Weegee

[Bill_1856]

Most of his notable photographs were taken with very basic press photographer equipment and methods of the era, a 4x5 Speed Graphic camera preset at f/16, @ 1/200 of a second with flashbulbs and a set focal length of ten feet.

[David A. Goldfarb]

He recommended practicing two distances--6 and 10 feet if I remember correctly. It's in the essay at the end of _Naked City_. Cartier-Bresson did the same, but I think with one distance. If you can master zone focusing and shoot at f:16 on 4x5", and can mostly shoot at the same subject distance, it can work.

[Brian Ellis]

Good answer. What was the question?

[BrianShaw]

Good answer. What was the question?

Don't know for sure... but the fixation on one or two distances was as much for flash exposure purposes as it was for zone focusing.

[Bill_1856]

More of a FYI than a question, Brian. DOF for a 127mm lens at f:16 and 10 feet is about 6' to 18' which pretty well covers the sort of things that Weegee specialized in.

Incidentally, I don't seem to be able to find the Guide Number for Press 40 flashbubs. Can anybody help? (Same as GE #11.)

[BrianShaw]

250 @ 100 ASA and 1/30 shutter speed or lower.
(from flash exposure calculator in 1977 Kodak Professional photoguide).

280 @ 80 - 125 ASA and 1/30 or lower
(Sylvania P-25 box)

You recall that #11, P40 and P25 all the same GN, right Bill?

I've found the Kodak guide to be right on... especially when one pays attention to the shutter speed compensation (I rarely shoot at 1/30 or slower using handheld Graphic and flash.)

[Bill_1856]

Thanks, Brian. As I recall, the P25 (GE#5) was one stop slower than the P40.
I was reminded of Weegee last night as I watched "The Naked City" on TCM, (named after and based losely on Weegee's book and work). As they said in the introduction, "that city which existed for over 100 years is gone forever" with the introduction of TV and air conditioning.

[BrianShaw]

I've read that Bill, but don't know for sure. The Kodak guide lumps them all together. Maybe the reason is that they are assuming studio reflector for the screw-base and polished bowl for the others.

All I have on hand are a few 11's and a bunch of 25, and 5.'s I still use the 25 and 5 on occasion but haven't used the 11's.

[BrianShaw]

What bulb/reflector did Weegee use?

[BrianShaw]

What bulb/reflector did Weegee use?

Eight inch, probably P-40, maybe 50... answered my own question.

http://museum.icp.org/museum/collections/special/weegee/

[BrianShaw]

http://www.flashbulbs.com/clearbulbs.htm

Scroll about halfway down the 'clear flahbulb' table for P-40 data.

[erie patsellis]

BTW, Weegee used a B&J Press, not a Speed....


erie

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think he used both. There's a well known piece that he wrote for B&J, but he also talks about using a Speed Graphic in the essay in _Naked City_.

[Donald Qualls]

I've read that Bill, but don't know for sure. The Kodak guide lumps them all together. Maybe the reason is that they are assuming studio reflector for the screw-base and polished bowl for the others.

All I have on hand are a few 11's and a bunch of 25, and 5.'s I still use the 25 and 5 on occasion but haven't used the 11's.

The BIG GN charts at Cress Photo (http://www.flashbulbs.com/flash_info.htm) show the screw base #11 and P40 bulbs as a little lower GN than the #5 and P25 bayonet, even with the medium base bulbs using a slightly larger reflector. I've got a few #11, one or two P40, and a bunch of #5 and P25, and it looks to me as if there's more magnesium wire in the #5 despite the smaller envelope; they'd need higher pressure oxygen to fully consume the wire, but that's not a big deal in manufacture. The #5 and P25 appear identical, as do the #11 and P40.

[BrianShaw]

A difference of 20 is almost negligible in terms of GNs (#11 vs #5 at 100 asa). The variability of any GN table, I assume, is partly (if not mostly) based on the differences in reflectors. Reflector size is just part of the variable; reflector surface (shiny vs matte) and curvature play a major role because they help define reflectance and beam width.

I've done similar visual comparison of the amount of wire in the various bulbs. All I know for sure is that there is a lot of light in those bulbs!

[BrianShaw]

I think he used both.

He at least posed with a Speed Graphic (see link in post #10). :D

[Bill_1856]

There's a wonderful story (somewhere on the web) about the B&J Press camera. Apparently it was a real bearcat to keep in production and satisfy the complaints of the owners, so when it finally began to lose sales, the President of B&J personally took the jigs and dies for it and threw them into the Chicago River. I can't recall his comments, but they were definitely not printable in a family newspaper!

[Donald Qualls]

Heh. These days, he'd have turned around and had a summons put in his hand, probably wound up with a multi-kilobuck fine for illegal dumping and/or polluting a waterway...

[Bill_1856]

Apparently, even then it was done on the "midnight shift."

[al olson]

I believe that I have also seen photos of Weegee with a Heiland Strobonar attached to his camera in some of the old photography mags such as Popular Photography and Modern Photography.

The 1952, 9th edition, of Graphic Graflex Photography has an ad for the various Strobonars that were available at that time. As I recall, it was Weegee's enthusiasm for the Strobonar led to my purchase of one in 58. The battery packs for these things were slightly smaller and lighter than a car battery. My right shoulder still sags from having carried that weight around.

Re: Flash bulbs.

I have gleaned the following information from Kodak's Data Book titled Kodak Films, 7th edition, published 1958. Taking just one example, Kodak Tri-X, ASA 200 with 1/25 shutter speed, the guide numbers are as follows:

Between the lens shutters ...
No. 8 in 4 to 5" polished reflectors ------- 180
No. 5 or 25 in 4 to 5" polished reflectors -- 300
No. 2 or 22 in 6 to 7" polished reflectors -- 450
SM or SF in 4 to 5" polished reflectors ---- 160
M-2 in 3" polished reflectors ------------- 200

Focal plane shutters ...
No. 3 or 2A in 6 to 7" polished reflectors - 250
No. 6 or 26 in 4 to 5" polished reflectors - 250

As I recall, the No. 5 bulb was made by GE and the 25 was made by Sylvania. They were indistinguishable, so close was the resemblence. I would assume where there are two bulbs listed in Kodak's table that the first was manufactured by GE and the second by Sylvania.

Hope this is helpful.