Death of Al Gilbert: Sad to report the passing of famous Canadian photographer Al Gilbert. Excellent photographer and teacher. I had the good fortune to have met him on several...

sbohne

Sad to report the passing of famous Canadian photographer Al Gilbert. Excellent photographer and teacher. I had the good fortune to have met him on several occasions. Even though he was a legend, he always had a moment to talk to anyone who approached him. A great guy and a great photographer. Our state group held a fall seminar in his city of Toronto and he demonstrated how he did his fantastic portraits on location. He is going to be missed.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

sbohne wrote:

Sad to report the passing of famous Canadian photographer Al Gilbert. Excellent photographer and teacher. I had the good fortune to have met him on several occasions. Even though he was a legend, he always had a moment to talk to anyone who approached him. A great guy and a great photographer. Our state group held a fall seminar in his city of Toronto and he demonstrated how he did his fantastic portraits on location. He is going to be missed.

Never heard of him!

Bipod

Website: http://www.gilbertstudio.ca/

Video: https://youtu.be/JPk8Q7APlqo

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

speters wrote:

Never heard of him!

That's okay - he never heard of you either.
😈

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

FreddB wrote:

That's okay - he never heard of you either.
😈

Yeah, that is okay, I guess we're even!

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

speters wrote:

Never heard of him!

Yeah, but these people did. Just a few of his impressive list of clients and portraits.

Ben Gurion, David Former Prime Minister of Israel
Biden, Joe Vice President of the United States
Harvard, Beverly Police Chief of Atlanta
King, Martin Luther III Son of assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King
Meir, Golda Former Israeli Prime Minister
Moore, Henry Artist, sculptor
Netanyahu, Benjamin Israeli Prime Minister
His Holiness John Paul II Roman Catholic Pontiff
Q.Elizabeth the Q.Mother Queen Consort to King George VI
Sinatra, Frank Singer, actor

Wuligal Loc: Slippery Rock, Pa.

I'm sorry you lost an appreciated mentor and friend. Take solace that Mr. Gilbert will live on through his work.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Bipod wrote:

Website: http://www.gilbertstudio.ca/

Video: https://youtu.be/JPk8Q7APlqo

Excellent portraits, but it's too bad that the video is low definition and doesn't do justice to them.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I met Mr. Gilbert over 15 years ago at a portrait and wedding seminar here in South Florida. At the time I bought one of his books that I still own.
He took the time in his busy schedule to talk to me and answer my questions. A great human being and photographer.
Rest in peace.

anotherview Loc: California

Me, either. But I've found that very good photographers toil out there while known within a limited circle of an audience.

I must conclude that an individual doing photography will wish to think twice and again if he expects to gain both fame and fortune in this field of endeavor. He may have to settle for commercial success or for a job involving photography.

The photographers who succeed in attracting the spotlight appear to engage in a lot of self-promotion with an aim to popularity in order to cash in, almost regardless of the quality of their work. In time, their mere name adds value (dollars) to their output. They do money shots to earn a living. We call them professionals.

My 2 cents.

speters wrote:

Never heard of him!

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

speters wrote:

Never heard of him!

Too bad! He was an icon of Photography and one of a handful of photographers to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the Professional Photographers of America. He was a Fellow of the PPOA, the Professional Photographers of Canada and the Royal Photographic Society (UK). He was also a member of the Order of Canada and only photographer to have made a portrait of Yousuf Karsh. Albert Gilbert (Gittelman) A”H was the son of Nathan Gittelman who trained as a photographer in Ukraine, established his studio in Toronto in 1922. The studio has been operating continually ever since. Albert’s son Michael is also an accomplished photographer.

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

Fotomacher wrote:

Too bad! He was an icon of Photography and one of... (show quote)

Thanks for the history... I was familiar with the name, and that was the extent. Karsh took my parents wedding photos, before he became famous, he had a small studio in Ottawa at the time, if memory serves.

Dik

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

sbohne wrote:

Sad to report the passing of famous Canadian photographer Al Gilbert. Excellent photographer and teacher. I had the good fortune to have met him on several occasions. Even though he was a legend, he always had a moment to talk to anyone who approached him. A great guy and a great photographer. Our state group held a fall seminar in his city of Toronto and he demonstrated how he did his fantastic portraits on location. He is going to be missed.

The loss of a good photographer and one that was willing to pass on what he had learned is a loss for for us all whether or not we knew them. We all need to pickup the staff that they laid down and continue on the path they showed us so as to honor them.

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

speters wrote:

Never heard of him!

Well if you never hear a tree falling in the forest - - -

J. R.

Bipod

berchman wrote:

Excellent portraits, but it's too bad that the video is low definition and doesn't do justice to them.

Yes, but also some of them used a soft lens.

The B&W photo of the chess players is stunning.

Imagine how skillful Mr. Gilbert at improvised lighting to get such good portraits
on location, by window light and outdoors.

Obviously, he can't be held accountable for how hairstyles and fashions have dated.

He certainly captured Golda Meir. Amazingly strong potrait.

I don't know anybody who makes portraits with a fisheye lens--
that's really pushing the envelop.

The portrait of Oscar Peterson is superb--but more formal than I
would associate with jazz. This is an inherent limitation of the posed
portrait, I think. Very, very few photographers have been able to make
posed portraits that don't look posed--Dorothea Lange comes to mind.

What's so inspiring is that Mr. Gilbert did all this superb work while
running a photography business.

Apparently his son, Michael Gilbert, is also a photographer:
https://www.pbase.com/image/105705836
But he is based in Maui, Hawaii and Paris, France -- so I don't think
he'll be taking over the business in Toronto.

Interview with Michael Gilbert:
https://www.breathingcolor.com/blog/learn-from-the-experts-michael-gilbert/