the needle is flickering for Bill on the aspergers scale. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502812 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:46:23 +0000 HelenInCanada 502812@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Now I must get my hands on this doc! And I will definitely be trolling for Bill Cunningham street style shots pronto. Sorry to hear he was a bit of a tunnel-visioned curmudgeon to you, though, Angie! And I agree with MaryK that it's not at all shocking John Updike was a jerk IRL...so true. </p> <p>Sounds like a great recommendation, Inge! I need to get myself in order to join in! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502803 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:35:57 +0000 Jonesy 502803@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Re. his being gay: You are right, he never says that. I suppose I intimated it, but I could be totally off the mark.</p> <p>Your story, Angie, is touching too. It's hard to resist trying to connect with someone who really means something to you, you know? I can see how he is "in the zone" when he is working, and interpersonal skills are not his thing, really :).</p> <p>Nancy, that's quite a story too! I love your son's insights!</p> <p>ETA re. street style blogs I look at: I like Photodiarist in Color, STREETFSN, All the Pretty Birds, Citizen Couture, Stylesightings, the Sartorialist. I know there are tons more--it's probably a good thing I don't know of them all or I would never get any work done :). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502772 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:59:08 +0000 Angie 502772@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sorry about that, Nancy :(. That's a little disappointing. </p> <p>Mary, thanks for your sympathy. I actually think I got exactly what I deserved. What was I thinking disturbing this hectically dedicated man during a work period!!! I wanted to tell him that he is extra extraordinary and that he makes the world of style a more glorious place - something to that affect anyway. I didn't want to say anything about me or YLF. It was NYFW and he must get interrupted with star struck people like me a million times a day - I'd be annoyed with me too! Anyway, my words would have had zero affect on him and I was being quite selfish and thoughtless. Live and learn. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502763 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:46:15 +0000 nancylee 502763@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That's ok, MK. It really is kind of funny now that I have some distance. At the time it was really embarrassing! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502761 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:44:02 +0000 MsMary 502761@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Nancylee, I know it's wrong to enjoy the pain of others, but OMG! I am sitting here at my desk at work GUFFAWING at that story!! And honestly, I am not even a tiny bit surprised to hear that John Updike is a jerk IRL. Not even one tiny bit... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502754 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:39:59 +0000 nancylee 502754@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angie, I so feel your pain. I had a similar embarrassing experience a few years back with the writer John Updike. DS (who was about 13 at the time) accompanied me to an Updike reading, and when it came time for him to sign my book I burbled that I was a writer, too, hoping that would spark some kind of connection. He merely smiled, asked my name, and mused--as he signed my book--that his first girlfriend was named Nancy...and that I seemed like a "very nice woman." *sigh*</p> <p>As we walked away, DS said, "Mom he totally dissed you." Yeah, I said, I know. Maybe it's best to worship from a distance. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502747 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:33:59 +0000 MsMary 502747@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, wow, Angie! I'm sure it was a little embarassing, but what an amazing story, and how totally consistent with the man we saw in the movie! (Also totally consistent with my half-a-master's-degree-in-psychology theory...) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/bill-cunningham-new-york-kick-off-thread#post-502741 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:25:30 +0000 Angie 502741@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jonesy, I thought about that too. I was definitely sadder than Bill! I can't remember that he openly confessed to being gay - I missed that. I do remember the journalist asking him the question. And which street style blogs do you visit? </p> <p>The only adjective that I can come up with to describe Bill is MIND BLOWING. </p> <p>I saw him in the tents at Fashion Week last Sept in front of the *huge* screen viewing the Carolina Herrera Show (the models are larger than life size on this screen). I walked up to him, said excuse me, and he was annoyed that I disturbed him. He said with a stern face: "Hold your thoughts please, I am concentrating on this show. Hold your thoughts and I can't talk. Don't talk". I apologized and he moved a few feet away from me his eyes fixed on the screen with his camera clicking as if his life depended on it - and I was rather embarrassed </p>