
Tiny Town, USA – Pictured left is Christopher Wright, a very accomplished photographer who specializes in black and white portraits and has worked in large format medium and likes, truly, to get under the hood in his studio.
He stepped into a conversation I was having at Gary's bookstore, Buffalo Street Books, about the legendary Weegee ... Wright pointed out, correctly, that Weegee was a big slob.
But Wright went on to add more details: Weegee rarely bathed and stank of dark room chemicals and was not someone within whose fragrant zone a body wished to be.
It always has been a peeve of mine that someone's body odor, if in fact they bore a generous aura -- a key fact about them -- is often absent in general biographies.
But if they did smell and it is mentioned, it is usually because they smelled bad.
It is rumored that Napolean stank to high heaven as well as Chairman Mao. I think this is important to know.
Anyway, I did not ask Mr. Wright if he ever got close enough to get a whiff of Weegee's musk, but in perusing Wright's work there is no doubt in my mind but that my new acquaintance is a fine artist [and --see comment below -- he presented with no odor, offensive or otherwise, that I could detect].
Mr. Wright knows all there is to know about the elements of photography and apparently has taught students how to make their own cameras with items you can get at a supermarket. He teaches a course at Cazenovia College on some of the more arcane photographic knowledge he possesses and we are interested in checking it out. Wright's work can be viewed at -- www.visionsinsilver.com. We recommend a visit.
– C. Penbroke Handy