Very sad news

[Vobluda]

Well known and praised camera repairman Jürgen Kuschnik died unexpectedly last week:/

 

[rawhead]

Oh my god…. He repaired not one, but three SL66's for me in the last several years… always prompt and professional work. If there ever was a Rolleiflex in need of a repair, I wouldn't have sent it to anybody else, even if it mean expensive shipping to and from Germany. May he rest in peace.

 

[Tras Krom]

I was really pleased with his work and his attitude. Too bad he is not around anymore... RIP

 

[kossi008]

Too bad. He did an excellent job on my Canon AT-1 once, my first ever own camera... never got around to sending him that defective Rolleicord...

 

[taskoni]

Never heard of him, may he rest in peace.

 

[randomm]

I dealt with Jurgen only once and virtually that. Rest in Peace Jurgen.

 

[valdas]

Very very sad, he serviced one of my Rolleiflexes...

 

[baachitraka]

Last email(28 Jan) I got from him, telling 'I am not repairing cameras any-more'. I was disappointed after reading the e-mail but now I am very sad after reading this news.

R.I.P

 

[sevo]

That is really sad - he was truly an expert second to none! And way too young to go...

 

[dabick42]

I had never heard of Jurgen prior to reading this thread, but to learn of the passing of any well-regarded camera repairer is a sad event. May he rest in peace.

 

[ruediger]

That is indeed very sad news. He serviced my SL66 years ago and just early December last year.

 

[P3tr]

Sad news. Rest in Peace Jurgen.

 

[andersju]

Terrible news. Jürgen did excellent work on my first Rolleiflex a couple of years ago, and I was just thinking about sending him another. May he rest in peace.

 

[oftheherd]

Never used him for any repair work, but have often heard people praise his work, and his work ethic. Sad to hear.

 

[JeffL]

Sad news. He was very pleasant to deal with and a great craftsman.

 

[raid]

This is sad.
Is this the same Jurgen who fixed the bellows of old folders?

 

[Ljós]

This is very sad news indeed. I am very surprised.... he did a Rolleicord for me some years ago, and we talked a bit on the phone. He was very curteous, and professional, and most of all, he did not sound old at all.

In old threads over at photo.net you can see that he had a sterling reputation in the U.S. during the years he spent living there. He was Rollei trained and actually someone who officially trained other Rollei repairers. Outstanding work.

Here is the resume from his website:
http://www.jurgenkuschnik.com/resume.html

Thank you Vobluda for this information.

Greetings, Ljós

 

[sevo]

This is sad.
Is this the same Jurgen who fixed the bellows of old folders?

Nope, that would be Jürgen Kreckel (a.k.a. certo6).

 

[andersju]

I did not know that Jürgen Kuschnik was also a photographer in his own right. Here's a biography from the Schomburg Gallery.

Rollei relocated Kuschnik to California in the late 1970s, where he eventually left the company to seriously pursue his artistic passion. He was stimulated to create within different forms of photography including black and white, cibachrome and manipulation, employing both medium and large-format cameras. Having mastered the traditional darkroom techniques and printing processes, he began to experiment with and also became proficient in platinum printing, solarization, SX70 manipulation and Polaroid image transfer.

For a time, Kuschnik took membership in both the San Francisco-based Friends of Photography and the Carmel, California-based Center of Photographic Art. He traveled frequently along the California coast for inspiration, meeting with such noted photographers as Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Cole Weston, Robert Werling, Sky Bergman, Michael Kenna and Jack Welpott. Kuschnik admired the talents of fellow German-born photographer, Ruth Bernhard and studied briefly under her through the Center of Photographic Art.

They also have pictures from his 2002 exhibition Headless.

Kuschnik's SX 70 Polaroid images are created through a photo manipulation process whereby the Polaroids's emulsion is distorted through the use of a small hand-held, spoon-shaped tool. The result is a wavy, abstracted image that presents a painterly quality. Kuschnik then re-photographs the Polaroid image onto 4 x 5 film and produces an archival print on Ilfochrome paper.

Articles about his work:

Los Angeles Times (October 1998)

Los Angeles Times (August 2002)

The Austin Chronicle

 

[soultheworld]

this is very sad news. i got to know him last year, he fixed my Nikon F3 and we had a nice chat about photography and vintage cameras.
i wanted to call him to make an appointment today to get some of my gear fixed when his wife answered and told me what happened. even though i did not know him very well it sad to see somebody passing away too soon. RIP Jürgen.