Tuesday, January 30, 2018

In 1944, a car careened off Park Ave. after slamming through the barrier above the iconic train station and got caught dangling off the railing.


Legendary street photographer Weegee captured the perfect black-and-white image of the car stuck on the building above the heads of two men.

Weegee’s main profession was a freelance photographer, and he became one of the most infamous street photographers in history. with no formal photographic training

 He often slept in the park, in his car, or other places–listening to a portable police-band shortwave radio, for murders, fires, or other events of interest to photograph.

This would allow him to capture the scene before any other photographer. He would then sell his photos to the newspapers to earn his living.

His obsession with capturing people was unparalleled, and he covered some of the most gruesome murders (and shots of everyday life) around New York City from the 1930’s to the 1940’s. He even had a complete darkroom in the trunk of his car.

Weegee, born Usher Fellig on June 12, 1899 in the town of Lemburg (now in Ukraine), first worked as a photographer at age fourteen, three years after his family immigrated to the United States

Weegee's photographic oeuvre is unusual in that it was successful in the popular media and respected by the fine-art community during his lifetime. His photographs' ability to navigate between these two realms comes from the strong emotional connection forged between the viewer and the characters in his photographs, as well as from Weegee's skill at choosing the most telling and significant moments of the events he photographed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/wildest-weirdest-nyc-disasters-article-1.2644174
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/05/22/10-lessons-weegee-has-taught-me-about-street-photography/
https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/weegee

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