Reach Out (OT)

Off-topic for TOP, on-topic for life...just a brief note. Our community lost one of our own yesterday, a talented guy with many friends. No one I've heard from saw it coming. Now, my late brother was wise in these ways, but I'm not. But I know suffering is hard. Despair and depression suck, loneliness and lack of love is toxic, and the times are in turmoil. So please let me just say: remember to reach out. Find succor for yourself. If you don't find it from one source, keep looking. We need to put our worries and feelings "into relationship," as Carol Gilligan put it, by speaking them to another. Carrying our problems around hidden in our own heads lets them swell up out of control and seem bigger and badder than they may really be. It doesn't matter if we pay someone to listen. I've done it. You can do it if you need to. There's no shame. Right now I'm a member of a 12-step program where we help each other maintain our sobriety (I've been sober since I woke up, and I like my chances of getting through today), and we're supposed to bring our troubles into the group to share...and we're helping others when we do, because when you let another help you it helps them. It's a blessing, and not everyone has that. Anyway, just this thought: reaching out for help is not worse than dying. So if you need to reach out, just do it. Burdens are lighter when shared. It's not good to keep your shit to yourself.

Words to those who are here but also to someone who can no longer hear. I'm just sayin' is all.

Kind regards,
Mike
(R.I.P. JG, a.k.a. Audii-Dudii, who shall be missed)

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darlene: "I am shocked and saddened by this devastating news. Just a few days ago, JG was responding in a forum thread I read. My sincere condolences to his community of friends. May peace be with his loved ones. Godspeed JG."

Comments

[Derek]

How sad. I feel for his friends and family, and I’ll miss his contributions here. I always looked forward to hearing about his great experiments!

[Ned Bunnell]

There’s a nice tribute on DPReview’s Medium Format Talk Forum about the passing of Audii-Dudii (Jeffrey):

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66069364

[robert e]

Sad news. Condolences to his family and his many friends, here and elsewhere. Thank you for those words, I think much needed by those of us becoming too inured to isolation, distancing and hateful rhetoric.

[Rod S.]

This is sad news indeed for those of us who became familiar with Jeffrey's particular vision of night-time urban architectural photography and for modifying shift and large format cameras into the tools he needed to accomplish it.

But how much more must the sadness be on his immediate family and friends.

Following his first article featured here on TOP in mid-2016, Jeffrey and I emailed back and forth over a series of projects. Mine were simple, but his were truly inventive.

In pursuit of his photographic vision, Jeffrey had the imagination, drive and skills to take a standard stock item and transform it completely.

His on-going enthusiasm for pushing the development of each new tool further and further - all on a shoestring budget - was amazing.

[Roger Bradbury]

Dammit.

Rest in peace, JG.

As Mike says and I've found, if you are having a bad time of it the best thing to do is to try to help somebody else. I had to live a long time before I understood this.

I support some of my friends to varying degrees. They mostly support me but it doesn't matter if they don't; I'm not keeping score. They in turn support others, people I've never met. I imagine there are interconnected networks like this all over.

A few years ago I was having a bad time of it in hospital; I could have died, I nearly lost an eye. (Not the viewfinder eye!) There were patients in the ward having a much worse time. I did my best to help them, not realising at the time I was doing it partly (mostly!) in self preservation.

[Mike Cawley]

JG shared a few of his night time urban shots with me a few years ago. The quality of his work convinced me to kick the analogue habit and try digital. I enjoyed our on-line discussions about both photography and (occasionally) audio.
May he rest in peace.

[Lars Jansen]

It always hits home when I read these messages and I just hope he has found his peace, and family and friends can find comfort in that.

As someone who has been there: Anyway, just this thought: reaching out for help is not worse than dying is too simple. For some people reaching out for help really is harder. Besides, without knowing what, how, why it's impossible to say what would have helped, and anything we say will only be speculation.

[Steve Rosenblum]

Depression is a Liar (and a thief)!

[Mark Sampson]

Now I look at his nighttime pictures of suburbia; dark, empty and desolate (if solidly upper-class) and I wonder.

RIP, Mr. JG.