Budnik studied painting at the
Art Students League of New York in the early 1950s under
Charles Alston, who he credited for inspiring his interest in photojournalism.
Sports Illustrated, and
Vogue magazines. He was one of the photographers to capture the
March on Washington in 1963. Later, Budnik convinced
Life to commission him to create a long-term photo essay showing the seriousness of the 1965
Selma to Montgomery march, during which he photographed both
Martin Luther King Jr. and
George Wallace. However,
Life declined to publish his work after devoting two consecutive issues to covering the march using other photographers. Since 1970, Budnik has worked with the Hopi and Navajo Native American tribes, for which he was awarded grants from the
National Endowment for the Arts (1973) and the
Polaroid Foundation (1980). During his career, Budnik has photographed
Candice Bergen,
Sophia Loren, Martin Luther King Jr.,
Georgia O'Keeffe,
Willem de Kooning, and
Dwight D. Eisenhower. The
American Society of Media Photographers awarded Budnik its 1998 Honor Roll Award. Budnik has work in the collections of the
King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in
Atlanta, Georgia, and the
Museum of Modern Art. Budnik also exhibited his work at the
Agnes gallery. ==Personal life==