Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/10/11

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To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: the death of Bob Schwalberg
From: Fred Ward <fward@erols.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 11:53:28 -0400
Organization: Gem Book Publishers
References: <199610111353.HAA28187@phobos.frii.com>

To all:

This is a copy of a message I sent to another list this morning after I
learned of the passing of Bob Schwalberg. He was intimately involved
with Leica for some time and many of you will remember him for his
brilliant articles done for decades for POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY Magazine....

++++++++++++++++


I am so sorry and deeply saddened to learn today that Bob Schwalberg
died. 

He was a pioneer and one-of-a-kind. No one growing up and entering
photography in the 1950s-1970s had a complete education without reading
Bob s brilliant and often very funny articles on just about everything
related to our profession. 

His major works of course were for POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY. But he left that
magazine for several years and worked for Leitz in Wetzlar. Neither
Leica nor Bob ever got over it. Bob tried to bring Leitz into the 20th
century and Leitz worked diligently to convince Bob that SLRs could
never work because they would never be able to be as accurate as
rangefinders. Oh, the stories he could tell. His long one with perfect
German accent about the Fokker plane still breaks me up when I recall
our train ride from Photokina in Koln back to Wetzlar. 

Photography is so much the loser without Bob. He loved it, and lived it
completely. A great writer about photography. What a rare and wonderful
combination. 

I did not realize how much I missed seeing him until I read of his
passing today. There will not likely be another like him.

Fred Ward

In reply to: Message from fl1pper@frii.com (Re: developing)