Dan Wagner 2012
About the Book:
In the city that never sleeps, insomnia is a given.
For me, insomnia is the inability to resist the call of the night. So I grab my Rolleiflex cameras, a pocketful of flashbulbs, and head out to my favorite New York City haunts.
When I ignore that call, I can’t sleep. I toss, turn, and wonder what’s happening at Webster Hall in the East Village, if there’s a good crowd of club-hoppers at the West Side Meat Market, or how Steven, my favorite bouncer at The Fat Black Pussycat, is doing.
Ironically, on the nights I shoot, my insomnia is even worse. Images illuminated by my 30-year-old Sylvania flashbulbs are emblazoned on my over-stimulated brain. I can’t wait to develop them and bring them back to life.
Why flashbulbs? Flashbulb street photography poses a unique challenge, in that there’s one chance to record the image. Each picture taken with a flashbulb is a one-time only special event. As Weegee – the street photographer best known for his gritty nighttime shots of 1940s crime scenes -- put it:
“People are so wonderful that a photographer has only to wait for that breathless moment to capture what he wants on film.”
There’s so much to see and capture at night. Armed with my cameras and flashbulbs, I wait for those breathless moments.
Why black and white film? While advances in digital photography make it possible to approximate the timeless, classic look of black and white film, it’s impossible to replace the artistry involved in mastering the variables of film. Digital photography lets you take a picture, see it immediately, and make changes until you’re satisfied. Film demands decades of experience before you can predict how a final image will look.
I shot the photos in this book between May and August 2012. Because city nightlife changes with the seasons, I’m already planning new night shots. In fact, just thinking about the moments I’ll catch as snow falls on busy New Yorkers is already keeping me awake. I can’t wait.
I bet Weegee had insomnia. I bet he’d agree that if what you’re after as an artist or photographer keeps you awake, you’re on the right track.
Testimonial:
For my book, INSOMNIA The City That Never Sleeps, I used Kodak Tmax and Tri-X 120 black and white films. Why did I use Tmax and Tri-X? Good questions. Sometimes when number 10 on your Marshall Stack is not loud enough you need to max it to 11. That and the fact that the Tmax base is thicker and easier to handle, and sharper made me reach for the max. However, I also like the traditional Tri-X to add some nitty gritty to the nighttime city. Actually I confess, whatever was defrosted was usually my first choice. Of course all this fine Kodak film required beaucoup gallons of Tmax Developer, Rapid Fix, Photo Flo, Permawash, and 120 archival negative sleeves. A few swipes of my credit card, and presto-chango, alakazam, and voila -- the Unique magic did its' voodoo, and UPS did the rest -- before you knew it, it was deja vu all over again and there were my goodies on my front doorstep. Just knowing I can count on the crew at Unique to have my back cures my insomnia and gives me the best sleep ever.