Oh, this is so great ! In 1958 Candid Recordings released a LP called "Famous Photographers Tell How". A blog Boogie Woogie Flu posted up a mp3 of Weegee and man, I love sitting here listening to Weegee telling stories from the 1950s. Weegee speaks for about 10 minutes on how to get into photography and relates stories of his experience.
Boogie Woogie also posted a mp3 of Henri Cartier-Bresson's talk also. In the comments of the Online Photographer post, I found this comment :
Every time I see a reference to Weegee I think of my first full-time photography job. It was on the photo staff of the Portland Press Herald and Evening Express in Portland, Maine, in 1970. A lot of the city still looked like it was right out of the 1930s.
The oldest guys on the staff were close to retirement and they carried around 4x5 Speed Graphics or Mamiya twin-lens reflexes and shot with flash bulbs or "potato masher" electronic flashes. A couple of them limped, wore floppy brim hats, and chewed on cigar stubs.
I was the youngest guy at age 21 and I shot with a Leica M2R and a Nikon F loaded with Tri-X push processed to ASA 1200 a lot of the time. To my back some of the old guys called me the "prima donna." I suppose I was. I was just out of the University of Maine journalism program, had the fancy new gear, and thought I knew it all. It was like working in an old, black and white movie. Amazing to think back on it. - Steve Muskie
(Via The Online Photographer)
I transcribed the Henri Cartier Bresson interview into a written word document and you can find it on my site http://ericamcdonaldphoto.com under ’scribbling in the dark’, along with the other photographers’ talks. It was easier for me to fully digest what he was saying by reading than listening alone, and I figured it would be good to have it out there for anyone wanting to reference it down the line, as well as for anyone who has trouble with HCB’s accent. If I get time, I’ll transcribe the Weegee one as well.
ReplyDelete