Shots are heard from a distance, someone picks up the phone to report the shooting, in the meantime, while the authorities get the call and send police officers to check it out, a photo journalist already went to the crime scene, photographed the site, and processed the image in the trunk of his car; all before the police even get there. Sounds like the 2014 film “The Nightcrawler,” however this actually happened in New York City during the 1930’s. The photo journalist’s name is Arthur Fellig, also known as Weegee the Famous. Arthur Fellig is an Austrian immigrant who was born on June 12, 1899, and migrated to New York City along with his family in 1909. In order to help his family as a kid, he worked in several odd jobs as most kids did …show more content…
As he was in a race to beat the police so he could get a close shot before they could close the site; his most notable works were done using a Speed Graphic camera, with the use of a flashbulb, which was faster, brighter, and more maneuverable than flash powder. The camera was also synchronized with the flash, “which allowed him to photograph at 1/200th of a second” every time (Goldberg). Weegee also had a mini darkroom in the trunk of his car so he could develop the images and get a print. All of this was done just minutes after the incidents occurred and sometimes he would even have a print before the police would even get there. He worked at an extremely fast pace, and you could even argue that his process was not “artistically,” however because of that he had a certain stark black and white characteristic which not only made it unique to him, but he also set the standard for photo …show more content…
Also the flash on my camera is always on, so the subject matter can be lit all around and be the main focus. After taking a picture, which is mainly pictures of my roommate, either laying down on the couch or on his bed, I use Photoshop to turn the image black and white, make the whites as bright as possible without messing with the image and darkening the darkest spots as black as possible. Also turning up the contrast to bring out as many details as possible. My goal in recreating this photos is to make them look as if they belonged in a 1930’s newspapers, which is just what Weegee