Give yourself a Weegee
May 23, 2024
David Prochnow
Our resident “how-to” project editor, David Prochnow, lives on the Gulf Coast of the United States in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He brings his expertise at making our photography projects accessible to everyone, from a lengthy stint acting as the Contributing How-To Editor with Popular Science magazine. While you don’t have to actually build each of his projects, reading about these adventures will contribute to your continued overall appreciation of do-it-yourself photography. A collection of David’s best Popular Science projects can be found in the book, “The Big Book of Hacks,” Edited by Doug Cantor.
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Every photographer should study the life work of Arthur Fellig. Better known by his self-appointed nickname, Weegee (see Figure 1), or, more accurately, Weegee the Famous, Fellig captured the raw emotional foibles that predominate our society. From gangland murders to distorted portraits of celebrities, Weegee photographed it all, remarkably, in 4-x5-inch shocking detail.
The International Center for Photography in New York City houses an excellent collection of Weegee’s work. In this impressive oeuvre, we see both the scandalous and the sensational life that walked the streets of New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. Illuminated with a single flash bulb and captured in extraordinarily large-format detail, we see life in an unprecedented clarity that transforms the viewer into a voyeur.
While it’s impossible to relive Weegee’s world, we can update his equipment and begin recording today’s life. First, a more modern camera system is needed. Thankfully, those great folks at Lomography have just the ticket for this contemporary crime drama: the Lomo’Instant Wide Camera Black Edition is ideal for capturing life without needing a darkroom.
Using Fujifilm Instax wide-format film packs gives you the closest thing to an instant 4×5 print experience without lugging a darkroom around. You can locate your own copy of this camera here.
The retail price is $170, although sales occasionally reduce that price to $135.20. Unfortunately, there is one tiny problem with this camera setup – the Lomo’Instant built-in flash ain’t gonna cut it. Ideally, a vintage “potato masher” electronic flash, like the legendary Metz Mecablitz 45 CT-4, is a must-have accessory (see Figure 2). On today’s used market, you can find this flash in “excellent” condition priced between $80 – $200.
NOTE: In its most basic power configuration, the Metz 45 will require 6 AA-size batteries.
Once you’ve attached the flash to the camera, all that remains to do is load the camera with an Instax film pack, load batteries in the Metz flash, plug the flash sync cord into the camera, and you’re armed and dangerous. Just remember that when using your Weegee camera – firing the Metz flash can blind the dead, and the noisy Lomo’Instant motor “whrrring” to eject the film can wake the dead–both of these “features” will make you larger than life. Whether you’ll become “famous” or not is up to you (see Figure 3).
David Prochnow
Our resident “how-to” project editor, David Prochnow, lives on the Gulf Coast of the United States in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He brings his expertise at making our photography projects accessible to everyone, from a lengthy stint acting as the Contributing How-To Editor with Popular Science magazine. While you don’t have to actually build each of his projects, reading about these adventures will contribute to your continued overall appreciation of do-it-yourself photography. A collection of David’s best Popular Science projects can be found in the book, “The Big Book of Hacks,” Edited by Doug Cantor.
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2 responses to “Give yourself a Weegee”
There’s more to Weegee the Famous than just a large format and a kick-ass flash. The man also understood composition and how to juxtapose contradictory elements to create photos that told the story of New York City at night. He described how he got an award winning shot: There was a gangland shooting in front of a tenement building, and Weegee and the other photographers got the obligatory “10-foot” shots of the corpse. Then, Weegee noticed that there were people at their windows and fire escapes gawking at the scene and visiting with each other. He even spotted a couple boys reading their comic books on the fire escape while watching the crime scene unfold below. Weegee went across the street to catch the entire tableau, both the crime scene and its audience.
Also, Weegee didn’t use a crap camera like a lomo. He used a Graflex Speed Graphic, one of the best medium format cameras of the time and produced tack-sharp images. If this is your idea of a Weegee-esque photo, then you’re not worthy to clean Weegee’s darkroom trays.