Home Photo Gallery Classroom Documents Murder is My Business
September 1941 While Now York sleeps Weegee (Arthur Fellig) roams the city looking for murders, fires, and accidents. His radio is tuned to police calls,--his camera is loaded. He has been in the photographic game for 20 years. The League is proud to present Weegee's first photographic gallery show. The pictures you will see are a cross section of what he sees in the ordinary course of his nocturnal wanderings. New York at night is cruel, brutal, human, and humorous. Come ready to be shocked. "When you see a picture, you've just got time to take it, he says. "There's no time to worry about exposure meters, filters, and all of that bunk. You catch as catch can. When I take a picture of a guy who's been murdered, there's no one to hold a flash extension for me, no one to move the cops and crowd around for me to get the best composition. You've got thirty seconds in which to work, and you shoot fast. If people laugh in the back ground of murder shot, well--that's life. Many photographers live in a dream world of beautiful backgrounds. It wouldn't hurt then to get a taste of reality to wake them up. Any one who looks for life can find it. And they don't need to photograph ashcans. The average camera fan reminds me of polyanna, a lolly pop in one hand, and a camera in the other. n Weegee works exclusively with a Speed Graphic and a flash gun, both in the daytime as well as at night. He feels that is necessary because in that way he is set for any action. He can run inside and out at will and still be ready to shoot. "Keep your eyes open," he says, "If you see anything, take it. Almost any picture is saleable. Forget if it has been done before. Be yourself. As a final parting shot of advice he says: "Don't worry about secret formulas, and fine grain developers, or you'll wind up being a hypo mixer, not a photographer
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