76 Photos by Weegee in New York and Chicago #weegeephotography #photography #streetphotography

Weegee was born Ascher Fellig in Zolochly, Ukraine. When his family emigrated to the US his given name was changed to Arthur. He took odd jobs including working as a street photographer of children with his pony, and as an assistant to a commercil photographer. In 1924 he was hired as a darkroom technician until 1935, when he became a freelance photographer. He worked at night and competed with the police to try and get to the scene of the crime. He would then sell his photos to tabloids and photo agencies. His photos were taken around Manhattan police headquarters. Most of his photos were taken with a basic press camera, a Crown Graflex which took film negatives that were sized at 4” x 5”. He would set the camera at f16 with a focus distance of 10 feet. This allowed Weegee to take all his photos in sharp focus. He used flash bulbs to light his photos. This gave his photos a dramatic, stark look to them. He knew what sold and looked for fights between people n the “social register”.