I write this Journal entry, in a most saddened state of being.
SAD, TERRIBLY SAD ANNOUNCEMENT
My good friend, colleague and kindred spirit, Paul Lindenberg, aka:Spotlightkid, passed away today: 13H00 GMT+2, 27 MAR 2011, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
On 19 FEB 2011, Paul was riding his mountain bike to the Roodepoort Bike Park, w/ his usual riding partners, when he suffered a stroke and fell from his bike. The fall caused a severe head trauma, in addition to the damage caused by the stroke.
Paul was rushed to hospital and remained there since the accident until his passing, Sunday.
His wife, sister and brother were constant – as they were able – under unbelievably strict visiting prohibition by hospital staff (do not get me started on that issue!) at his bedside.
Over the weeks, Paul had showed some improvement. Even as of my last update from his sister – on this past Saturday (26 MAR 2011) – it was apparent Paul was slowly improving. He was expected to be released to home-care this coming week.
His death on Sunday 28 MAR came as a total surprise and a horrible shock.
PAUL
Paul was a consummate professional in whatever he took on to do. His photography was tight, thoughtful, engaging, informative and down-right enjoyable. His skills as a computer programmer were second to none.
Paul loved photography. It didn’t matter if the subject was someone on a city street, a sleek aircraft slipping though the air, a partially hidden antelope in the bush, a kid ‘hot-doggin’ it on the BMX track, the sleekest new bike or motorcar in production on a show block, or a newly minted wonder of the floral world, Paul loved taking photos of them all.
His love for all forms of life that could be framed in his viewfinder; people, places, events, city life to wildlife and the wilds of all places in between the heavens and the earth, were exhibited throughout his photographic work.
A tour of Paul’s Red Bubble account shows the level of his photographic prowess. Whatever he pointed his lens at was presented to the viewer in a most pleasing and engaging manner. You could not walk away from one of Paul’s photos. You left when it let you go.
Paul maintained an exceptional gallery of images on his Flicker account, as well; known there as the SpotlightKid. The pages upon pages of this gallery are filled with numerous images of his expanded technique and experienced photographic eye.
Paul was also well known, respected and admired among the aviation community in Johannesburg. His fame took on an international flavor and following with the launch of his eMagazine, Le Cirque Volant. His capture of all manner of aviation transport, has been admired for years.
As recently as this January 2011, Paul formed a special Facebook page devoted to gaining recognition for, and acceptance of, those who specialize in photographic capture of various elements of aviation interest: airplanes, jets, helicopters and their storage areas. Members of this pursuit are known as Planespotters. His Facebook account, the Planespotter_ZA. His absence from that community is now sorely missed.
PAUL and Me
I have been meeting people online for over twenty-five years now. I have a near 20 year membership in one online group, devoted to Fly Fishing. One of my good friends from that group, sometime around 1993 wrote of the people whom he had become acquainted with – on that group – were in his words, Friends Not Yet Met. He took that saying from a William Butler Yeats quote,
“There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”
Odd, I can hardly imagine a time when I did not know Paul Lindenberg. Yet, there was a lot of time I did not know he even existed. My loss. Truly. He, Paul, became for me, the epitome of a, Friend Not Yet Met.
Paul and I met through the social community devoted to image sharing, called Flickr, in February of 2007. I was searching for images of trout and fly-fishing for an art project I was developing. One return in my search turned up a screen-shot of a database for fly-fishing. I clicked and saw the profile handle, Spotlightkid. Details of the profile said this Spotlightkid was from South Africa. I thought, “What? Fly-fishing in South Africa? For what, carp?” I had an education coming.
I had NO IDEA just how much I’d enjoy it.
I contacted this, Spotlightkid about his fly-fishing database program. One thing led to another and we were off-to-the-races. And I do mean .. off to the races!! It’s as if we’d both prepared our entire lives for this meeting.
Going back over the archive of communication between us – and it is vast! – I have been astounded; no… SHOCKED!; at just how fast we moved on ideas and project concepts.
Unfortunately, due to health problems that were rapidly engulfing me at the time, I nearly as quickly, fell off the radar screen. Off and on for the next year and a half, I struggled to keep up with the projected plans. I was constantly falling behind and into the black-hole of depression and inaction and I knew in my heart, disappointing to Paul.
That really hurt. It still does. It always will. But I will not let this feeling go negative. Instead I will direct them toward positive ends. That would have been what Paul would have wanted.
Through it all; the darkness of depression, isolation, and disappointment; came this voice of calm and support in a most intriguing South African accent,
“Yea, Bru! You makin’ it okay there, Jimmy?”.
To which I would try to reply in positive kind. Despite my black cloud of despair being as obvious as the proverbial ‘wort’, Paul would pop back in with something like,
“No matter bru. You’ll get it straight. No rush. Say, let’s pop over and watch the flat-dogs ‘round a watering hole on the cam. What say?”
Or, we’d just take a tour of Africa in his photos or the online galleries of his or of photographic friends or associates. Regardless, he would pull my blithering butt right out of the mud hole and up onto dry ground and he’d once again show me the daylight.
Paul is the only person on earth who ever called me Jimmy… and got by with it. I never liked that juvenile version of my first name, but somehow, when Paul said it, it just … felt , well… welcome. And that’s how it will remain. Paul will continue to be the one and – ONLY ONE – whom will ever call me by that name. And I will treasure it – always.
These are life experiences one does not forget. Something we miss to the utmost-of-missing, when they are gone.
It’s here where these words – of American pop-singer, Joni Mitchell, in her hit tune from the ’70′s, Big Yellow Taxi – come roaring back into painful focus. From the chorus, the words burn deep and bring stark attention the need for diligence in making the most of everyday with those whom we care. Truly …
“We never know what we’ve got, until it’s gone.”
, on matters of interest to eDIGImag, LAT/LON… and our other business interests – on a whole range of, ‘…just plain interesting stuff’ .. of a wide ranging scope.
