Elusive

David W. Dunlap: Bill Cunningham is probably the most honest photojournalist in New York. But he can also be pretty deceptive.

Not that he tries to be. Rather, in his pursuit of a singular, joyful mission — documenting daily the interesting clothes that women and men can and (this is important) do wear — Mr. Cunningham makes it all look easy.

That's deceiving because he may be, at 81, the hardest working reporter in New York. He's also among the most private, despite the fact that he can easily be spied in public, wearing a blue worker's smock and bicycling fearlessly through city streets. His personal life is so understated and ascetic as to seem anonymous. His aversion to the spotlight is itself the stuff of fashion legend.