Snapshot

At left, the image attribution of Arthur fellig known as Weegee. He photographed graphic street and crime scenes in and around the Manhattan area during the 30's and 40's.

Announced this week in New York Times, the NYPD evidence photo trove is to be digitized and released sometime this summer. It will be available online.

I have a book of Weegee's photographs on my desk beside 1984 and my always handy Pelican Shakespeare.

Voyeurism?

Yes. I find scenes of crime and the people around crime simply remarkable inspiration for the emotional journey these people are undertaking.

I have carried in my wallet little pictures from periodicals. G. Gordon Liddy was in there before he became a talk show pundit. I had a picture of a Cadillac Eldorado driving over the chest of a striking worker outside the Frontier in Las Vegas for a good decade or so. I had a picture of a Titan block D2 for a bit. I've had a snapshot of some fellows doing body reclamation work from Rwanda. I've also had a section of a map embossed with the targeting coordinates for Moscow as well as a photograph of  the entrance to section 33 at Lubyanka.

I need strong emotion. I deal with strong subjects. I like strong photographs.

Growing up with the on-screen execution of a prisoner by the Chief of the National Police in Saigon sticks in my mind. Eddie Adams took that picture for NBC.

I'm off to dispose of some characters now.

I can't wait for summer. Gonna be a grand old time.