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Appreciation of Arthur Fellig, Better known as Weegee.

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cliveh

cliveh

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Here we have a brilliant reportage image taken by him. This guy has killed a cop and the police have beaten him up. He is holding his hand out, as it is still wet with ink from finger printing. Captured in a moment of flash from weegee's camera.
 
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The neighbor across the street had just retired from the US Air Force and started working for the post office. That summer he got a Popular Photography magazine from the dead letter office which had an article on the Jiffy Night Calculator and an article about Wee Gee and gave it to me. I had just started using a 35mm camera.
 
Horatio said:
Wasn't his motto "F8 and be there"?
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I think lore has it that this was the phrase that aspiring photojournalists would be sent out with.
"Uh, alright...so, err, this camera thing, looks kind of complicated; how do I operate it? How do I set it up and stuff?"
"Just set that dial there to f/8 and be sure to be there where the action is!"

Which admittedly makes for a good story. Never let a good story go to waste by confronting it with the truth.

Btw, when using something like a 4x5 Speed Graphic, I'd make that "At least f/22, bring plenty of flash bulbs and film holders, be sure to get up close and be there."
 
Weegee had a habit of embellishing his photos. When three Mafiosas were shot dead outside while dining in a restaurant's garden area, he stuck a half-burned stogie lying on the ground nearby back into the mouth of the dead Capo as he lay there in his blood before he took the shot. Now why don't I think of things like that?
 
Alan Edward Klein said:
Weegee had a habit of embellishing his photos. When three Mafiosas were shot dead outside while dining in a restaurant's garden area, he stuck a half-burned stogie lying on the ground nearby back into the mouth of the dead Capo as he lay there in his blood before he took the shot. Now why don't I think of things like that?
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Here's the story and picture. Now I'm not sure it was Weegee's, but it's still a great story of the photo.

'Cigar' Galante Was Enjoying Dinner And Drinks When He Was Shot Point Blank Mid-Inhale​

www.ranker.com

Carmine 'Cigar' Galante's Death Photos Show Him Dead With A Cigar In His Mouth

Carmine "Cigar" Galante was killed in the garden of Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, on July 12, 1979. Shot by masked men at point-blank range, the Bonanno Family mob boss met his maker with his trusty cigar still in his mouth - and there are images to prove it....
www.ranker.com www.ranker.com
 
I believe it took him some time to get the model release forms signed for this one: -

1742757804687.png
 
A person of his time, it is somewhat disputed as to how he process his film, I've seen a photo of his converted ambulance that he supposedly used to process and contact print to sell to the tabloids, this seems to be disputed. He would roam at night, follow the police or hear the police call and get the crime scene before the police.
 
He was allowed to have a police radio in his car, so he could often get to a scene before the police.
 
cliveh said:
View attachment 394396

Here we have a brilliant reportage image taken by him. This guy has killed a cop and the police have beaten him up. He is holding his hand out, as it is still wet with ink from finger printing. Captured in a moment of flash from weegee's camera.
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A stunning photograph with brilliant composition.

Weegee was truly one of the masters. Often seen only as a photojournalist, he was undeniably an artist — on par with greats like Gary Winogrand and Diane Arbus.
 
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nikos79 said:
A stunning photograph with brilliant composition.

Weegee was truly one of the masters. Often seen only as a photojournalist, he was undeniably an artist — on par with greats like Gary Winogrand and Diane Arbus.
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Yes but Wee Gee was in his own universe.
 
Big Weegee show at ICP New York at the moment,through May 5. . No idea why.
 
Showing my age now, but when I was about 13, I saw an ad in the local Coventry paper that said the great Weegee would be in the camera department at Owen & Owens on Saturday. I think he had secured a promotion tour to promote Zenith cameras in the UK, but can't be sure about that. Anyway, I went along and when I got to the photographic department, Weegee and I were the only ones there. He was smoking a cigar and showed me a Zenith with a 500mm lens pointed out the window. We had a chat about photography, with my knowledge at that time very limited and he probably thought who is this crazy kid wanting to talk about photography.
 
juan said:
Years ago we had a Shoot Like Weegee Day around here. We should get out our press cameras and revive it.
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We need a couple of dead people for subjects.
 
cliveh said:
Showing my age now, but when I was about 13, I saw an ad in the local Coventry paper that said the great Weegee would be in the camera department at Owen & Owens on Saturday. I think he had secured a promotion tour to promote Zenith cameras in the UK, but can't be sure about that. Anyway, I went along and when I got to the photographic department, Weegee and I were the only ones there. He was smoking a cigar and showed me a Zenith with a 500mm lens pointed out the window. We had a chat about photography, with my knowledge at that time very limited and he probably thought who is this crazy kid wanting to talk about photography.
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Oh Man....... what a great memory 🥲
juan said:
Years ago we had a Shoot Like Weegee Day around here. We should get out our press cameras and revive it.
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Wow. Fabulous..!!!

Tip of the hat to you guys 🙂
 
cliveh said:
Showing my age now, but when I was about 13, I saw an ad in the local Coventry paper that said the great Weegee would be in the camera department at Owen & Owens on Saturday. I think he had secured a promotion tour to promote Zenith cameras in the UK, but can't be sure about that. Anyway, I went along and when I got to the photographic department, Weegee and I were the only ones there. He was smoking a cigar and showed me a Zenith with a 500mm lens pointed out the window. We had a chat about photography, with my knowledge at that time very limited and he probably thought who is this crazy kid wanting to talk about photography.
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When abouts would that have been? Curious about the era, also about how he got involved with Zenith cameras and what that did for his reputation back home.
 
snusmumriken said:
When abouts would that have been? Curious about the era, also about how he got involved with Zenith cameras and what that did for his reputation back home.
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Probably about 1963.
 
cliveh said:
Probably about 1963.
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Thanks so much for this, Clive. I’m afraid I’m not a lover of Weegee’s work, but this was a fascinating rabbit hole. I found the full story of his association with Zenith in this excellent book review (scroll to last section). Also the two photos attached here.
IMG_4475.jpeg

IMG_4474.jpeg

Like Geoff Nicholson, the author of that review, I bought a Zenith as my first “serious” camera, following a box Brownie and a nameless Kodak 127 snapper. Mine was a 3M, like the one in these photos. Like Nicholson, I was ultimately disappointed by it, but that’s another story.

Thanks to TOE, Soviet imports were readily available in the UK in the ‘60s, and seemed a bargain. I also remember Soviet Weekly propaganda newspaper on sale in Fleet Street, which I read once or twice. There was no stigma attached to a London schoolboy being curious about the Russians. I wonder whether that was true for Weegee too?
 
Didnt he do a series of people jumping up and down which included the Duke of Windsor (Ex Edward 8th) and his wife (AKA Wallis Simpson?)

Re .TOE I took a Zenith 80 6x6 to TOE HQ in Wembley for a repair...was met by a character who kept the door half open..he said "Not repair camera!." and shut the door.....this was their UK HQ for Zenith!!
I often wondered whether it was a KGB staffed outfit!🤣🤣
 
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