Al Kaplan has passed away.

<p>A great loss - someone I greatly admired as a person. I am deeply shocked</p>

<p>Great Guy. He will be missed.</p>

<p>Sad news, but not tragic. Al enjoyed his time on this earth, and made the most of it. I'll miss him. </p>

<p>Here's to you, Al - a New Year's Eve (almost) toast. I hope they have superwide lenses where you're headed. And stuffed monkeys. And cigarettes and coffee, and pretty girls.</p>

<p>Al's work was in a sub-genre of its own and simply fascinating. To add to that he was an interesting personality and always a pleasure to communicate with or just listen to.</p><p>A sad way to leave 2009 behind. My condolences to his family.</p><p>I hope his blog and his legacy lives for many years to come.</p>

<p>I, too, will also miss Al Kaplan. His comments and observations added to the value of this forum. His photo essay about Carl, the shoe repairman was my favorite of his many contributions. It is still here on Photo.net.</p>

<p>I am very sorry to hear it. Hope his comments and advices may benefit all of us forever! His spirits always here.</p>

<p>If a man is to shed the lightof the sun upon other men, he must first of all have it within himself. Al was an inspiration to me and I am sure the light will be wit him. My sincere condolences to all his family and friends.</p>

<p>Al was one of many really knowledgeable photographers who used to visit here. Many of them were driven away by the negative comments from posters who don't know them or their reputation. PN became much poorer because of this (many sites suffered the same fate). Al was an exception, he trudged on, and late comers(relatively speaking) like me were thus able to learn a lot.<br>

The last bit of knowledge I gained from him was about the quick finder on a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex.<br>

Thank you, Al.</p>

I really liked Al and his contributions to the Leica community.

Condoleances to his family.

<p>you just can disappear like that...Al! I still haven't figured out wot lobe t' file on my 40 to bring up t' 35 frame lines...sorry t' see ya go so soon.</p>

<p>I will miss Al. I wish him all joy!</p>

<p>It was always interesting to follow the discussions in which Al Kaplan participated.<br>

RIP.</p>

<p>I only hope they let him bring his Leica's (and his 15mm Skopar) to heaven.<br>

I met Al in Miami earlier this decade, and we went deep sea fishing together. He was a great guy, a gracious host, and a real gentlemen. He loved his family, the ocean and taking pictures.</p>

<h1 >Vios Con Dios Preacher.<br /></h1>

<p>I spent an afternoon with Al a few months ago. Be assured that Al did not slow down and coast to a stop but instead lived life at a 90 mile an hour pace up to the end.</p>

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<p>Al, you showed us life to the fullest. I liked that you loved fishing besides photographing with Leica and RF cameras. Tight lines and Tri-X wherever you are. You will be missed. </p>

<p>He was my buddy & Florida "photo net pal" for many years. The one shot I ever posted on my "Gallery"<br>

in Photo net. was my pic.of Al taken in 2004.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Al would say: "Paul, haven't I showed you a million times how to display a photo on Photo.net?" See, old buddy, I still need your help! Rest in peace.</p>

<p>Al was one of the treasures of p.net, at a time when a lot of interesting photographers and personaliities were posting. The fact it was 'necessary to have a parting of ways' leaves this forum the poorer.</p>

<p>As for Al's second parting of ways, that's much harder to argue with. Happy shooting Al, you left a great legacy, both of photos and of helpfulness to others.</p>

<p>Shocked and saddened by this sudden turn of events<br>

Missed him for a while here where I felt he left a big gap but enjoyed his recent contributions on RFF<br>

Gadge</p>

 

<p>I really enjoyed his post and corresponded with him via email a few times. He will be missed.</p>

<p>I'm heartbroken. It seems like just yesterday we were exchanging e-mails about everything under the sun. A fellow South Floridian, he was one of the few that was unimpressed by the phoney glitz and glamor that have plagued that region and turned it into a Southern extension of the Magic Kingdom.<br>

two Kaplan quotes from our e-mail exchanges</p>

On Annie Liebovitz and her bankruptcy:

"She was the right girl in the right place at the right time and the media took it from there. They needed a female photographer to promote, being Jewish helped, being gay was the icing on the cake. She was a lousy damned photographer, and it turns out that it's easier to hire good photo assistants than reliable financial advisors."

General sense of humor:

"I just can't seem to hook up with a sane woman. Otherwise I'm fine."

And finally, a photograph of Seminole Indians that he was kind enough to contribute to my blog

<a href="http://gonecity.blogspot.com/2008/07/guest-contributor-al-kaplan.html">http://gonecity.blogspot.com/2008/07/guest-contributor-al-kaplan.html</a>

We'll have coffee when I get to the other side, Al.

john

<p>John,</p>

<p>Thanks for the quotes and the link too. I will miss Al.</p>

<p>So gratifying to see the length of this thread. He knew Leicas like none of us did, and got the most out of them. A man with a large personaility, I always found him likeable. And his pics were as unique as he was. Dammit!</p>

<p>Rest in Peace, Al.</p>

<p>RIP, good friend.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/10123451-lg.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>As a friend of mine that has come close ends his messages, life is sweet, death is pleasant, the transition is what is hard. RIP</p>