Weegee

Considered by some to have invented tabloid photojournalism, Weegee (a.k.a Arthur Fellig) is known for his unflinching images of gangs, crime scenes, and street life in New York City, as well as his snapshots of glamorous Hollywood stars. With a reputation for being the first at the scene of a crime, Fellig cultivated his own mythology, claiming he had psychic abilities to predict crimes, and adopted the name Weegee—linked phonetically to séance-cum-boardgame Ouija—to highlight his predictive abilities. In fact, Weegee would sleep fully clothed with a police radio by his side, and kept a camera, typewriter, and darkroom equipment in the trunk of his car, enabling him to produce images with unrivalled speed. Murders and fires, Weegee once said, were his “best sellers,” his “bread and butter.”