Some months back, someone clued me in to an online Pop Photo column, by HK, about the virtues of rangefinders. "Say what?", I replied...Keppler? He's still alive and writing? Dog bless him! I shouted. It had been a long time.
Back when Modern Photography was still kicking about, the first two things I read in each new issue, in order, were Keppler's "...on the SLR" column, and Julia Scully's column. I got around to the rest in good time, but these two were paramount. Keppler was, to me, a near-perfect balance of tech-and-business-savvy and earthbound wit and clear-headedness, and damned little BS in between. A sober hobbyist as well, you might say.
Reading that recent article made me marvel at Keppler's enthusiasm and stamina, which in turn had me wondering how much longer he'd be around. Reading his obit some days back was a nasty blow. He wrote with knowledge (more than many), but with wit and heart as well. His writing helped me parse sense from nonsense in the then-to-me bewildering world of photo hardware (I'm talking very-early 1970s here), and gave me a good laugh while he was at it. I raise a toast to him tonight. He will be sorely missed.
- Barrett