In Praise of Tom A.!

[Tom A]

Blushing furiously as we speak! I like to be able to provide a service to my customers that I would want other manufacturers to give us.
I am also grateful for the fact that the Softie and rapidwinder users are exactly that "users" - and that through the RFf/Flickr etc I have been able to "meet" and communicate with you all.
I love photography and images - and if I can give back in a small way some of the arcane knowledge (and trivia) that has accumulated over decades, that is good too.
Thank you all - and now its time to go out and shoot some more TriX, both for me and the rest of you.
PS Trius - we should have more beers.
Damaso, enjoy the winders and keep shooting
Bill, coming from you, it means a lot to me.
A lot of credit has to go Tuulikki too, who is the one that keeps communications open (I am not good at e-mails!) - and of course Mr B who supervises these operations from various sunny vantage points.

 

[foggie]

Thanks, Tom, for fielding my emails and (sometimes all too late) phone calls when I have questions about scratchy negatives, expiring chemicals, the fixer that's just been poured directly into fresh film, or the neopan 1600 that's jammed in an M2.

 

[JohnTF]

Tom, I would add to the praise from what I have heard from people who know you first hand, and your kind replies to messages, but I don't want to put any more strain on your modesty. ;-)

Hope to meet up with you.

I bought Igor a beer and lunch last week to warm up to the future task of the now established ritual expectation. ;-)

Regards, John

 

[tritiated]

The work and insights of Tom are one of the things that got me into proper photography in the first place (after initially taking pictures on a Lomo fisheye). Mr A is an inspirational man!

 

[elshaneo]

Tom is certainly one of our RFF hero 🙂

And if he ever comes over to Melbourne, Australia. I'll buy him a beer 😀

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

oh oh, Tom, imagine you doing that for everyone who buys a used rapidwinder and people then sell one of the two they have. vicious circle!

I would buy you a good bunch of beer for a purple soft release for my girlfriend's CL though 😀

 

[Tom A]

Tom is certainly one of our RFF hero 🙂

And if he ever comes over to Melbourne, Australia. I'll buy him a beer 😀

Shane, make that a XXXX - not a VB Bitter!

 

[JohnTF]

oh oh, Tom, imagine you doing that for everyone who buys a used rapidwinder and people then sell one of the two they have. vicious circle!

I would buy you a good bunch of beer for a purple soft release for my girlfriend's CL though 😀

I actually thought of that-- but did not want to start the trend. ;-)

After a while more would be coming back than sold?

Sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me. ;-)

If this thread continues, Tom will have a case of beer for all his trouble.


J

 

[naruto]

And, beer from me in Bangalore, India. Kingfisher beer - brewed locally. 🙂

Also, if he prefers, some local strong stuff. 😛

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

He's also got the finest humour around!

We're all honored with his sweet presence here.

 

[terrycioni]

My First RapidWinder

My First RapidWinder

It was sunny Friday morning in June 2004 at the famous Zen Cafe. I had ordered up a Rapidwinder a few days earlier from Tuulikki and she suggested I pick it up at the Friday morning gathering at Zen where Tom would be from about 9 am on.... I had no idea of where the Zen Cafe was or what to expect, but that is a whole other story told in pictures at T&T flickr site.

What an amazing opportunity for me - to meet and greet the inventor and manufacturer at a very cool Vancouver only type spot on Yew St. Tom tested the Rapidwinder on my camera and showed me the ins and out of the winder and how to use it. He freely shared whatever he could and I watched in amazement as Tom loaned lenses out to various shooters attending that morning - it was a special moment for me. To make the point at the same meeting - he offered to loan me a 35mm F1.2 Nokton next time we met. At offer I accepted - and so it began.

What is interesting is that once you meet Tom you somehow know you have a sincere friend for life. Since the first meeting we have become trading partners, computer hackers, we share all sorts of gear, and most important we have become good friends. I enjoy nothing more than sitting down with T&T at the Alibi Room or Havana for a meal. Tom, Tuulikki, and Mr. B are a very special gift to the photographic community in Vancouver and the world.

Tom and the Yew St. gang are very special friends and they certainly have enriched my world immensely.

Best to all. Terry.

 

[Tom A]

Blushing wildly from all that praise - even Tuulikki blushed and Mr B - did roll over once!
Thanks to Terry - I was dragged into the computer world. he has tried to turn me digital too - but that has been less successful. He knows more of whats on my hard drive and memory than I do!
Of course, both of us are "gear heads" and love to play with new (and old) lenses.
What really counts here is friends - without them life gets a bit empty - and Terry and Stephen - and of course Sophie have become important in our life. When I stare at the jumble on the computer screens - it is really good to know that I can phone Terry and turn the whole thing over to him!
Here is to another decade - and maybe I will even learn how to to more stuff with the Apple.
Thanks Terry
Tom

 

[Steven Dooley]

I'm glad someone started a thread like this.
You're the tops, Tom! THANK-YOU for all of your valuable advice.

 

[BillBingham2]

Tom,

If you or the mrs. need any help with the Apple please let me know happy to help if I can. Happy to provide alternatives, second opinions, crazy approaches and such.

Steven,

You are very right. I have to say I've met a lot of great guys. Guys who are 1,000,000 better than I've run into in business in Photography. Tom is one of the best. He shares himself, this stuff, his knowledge, one of a great bread of people.

B2 (;->

 

[Carterofmars]

I'm moved by the affection shown this man Tom A. How very special he must be.

A toast to Tom A: The richest man in town. (Harry Bailey; It's a Wonderful Life)

 

[mgd711]

Ohh... Tom’s special ,thats for sure.

Unfortunately I’ll miss him in Japan as I’m on my way home now, its a pity you weren’t on vacation in April as I would have offered you a tour off the shipa s we will be in Yokohama for 2 months.

 

[CameraQuest]

Damn I miss Tom A

 

[charjohncarter]

On Flickr some has/had a site with him. That person post every so often. It is nice to see his name: a little pleasant joy of my day.

 

[Tom A]

On Flickr some has/had a site with him. That person post every so often. It is nice to see his name: a little pleasant joy of my day.

Hi! it's me Tuulikki keeping Tom and my Flickr-site alive. We started posting on it together in February 2007 so it has become habit forming for me. Since then I have also introduced an IG site where I mostly post pictures and comments by Tom.
It's "abrahamssonsoftie". So yes I am keeping Tom's spirit very much alive while missing him very much.
And obviously I also lurk here on RFf while keeping our business
rapidwinder.com alive.
Kind regards to all!
Tuulikki

 

[charjohncarter]

Hi! it's me Tuulikki keeping Tom and my Flickr-site alive. So yes I am keeping Tom's spirit very much alive while missing him very much.

Tuulikki

I would have used your name but I couldn't remember how to spell it. He was a great guy for me and RFF. There was something kind about him, that I felt when I started here.