Go
to many of the photography forums (‘fora’?) and look up photojournalism you will
find many discussions on who first uttered the immortal words “f8 and be
there!” These discussions then go into semantics as to whether f8 is the
best all round focal length, and then why the photographer from years ago would
have settled on this focal length with his (probably) Speed Graphic camera. What
all the discussions are missing is that the focal length in this situation is
totally unimportant. It is the “be there” that counts.
The job of a photojournalist is to get back to the editor
with a usable photograph of some event, be that a fire, a debutante ball or the
Australian Chamber of Commerce networking night. If you are at home fiddling
with the camera’s f stops you certainly won’t get the photograph, will
you!
The photojournalist’s creed of f8 and be there may
have come from Arthur H. Fellig, known as ‘Weegee’. Born in Poland in 1899, he
came to America in 1909. “I saw an ad in a mail order catalogue which I sent
away for: a tintype camera, and I decided to go into photography.” Even that
statement was typical of this man. He didn’t wait to see if he was going to be
any good - he was a “doer” and just waded right in and “did it”. You can warm to
people with that much self-confidence.
He worked for a few studios and then got a job in the
darkroom at Acme Newspapers. Life in the newspaper business is always exciting
and frantic. Arthur H. Fellig reveled in that excitement. He had found his
niche. He was only 21 years old but he decided he was going to be a freelance
news photographer.
He soon became known as the first on the scene of any
newsworthy happening, be that fire, murder, suicide or landslide. He was so
uncannily aware of what was happening that people began to feel he had some kind
of psychic powers of prediction. At that time, America was also in the middle of
a Ouija Board fad and from this Fellig was to adopt his nickname “Weegee”.
Of course, Weegee was not psychic, but just used to sleep
fully clothed, with a police radio on his pillow. In the boot of his car was his
“office”, complete with typewriter to knock out the words, spare film and lots
of flash bulbs. Weegee would arrive, record the shot, type the words and have
everything on the editor’s desk within the hour. It was no wonder that Weegee
was so popular with the news media of the day. (He would be even more popular
today!)
By 1935, Life magazine was doing features on Weegee and his
work. There was no doubt about the fact that he had the photographic “eye”, but
for Weegee, the subject was the all important part of the photograph. And the
subject he dealt with was done incredibly directly. Weegee was not one to be
horrified by the sights before him, such as gangland killings. He took the shot
that kept that horror for the eyes of the newspaper readers the next day.
(Interestingly, that direct, confrontational photographic style is still used in
the Thai language papers today - check any front pages for graphic images.)
Another quote from this amazing man, “I like to get different shots and don’t
like to make the same shots the other dopes do.” When asked what his formula was
he replied, “I just laugh. I have no formula, I’m just myself, take me or leave
me. I don’t put on an act. I don’t try to make a good or bad impression. I’m
just Weegee.”
Weegee will be remembered for his record of the seamier side
of New York life. This was put into book form, called the Naked City and was
published in 1945. Unfortunately, the wide public recognition that came from
this book ended the directly grotesque nature of his images and Weegee went to
Hollywood where tinsel-town swallowed him up. He died in 1969.