Hey everyone, I have a quick question regarding weegee and speed graphic street photography, he used flashbulbs at 1/200 of a second at f16 right? iirc he stood at approximately 10 feet from his subjects and only then released the shutter. I’m trying to get an idea of how it worked... I have my speed graphic set to 1/200 of a second at f16 with a FP sync flashbulb (no 6 GE bulb) with focus at ten feet. I might be buying some expired super panchro press type B before my next trip to nyc (really ironic because weegee worked in nyc all the time) i have a speed graphic 2x3 if that helps. My front shutter doesn’t have a flash sync but the rear focal plane does, hence the use of FP bulbs.
Arthur Felig (Weegee) was never shy about his work. Google™ will find lots of articles about his particular approaches: weegee - Google Search
Are you going to listen in on a police band scanner radio as well? So that you can arrive at the scene of some gruesome incident before the emergency services. Just using the same camera and technique doesn't turn the clock back to the 1930-40s, nor make the same pictures available.
You may want to try a test shot or two to see if the light from you flash bulb is as strong as that of Weegee. You might also want to overdevelop your film to give it a harder, harsher look. And wear a fedora. Without a fedora you would just look silly.
And don't forget to say "Kerching!" as you press the shutter and several dollars-worth of flashbulb and film bite the dust.
OP...here Weegee's Secrets Photoflash D. D. Teoli Jr. A. C ( 31) : D.D. Teoli Jr.as archivist : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Weegee Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Archival Collection : Daniel D. Teoli Jr. as archivist : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
I have the fedora, should I wear a suit or trench coat? (The fedora color matches my current trench coat)
Remember, Weegee was a newspaperman, in a time when the media had some credibility. Now the curtain has been pulled back on these fiends. Go with your own style the best as you can. It's not even the same America you will be photographing anyway. That has been totally shot to heck for good.
My friend selected and edited a book of his photographs. According to him, Weegee had very little understanding of composition. This was done by the newspaper’s editors. After Open City, he played the roll of an artiste and did gimmicky pictures. Also, looking at his photographs, many were taken at distances other than 10 feet. One can not turn back the clock. Rolleiflex and Leica M3 replaced press cameras because they were faster and more flexible. Even these cameras are often preset “just in case.” This doesn’t mean that as amateurs we can’t enjoy using press cameras.
I've done street photography with a Crown Graphic (daytime, no flash). It's fun, so don't let the nay-sayers dissuade you!