Al Kaplan has passed away.

<p>I'm very sad to hear of this. Al Kaplan was largely responsible for my love and passion in rangefinders. Here's wishing you plenty of Tri-X where ever you are, Al.</p>

<p>Went to Al´s blog today to check once more if he was well after his heartattack<br /> in December. But what a shock to read his children´s post, that he has passed away ...<br /> <br /> >> RIP, Al, wherever you are right now << <br /> <br /> I will never forget a most interesting afternoon in a Starbucks Cafe in Miami some time ago. <br /> He brought some of his wonderful b/w-prints along and I had a chance to buy <br /> some of them. They are framed properly and I´am still enjoying them a lot <br /> every single day. <br /> <br /> That way, his photography makes him living for ever. <br /> <br /> My condolence to is family.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Karl Georg Wolf</p>

<p>So sorry to hear about this --- my sympathies to his family. He will be greatly missed.</p>

<p>Very shocked indeed. Al emailed me a few times. He was a great teacher and person. Superb photographer. Im very sad. I wished his family well .</p>

<p>I've been out of Internet contact for a while. This is shocking news. Al was still too young to go. I never met Al but we did exchange e-mails and I have an Al Kaplan T-shirt (thanks to James Mitchell) that I cherish. I really liked that man. My heartfelt condolences to his family.</p>

<p>I wish I could include here a shot of my Al Kaplan T-shirt--I have one of Sawako wearing it--but am far away from home, writing in a cafe with free wi-fi. </p>

<p>Al was the quintessential Leica / RF photographer. He seemed somehow older and from an earlier era than he was. He was not only a fascinating character but also an iconic character. He was a presence on the Leica Forum and on PN. I missed his postings and now regret to have not kept up my correspondence with him and to have never met him in person.</p>

<p>Rest in Peace Al Kaplan. You lived a full life.</p>

<p>RIP Buddy! You will be missed. Al was a gentlemen and a great guy.</p>

<p>See you on the other side!</p>

<p>My sincere condolences to his family. I will miss him and his commentes here on PN. Carlos, SP, Brazil.</p>

<p>R.I.P., Al.<br>

My deep condolences to his relatives and close friends.</p>

<p>Typical, thoughful Al at Jimmy's, 3/2005</p><div></div>

<p>One more: my buddy & I in Jimmy's, 2/2003 -- Al's set-up</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks for the photos, Paul.</p>

<p>Raid</p>

<p>Al Kaplan, circa 2005 or 2006. Shot on K25 with a diffused flash at Starbucks in North Miami. He shot my first wedding with Marc Williams, and my second wedding solo. Excellent photographer, superb human being. Left us way too soon.</p><div></div>

<p>Really sorry to hear the news - when I first got into Leica's it was Al's contributions I looked for. Condolences to his family and best wishes to all.</p>

<p>this is a great portrait Steve. thanks for sharing<br>

.</p>

<p>sorry....Mikal!</p>

<p>Al was a warm, caring guy who was very patient and helpful, I have read thousands of his posts on Pnet and RFF. <br>

I read all the above posts and I agree with all the accolades and eulogies.<br>

<br /> I hope to meet Al in heaven some day, and I am going to Shul to say a Kaddish to speed his soul to heaven where the patterns of light will make his soul rest in ecstasy since he knew how to make art out of light in his photography</p>

<p>Al's not gone, he's just gone underground so to speak. Getting those impossible photos of AA, HCB arguing over everything and naturally well fueled by strong coffee.</p>

<p>I keep finding these:</p><div></div>

<p>Just got the sad news today. I'm so glad I met him personally at his beloved Miami Starbucks a few years ago. We have a fun lively time, and he was just a hoot to chat with. Condolences to his family...I'll miss his old lively and provocative postings here at PN, and other places too. I miss the spice he added to my life...weekly reads of his blog were something I often looked forward to.<br>

So long Al!</p>

<p>Condolences. He was one of a kind.</p>

<p>I have just found out this sad news... I never met this man personally, only from what he wrote in this forum. I know his face thanks to the many pics I have seen from him here.</p>

<p>I have learned many things thanks to the knowledge he shared. I`m also influenced by some of his thoughts and photography. I feel grateful with him.</p>

<p>My condolences to his family and friends.</p>

<p>I was just getting ready to make some coffee when this showed up at my door.<br>

Silver is indeed, better....</p><div></div>

have been away from photo.net for a couple of years or so, and had been worried about al since he posted news of a hospitalization a while back. had a bad feeling about him so i searched the site and found the sad news.

 

al was a great guy and contributor to the site. like someone said earlier, he was never condescending to a neophyte, and was a lot of fun to correspond with. he had a wealth of knowledge, experience, and advice which he gave generously.

 

i bought a shot of janis joplin from him several years ago and it's on the wall currently. i hope his family or an institution can archive and research his photo archive. he has a lot of gems in there that are yet to be discovered. in my last email with him i reminded him that i wanted to buy a photo of the jefferson airplane if he ever got around to finding the negatives. hope someday to see them. i'm sure a good book is possible from the hundreds of thousands of photos he took.

 

we miss you, al.

<p>Dammit, I just got the memo. I wish I had met you, Al. And thank you.</p>

<p>We never really got on, but despite that it is still very sad news.<br /> God bless Al Kaplan.<br /> (Sorry for the late post but I only saw this news by accident today.)</p>