Weegee on Weegee

I think about my camera all the time... There are photographic fanatics, just as there are religious fanatics. They buy a so-called candid camera ... there is no such thing: it’s the photographer who has to be candid, not the camera... They read the instruction book, and load up with film. They stop at the corner drug store and buy a couple of bottles of available light ... they don’t like artificial light, it spoils the mood.... They see Gene Smith ... or even Weegee ... and think they’re going to work for Life.

I think about my camera all the time... There are photographic fanatics, just as there are religious fanatics.

This being the age of specialization, some take up live animal photography, other go in for stuffed king, and so on down the line, fashion photography, industrial photography, etc. There are also the baby and wedding photographers (which comes first?). I asked one wedding photographer if he ever got romantic with the brides. He said they were receptive, but wanted a little time, because they had previous engagements with their grooms. There are also the sheltered souls, who are afraid to mingle with strangers and the outside world with its wonderful subjects to photograph. Some of them often go in for table-top photography ... a plain case of mental masturbation. To make pictures, you have to mingle ... with presidents, queens, and gangsters ... with everybody. You can’t just be polite. You have to go around sticking your nose into other people’s business, same as the midget in the nudist camp.

I have no chips on my shoulder. I like to be constructive. As I have said, I have said, I have inspired many persons to take up photography. As a matter of fact, I inspire myself. (When I take a good picture I give myself a bonus.) A good assignment to me is a good picture and a date. When I leave town I put a tablet in front of the girl’s house (as with George Washington): Weegee slept here.

People are always asking me when am I going to reform, settle down, get married, etc. I am married to my camera. I belong to the world. And I work only for kicks and for money.