When you see a picture, you've just got time to take it, he says. There's no time to worry about exposure meters, filters, and all of that bunk. You catch as catch can. When I take a picture of a guy who's been murdered, there's no one to hold a flash extension for me, no one to move the cops and crowd around for me to get the best composition. You've got thirty seconds in which to work, and you shoot fast.
Many photographers live in a dream world of beautiful backgrounds.
It wouldn't hurt then to get a taste of reality to wake them up. Any one who looks for life can find it. And they don't need to photograph ashcans. The average camera fan reminds me of polyanna, a lolly pop in one hand, and a camera in the other. Weegee works exclusively with a Speed Graphic and a flash gun, both in the daytime as well as at night.