172. Club Weegee + Speed-O-Matic ca. 1948
atelier ying, nyc.
This continues a series for cameras that were quickly made obscure by trends in technology (please also see the Nemean Lion as another example).
The 1947 Speed-O-Matic was extremely slow to use by modern standards and is the spiritual descendant of the Dubroni, an early camera that I have used as a paradigm for some of my designs.
One could consider the Speed-O-Matic as a Mini-Weegee camera or even a 'Toy' Weegee. It certainly does have a secure place in the camera world through my eyes.
I believe Weegee would have seen the Speed-O-Matic as a godsend were it not for the dodging effects he needed for his photojournalistic work. His developing process was also messier than the Speed-O-Matic which truly is a fast Weegee camera. If one had to develop but 30 or so photographs, the slowness of the process would hardly be noticeable. Even the shooting process would adapt itself easily.
My proposed designs for Weegee are a series that approach him from various directions.
By the time he developed photographs in his Chevrolet Coupe, he already had become a skilled darkroom technician and simply transferred this process to the outdoors, to the trunk of his car, as a kind of modern man with a can-do attitude.
This design brings him to a serene setting, and transports his rough and tumble darkroom-in-the-car concept to the smaller scale of a portable Dubroni (and a tiny version of it too), a much more precise and intimate experience. Weegee used his Speed Graphic as an enlarger which I also attempt to transform for the Speed-O-Matic. Indeed the Speed-O-Matic in its cool, sleek Bakelite appearance easily recalls Weegee's shiny coupe.
Using the idea of the Airstream Travel Trailer, this homage aims to please Weegee the automobile fan. The kit is a 1936 Teardrop trailer attachment and table which expands the camera-RV interior as a deluxe slide viewer.
Thus in the Airstream/Teardrop the modern day Weegee views and also displays his work in the same dark surroundings (here the table transforms the alley into an outdoor lounge) where he famously developed photographs for the press.
The design theme is closely related to the following as cameras that transform to gallery spaces or in this particular design a lounge space :
- Gallery Ying (please see my link below).
- 38. The New Gallery Ying
- 94. The Maria Malibran renovation
- 109. The Ozu Photo Studio camera
Gallery Ying link:
www.flickr.com/photos/64011301@N08/7010097557/
Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.
172. Club Weegee + Speed-O-Matic ca. 1948
atelier ying, nyc.
This continues a series for cameras that were quickly made obscure by trends in technology (please also see the Nemean Lion as another example).
The 1947 Speed-O-Matic was extremely slow to use by modern standards and is the spiritual descendant of the Dubroni, an early camera that I have used as a paradigm for some of my designs.
One could consider the Speed-O-Matic as a Mini-Weegee camera or even a 'Toy' Weegee. It certainly does have a secure place in the camera world through my eyes.
I believe Weegee would have seen the Speed-O-Matic as a godsend were it not for the dodging effects he needed for his photojournalistic work. His developing process was also messier than the Speed-O-Matic which truly is a fast Weegee camera. If one had to develop but 30 or so photographs, the slowness of the process would hardly be noticeable. Even the shooting process would adapt itself easily.
My proposed designs for Weegee are a series that approach him from various directions.
By the time he developed photographs in his Chevrolet Coupe, he already had become a skilled darkroom technician and simply transferred this process to the outdoors, to the trunk of his car, as a kind of modern man with a can-do attitude.
This design brings him to a serene setting, and transports his rough and tumble darkroom-in-the-car concept to the smaller scale of a portable Dubroni (and a tiny version of it too), a much more precise and intimate experience. Weegee used his Speed Graphic as an enlarger which I also attempt to transform for the Speed-O-Matic. Indeed the Speed-O-Matic in its cool, sleek Bakelite appearance easily recalls Weegee's shiny coupe.
Using the idea of the Airstream Travel Trailer, this homage aims to please Weegee the automobile fan. The kit is a 1936 Teardrop trailer attachment and table which expands the camera-RV interior as a deluxe slide viewer.
Thus in the Airstream/Teardrop the modern day Weegee views and also displays his work in the same dark surroundings (here the table transforms the alley into an outdoor lounge) where he famously developed photographs for the press.
The design theme is closely related to the following as cameras that transform to gallery spaces or in this particular design a lounge space :
- Gallery Ying (please see my link below).
- 38. The New Gallery Ying
- 94. The Maria Malibran renovation
- 109. The Ozu Photo Studio camera
Gallery Ying link:
www.flickr.com/photos/64011301@N08/7010097557/
Design, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.