CRIME: WEEGEE
Arthur Fellig AKA Weegee is generally (if not entirely accurately) considered the father of crime-scene photography and the 'police beat.' He pioneered new developments in flash and low-light photography and 'exposed' the nocturnal life in New York to the public eye for the first time. It is interesting to think that photographic coverage would be dictated by technological limitations, but prior to him news photographs were more-often-than-not taken in high light situations, outdoors, on stage or with cumbersome and dangerous magnesium flashes.
Weegee had a police radio in his car and in some cases he was known for beating the officers to the scene of the crime. He would develop his film on-site in the trunk of his car. His workflow anticipated the lifestyle of any stringer or wire photographer decades later. The history of his work is also interesting because it is a classic example of 'practical' photography and its recuperation into the art/art history discourse. There is also a nifty NYT slideshow about him here.
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