{"id":18526,"date":"2016-12-04T15:45:41","date_gmt":"2016-12-04T15:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=18526"},"modified":"2016-12-04T16:01:51","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T16:01:51","slug":"a-note-from-sam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=18526","title":{"rendered":"A note from Sam……."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sam-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I got a \u00a0photo, postcard, Christmas Card, Seasonal wish from Sam Garcia<\/strong>. \u00a0It is a self portrait and a good one. \u00a0The accompanying letter was, as Sam’s communications always are, cryptic, funny and touching. \u00a0Sam does not take compliments well, but that never stopped me! \u00a0For the 11 years I worked at Nikon and for decades before that, I counted Sam as one of a handful of pbotogpraphers that really affected my work. \u00a0As would be expected from a guy who is best firends with Jay Maisel, Sam is a remarkable shooter. \u00a0I’m not bragging, o.k. maybe a little, but I’ve worked with and become close to many of the greatest photographers of our era. \u00a0Sam is among the best I know. \u00a0His vision and his ability to reach well beyond the obvious is a talent I truly admire and long for. \u00a0It was once said of Karsh, the famous portrait photographer, that he, “could captute the person inside the subject.” \u00a0When Sam photographs those he knows best, he can do the same.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of my only regrest about my time at Nikon is I missed tha last big gathering of the NPS team just before I retred. \u00a0At \u00a0that assignment Sam made portraits of our closest friends in the department. \u00a0He produced\u00a0a little book (The Last Picture Show in Texas<\/strong>), \u00a0for each of us and only 20 copies were made. \u00a0I’m the fortunate owner of 1! \u00a0 I leave it on my desktop and pick it up frequently and leaf through it to remember the great friends I worked with at Nikon and knew for years before that. \u00a0I want to show off Sam’s revealing portraits, but I cannot fail to mention some loving thoughts about each of these imporant people in my life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"pekala\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bill Pekala<\/strong> was my boss at Nikon and for many years before, \u00a0a dear friend, \u00a0I couldn’t begin to tell you all the great things Bill did to help me through out my career. \u00a0We still stay in touch and I\u00a0cherish his friendship more than I can say, he’s a great shooter too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"mark\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mark Kettenhofen<\/strong> is my brother from a different mother, which is what he calls me too! \u00a0We had a lot great times together and shared our sorrows and victories, our faith and our adventures. \u00a0Twice Military Photogpraher of the Year, Mark is an exceptional shooter and wonderful guy! \u00a0I miss him a lot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"scott\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scott Diussa<\/strong> was my direct report for half my time at Nikon and I really enjoyed working with him. \u00a0He was a great teacher and photogpaher and he really enjoyed the fun of being an NPS manager. We got along great but I know it was a relief, for him, \u00a0to see me retire so we wouldn’t have to wrestle my passwords anymore!!! \u00a0I really appreiate Scott!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"mike\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike Corrado<\/strong> is a very talented shooter and NPS rep. \u00a0I met Mike many years abgo during the GAPW days (early 90s) and we have remained friends to this day, I love him and his family, they’re great people!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"steve\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Steve Heiner<\/strong> was a manager at Nikon.\u00a0 I met him back when I met Mike Corrado (they were Nikon School teacher who worked together), and attended GAPW events. One of the funniest, nicest and most classy people I have known. \u00a0Steve always addresses me as, “Mr. Fortney”, which I’ve always appreciated, I respect him a great deal! \u00a0As you might suspect, a great shooter too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ron\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ron Taniwaki<\/strong> – Where should I start? \u00a0More hair-raising stories have been told about Ron than anyone I’ve ever known, many people doubt they are true, but I’m here to tell you, they are!!! \u00a0Ron is one great guy, and\u00a0blast to hang out with, a cigar, and trout fishing expert and one of the best forensic folks in the photo industry! \u00a0Another real force as a shooter too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, thanks Sam for the memories!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blessings,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the pilgrim<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: \u00a0All images are copyrighted to Sam Garcia. \u00a0They have all been used with out his permission! \u00a0Sam, your attorney knows my address!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I got a \u00a0photo, postcard, Christmas Card, Seasonal wish from Sam Garcia. \u00a0It is a self portrait and a good one. \u00a0The accompanying letter was, as Sam’s communications always are, cryptic, funny and touching. \u00a0Sam does not take compliments well, but that never stopped me! \u00a0For the 11 years I worked at Nikon and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18526"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18533,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18526\/revisions\/18533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}