Al Kaplan has passed away :(

[gho]

My condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

 

[tedwhite]

Thank you, Bob, for the photos of a man I never met, but with whom I've been communicating with,in one way or another, for years. I've always appreciated his comments and suggestions. May you rest in peace, Al, and God bless you and yours.

 

[VictorM.]

Such sad news.

 

[Obscura]

He will be sadly missed. He was an inspirational man.

 

[Trius]

Words are so hard to come by. It will be difficult for his family, but I wish them grace and peace as they go through their grieving.

In my mind I see Al documenting a world quite new to him. Can't wait to see those contact sheets.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I am devastated... and didn't even meet him personally.

My most sincere condolences to his family... and to us, for our loss. Al was a sharp man, and a competent photographer, who led a rich life. His work is his best legacy.

 

[Tuolumne]

Let me add my condolences. So sorry. Al will be missed. Baruch Dayan Emeth.

/T

 

[monochromejrnl]

I started a new thread but then decided to delete it and put this here:

I'd like to suggest that RFF members consider taking a wide-angle self-portrait over the next few days and post it here to commemorate Al's passing. He loved the 15mm and I often admired the SPs he took of himself with friends or even strangers he met at his local Starbucks. I never met him (but exchanged emails with him on a number of occassions) but I'll always associate the WA SP with Al.

He was clearly a common thread that brought many RF users together in cyberspace and I think it would be fitting to commemorate him by sharing a bit of ourselves with each other here.

Any wide angle will do - film or digital.

 

[akalai]

Thank you Al!

Condolences to the Kaplan family and all those who loved Al.

 

[robinsonphotography]

May he rest in peace--all the best to Al, wherever he may be, and his family, during this tough time.

 

[chris00nj]

Requiescat in pace, Al.

 

[robklurfield]

Bob (& Al),
Thanks for putting a smile back on my face.

I said that Al went out living life at 90 miles an hour. Here is another photo of Al from the afternoon we spent together. We met for lunch and Al immediately connected with Anna who was sitting at the next table. I though they were old friends. It turns out Al is just fast. Anna not only looked hot and wanted some modeling portfolio shots but finally told us that her husband had just left her to pursue a relationship with a male. You can connect the dots.

 

[gdi]

My condolences to his family, I am very sorry to hear this.

 

[jamesj]

Condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.

It's funny this forum has been a place i come and hang out learning from all of you.
I know i don't put that much time here as much as i did before but i still love coming here. And to know someone from the board is gone it really strikes a blow even to me...

 

[elshaneo]

My condolences to his family.

May he rests in peace.

RFF has lost one of its great members.

 

[maddoc]

That is very sad news. May he rest in peace.

 

[dcsang]

There are SO many wonderful, beautiful, photos of Al here - I know he likely had many (and his family had many too) of himself however is there a way that we can get these to his son?

I only say this because, as many of you may be aware, photographers usually have very few images of themselves but many photographs of others or other things.

I think it's very important to allow people to take your photo and Al was, although I never met him, very obliging based on what I've seen so far.

I really feel like I knew this man...

Dave

 

[wlewisiii]

"To absent friends..."

RIP, Al.

William

 

[robklurfield]

Dave, I'm going to PM you the e-mail address of the fellow who contacted me earlier today after I posted a message of condolence on Al's blog. He is a friend of Al's and the family. He's been managing the blog while Al was is in the hospital. He will attending the funeral on Friday and will certainly pass along any message from us. I can pass the along to anyone else on request, but I don't want to publish on the board without this fellow's permission first. Just PM me if you want to contact him. He was also kind enough to provide me a phone number where he can be reached. He's the person who has been clearing any submissions before they are posted on Al's Price of Silver blog.

He wrote:

"[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hi Robert,

I'm Jon ___, a long-time friend of Al's who had the worst duty of all this morning to post news of his passing on The Price of Silver blog. I got your message in the comments section about the donations, took a screen shot and will pass it on in person to Jonathan when I see him tomorrow at the graveside funeral in Massachusetts.

I've been following the response on the other rangefinder forum (I'm not a member) and its been incredible.

If you have any other questions or need to speak with me in person, please do not hesitate to call my cell.

Together in mutual sorrow, Jon[/FONT][/FONT]

There are SO many wonderful, beautiful, photos of Al here - I know he likely had many (and his family had many too) of himself however is there a way that we can get these to his son?

I only say this because, as many of you may be aware, photographers usually have very few images of themselves but many photographs of others or other things.

I think it's very important to allow people to take your photo and Al was, although I never met him, very obliging based on what I've seen so far.

I really feel like I knew this man...

Dave

 

[notraces]

Al was a huge inspiration - and a real help to all of us -- a true gentleman - a great photographer -- he'll be missed immensely...