Anybody know about this LFer-- Weegee?

[Mike Crawford]

The word among his contemporaries was, "He must have a Ouija board ..." and his phonetic working name, Weegee.

I wish I could remember where I read it, or who told it to me, but I am sure the name Weegee was a derivation from his first photographic job working in a darkroom. I think he had the task of drying the prints, which started with him using a squeegee before putting them to dry. When the printers needed his services, they would perhaps jokingly call for 'Squeegee Weegee' and eventually the latter part stuck. Later in life he supposedly came up with all the ouiji board stuff as it was good PR though I think the police radio bit was true. This is a man who stamped his prints 'Weegee the Famous' long before he was to give his clients confidence in him. What a guy, and what a great photographer!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Listen to Weegee's voice!--

http://boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com/2009/06/weegee-speaks.html

 

[Anscojohn]

He also slept in his car in his clothes with a police scanner on and his camera at the ready.

******
I ran into a photographer who knew him. He told me Fellig was downright unsanitary, not washing nor changing clothes for many, many days at a time.

 

[Anscojohn]

Changeling and David, I hadn't seen this thread when it started but had heard of Weegee but only just. The sites mentioned were absolutely fascinating. Thanks

Just one question about the famous IR shot made in a cinema. I understand this was taken surreptiously by his using an opaque IR filter over his flash so the audience were completely unaware. Even with the powerful flash bulbs of the times I would have thought that its exposure compared with IR's need for fairly lengthy daylight exposure would have meant that the light output would have been too low. Well, obviously not, otherwise the pic wouldn't have been possible. I understand that in those day there were flash bulbs which would burn for up to 2.5 secs so was this how it was done? If not, how was it done?

Thanks

pentaxuser

******
Open flash would have been the equivalent of a "strobe" light in the darkened movie theater. And with the flickering of the film, the IR flash bulb would have been virtually unnoticeable. NB, they made dark-red coated IR flash bulbs at one time--or one could dip them somehow and make them onesself.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

******
I ran into a photographer who knew him. He told me Fellig was downright unsanitary, not washing nor changing clothes for many, many days at a time.

The aroma has faded, but the images remain.

A stranger asked me if I could capture smells with my camera a few days ago. I said, "If the light is just right..."

 

[Anscojohn]

The aroma has faded, but the images remain.

A stranger asked me if I could capture smells with my camera a few days ago. I said, "If the light is just right..."

*******
Don't forget what Fellig claimed to be his keys to success: "F11 and being there."

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

In any case, don't miss this fantastic recording of Weegee's voice, which is why I reopened this old thread--

http://boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com/2009/06/weegee-speaks.html

 

[Curt]

This is a short from the longer film, it discusses Weegee first although it is half way though the video. Read the credits, this film was made by some of the most famous people in the industry at the time, from the narrator to the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBIXXb60hec


And of course his famous pronouncement: "f8 and be there".

http://crossingmedia.blogspot.com/2006/06/weegeef8-and-be-there.html