RIP Tom A

[pan]

Very sad news

Very sad news

I didn't know him but we were contact on Flickr and i was following his posts on this forum.

He was sharing his knowledge in photography. He was like a Guru for a lot of people include me.

I have a thought for Tuulikki and i wish my condoleance to all his family.

RIP Tom.

Cyril

 

[lundrog]

ADMIN EDIT

Tom Abrahamsson was loved by everyone who knew him, an amazing man of incredible kindness, curiosity, optimism and love for life.
And yes, he just happened to know more about photography and Leica than anyone else I ever knew.

Tom also had an almost inexhaustible store of amazing true stories. One of my favorites was being stopped in the back roads of Finland by a motorcycle cop who wanted to see what Tom was transporting on a dark and cold night. The cop peered into the back with his flashlight, only to see the hood of a king cobra raise up in its cage. For some reason he then lost all interest what was in the back seat and was happy to see Tom and his cargo on their way.

Tom fell November 29th, hurting his back and limiting his mobility. That started almost daily doctor visits. He checked into the hospital January 1st.
He passed away this morning unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack. My deepest condolences to Tuulikki.

He was my friend. I will miss him a lot. But then, Tom was everyone's friend. He was that sort of person.

I think he is heaven now, laughing and talking with Oskar Barnack about how to improve the next Leica M.

God Bless Thomas

Stephen

Tom On Flickr
the pic of him laughing in the hospital was taken the day before he died.
____________________________________________________


I've just learned that Tom passed away. Although I never met him in person, I had occasion to correspond with him and found him a true gentleman. He'll be sorely missed by the Leica community.

My condolences to his family and friends.

 

[pagpow]

What a loss!! to us and others. As many have said, Tom was very generous with his knowledge and his support. Condolences to Tuulikki and all his families, biological and chosen.

Giorgio

 

[Ronny]

Tom was from Sweden, and have also been working for swedish newspapers with black Leica M. In Sweden we say, Vila i frid, in english R.I.P. He was a fantastic Man and we will all remember him. I wish my condoleance to all his family. Ronny/Sweden

 

[Bille]

I´m sad. Rest in peace Tom.

 

[burancap]

Horrible news! My condolences to his family and so many friends. He will be missed.

 

[Penzes]

My condolences to his family and friends.

 

[fbf]

My deepest condolences. RIP Tom.
A very sad day

 

[Travis L.]

Very sad news. I only had the pleasure of meeting Tom a few times at LHSA events, but he was always a pleasure to be around.
We always ended up sharing a beer and maybe a pipe.

I shot this image with his Zeiss Planar on my M6TTL. That's my 35 Summilux he's inspecting.
This was shortly before he field stripped my rapid winder to make sure it was still in good working order.

Here's a box of Tri-X he jokingly autographed for me. TX Forever indeed!

 

[Tompas]

Godspeed, Mr. Abrahamsson.

 

[sjones]

Very sad to hear. I’m sure I’m not the only who chose an M2 over an M3 due in part to Tom’s infectious passion for the particular model.

 

[Pablito]

About ten years ago I was working on a project with my Leicas and needed a Rapid Grip since none of the other grips felt right to me. But I was short on funds. So I wrote to Tom, explained my circumstances, and asked if by any chance he had any used ones that he'd be willing to sell at discount. Yes he did, and he gave me a very good price on an older, but almost like-new Rapid Grip. Also, he asked about my project, which is now a published book. Just wanted to register one more example of his generosity.

 

[K14]

I'll have to bookmark that date to shoot a roll of b&w film in Tom's memory. May have to be some Double X (5222)

gb, I agree. Tom was the main contributor to the 5222 thread. That got me started on this film back way in 2008. He always gave us good tips and taught us how to experiment. His d23 mix got me deep into the developers cookbook. His freezer pictures of all that xx was amazing.

 

[twopointeight]

We spent a few hours together in Vancouver at the home of a mutual friend. I always wanted to see him again, but the chance never came. Somewhere along the way I acquired a chrome rapidwinder for an M2, long gone though. RIP Tom.

 

[nikonhswebmaster]

Got this from a Nikon Historical Society friend of his yesterday.

... I got word that longtime NHS member, Tom Abrahamsson passed away yesterday morning, January 6th. Tom had experienced a series of falls of late, and was in the hospital getting his medications updated the time of his passing. ... His knowledge of all things Nikon and Leica was impressive! I last saw Tom at the November 6th camera show in Vancouver. He was in good spirits and said he was selling well!

Travis, what a quintessential photo of Tom!

 

[GlennB]

Very sad to hear of Tom's passing. He was a very giving person, from my own experience, even with people he didn't know.
RIP

 

[Eric T]

I only knew Tom through this forum. I enjoyed the kindness, patience. and generosity with which he responded to some of my naive posts. He was a great educator on this forum. I will miss him very much. We will all miss him dearly. He was a great guy. RIP Tom.
Eric

 

[Dirk]

A great contributor to the photography world and this forum, and by all accounts a great person, as well. We will miss Tom A.

 

[rfaspen]

Perhaps a little of Tom's influence???

I adopted an M2 as my favorite shooter after reading his praises, but before I had a chance to correspond with Tom. After we talked, I felt darn good about my M2. Notice the softie.....Tom touched our photographic lives in so many ways....

 

[Bill Kapinski]

Just heard the news. My condolences to the family.
RIP