Sony Lounge Thread MKIII (All Sony cameras welcome)

Like so many here in this thread I regard Gene as a friend. So many great memories I have in my many exchanges with him over the years. I’m grieving the loss of my friend; a sweet wonderful man.

LeeRatters wrote in post #19322789
So sad. Will be certainly missed for sure

I did try to contact a few friends of his via Facebook messenger recently but didn't get anywhere.

TRhoads wrote in post #19322811
Terrible news to hear that. How did you find this out. I know we will all miss him and his input here.

Yeah I didnt want to bring it up, waited till after Christmas. But we all were worried about him and it's been confirmed. Like Lee, I also looked for any sign of activity from him, not being able to find any, I checked onto the people on his fb. Most were inactive but his grand daughter was the one active and had posts on her page regarding Gene. I messaged her, introduced myself and how we were worried about Gene. I didn't ask for the details but I'm sure most of us had an idea since his late posts had mentioned that he was hospitalized. After a few msgs I asked for the date of his passing and if I could share it on here. She gave permission and was happy to know that we cared.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322902
Yeah I didnt want to bring it up, waited till after Christmas. But we all were worried about him and it's been confirmed. Like Lee, I also looked for any sign of activity from him, not being able to find any, I checked onto the people on his fb. Most were inactive but his grand daughter was the one active and had posts on her page regarding Gene. I messaged her, introduced myself and how we were worried about Gene. I didn't ask for the details but I'm sure most of us had an idea since his late posts had mentioned that he was hospitalized. After a few msgs I asked for the date of his passing and if I could share it on here. She gave permission and was happy to know that we cared.

thanks for doing that leg work, sad that he has gone.

I missed Gene's watermark already.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322902
Yeah I didnt want to bring it up, waited till after Christmas. But we all were worried about him and it's been confirmed. Like Lee, I also looked for any sign of activity from him, not being able to find any, I checked onto the people on his fb. Most were inactive but his grand daughter was the one active and had posts on her page regarding Gene. I messaged her, introduced myself and how we were worried about Gene. I didn't ask for the details but I'm sure most of us had an idea since his late posts had mentioned that he was hospitalized. After a few msgs I asked for the date of his passing and if I could share it on here. She gave permission and was happy to know that we cared.

When my dad passed 4 years ago one of the most profound things I experienced was just how many people he had touched in his life. Far many more than I was ever aware. His wake was standing room only. I was taken aback by it all but it made me appreciate even further how fortunate I was to have him as my dad. I can only infer that his grand daughter felt the same when you reached out. A whole other world of people that admired her grand father and cared enough about him to find out about him.

Gene will be missed, he was one of many here that was always ready to help anyone with their photography. So sad, RIP Gene.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322785
We had lost our friend Gene. He had passed away on October 18th, 2021 and was laid to rest on November 18th, 2021.

Sad and unfortunate. He will be missed and remembered. I also noticed that the day he joined POTN was also on October 18th.

Thank you for letting us know this very sad news. I was going to post that the message I had sent through Flickr a couple of weeks ago had gone unanswered.

itsallart wrote in post #19322793
That's really sad, indeed. I've searched for him everywhere, PMed a few times to no avail, so I feared that scenario. Even when i searched through obituaries recently, his name didn't show up.
RIP Gene.

I too had attempted to make contact to no avail. Very sad news.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322902
Yeah I didnt want to bring it up, waited till after Christmas. But we all were worried about him and it's been confirmed. Like Lee, I also looked for any sign of activity from him, not being able to find any, I checked onto the people on his fb. Most were inactive but his grand daughter was the one active and had posts on her page regarding Gene. I messaged her, introduced myself and how we were worried about Gene. I didn't ask for the details but I'm sure most of us had an idea since his late posts had mentioned that he was hospitalized. After a few msgs I asked for the date of his passing and if I could share it on here. She gave permission and was happy to know that we cared.

Jeez that’s really terrible news. Such a lovely man and always helpful on here. RIP Gene.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322902
Yeah I didnt want to bring it up, waited till after Christmas. But we all were worried about him and it's been confirmed. Like Lee, I also looked for any sign of activity from him, not being able to find any, I checked onto the people on his fb. Most were inactive but his grand daughter was the one active and had posts on her page regarding Gene. I messaged her, introduced myself and how we were worried about Gene. I didn't ask for the details but I'm sure most of us had an idea since his late posts had mentioned that he was hospitalized. After a few msgs I asked for the date of his passing and if I could share it on here. She gave permission and was happy to know that we cared.

He was definitely one of the kindest people I’ve ever communicated with.
Just before I joined POTN, I was going to March AFB constantly, after I joined and had been communicating with Gene I was supposed to go to March AFB again and had planned to stop in and say hello to him but then the pandemic hit and March got cancelled.
I was really looking forward to meeting him in person, he will be missed for years to come.

Although I'm not a Sony user, I follow this page and am so sad to hear of Gene's death. I feared that this might be the case but one is ever hopeful. No more. Goodbye, NavyDoc, will miss your presence and thoughtfulness on the forum.

Really sorry to hear about Gene. After his procedure, I figured we 'd at least get some recovery photos of some random, but expertly lit and composed, photo of a knife in his kitchen lol. When he went quiet after his procedure, I definitely feared the worst but also know he kind of liked his privacy so didn't want to pry. (Thanks to those who did though)

I feell like I knew a lot about him through photos as it was his form of self expression. Seems like for him photography was always a real need regardless of life circumstances... he channeled a level of appreciation in the everyday that comes before the photo is snapped. Can't fake that as we all know.

Mostly will just miss him as a genuinely good guy that contributed to positivity of this place...which is definitely a unique thing in the digital world these days. I consider all of you guys friends so his passing hits in a strange way. This place has been a part of my day for 10 years now and he was there in the very beginning. Something has definitely been missing since he stopped posting, and sad to hear that the worst has been confirmed. He will be missed for sure.

DTBaan wrote in post #19322785
We had lost our friend Gene. He had passed away on October 18th, 2021 and was laid to rest on November 18th, 2021.

Sad and unfortunate. He will be missed and remembered. I also noticed that the day he joined POTN was also on October 18th.

So sad. Helpful guy and will miss trying to find his sig in his images.

mystik610 wrote in post #19323039
Really sorry to hear about Gene. After his procedure, I figured we 'd at least get some recovery photos of some random, but expertly lit and composed, photo of a knife in his kitchen lol. When he went quiet after his procedure, I definitely feared the worst but also know he kind of liked his privacy so didn't want to pry. (Thanks to those who did though)

I feell like I knew a lot about him through photos as it was his form of self expression. Seems like for him photography was always a real need regardless of life circumstances... he channeled a level of appreciation in the everyday that comes before the photo is snapped. Can't fake that as we all know.

Mostly will just miss him as a genuinely good guy that contributed to positivity of this place...which is definitely a unique thing in the digital world these days. I consider all of you guys friends so his passing hits in a strange way. This place has been a part of my day for 10 years now and he was there in the very beginning. Something has definitely been missing since he stopped posting, and sad to hear that the worst has been confirmed. He will be missed for sure.

He is very helpful. I adapted his way of lighting products. Never as good as him but very happy to learn from him.

RIP Gene, nice conversations, always helpful and positive

I don't do much "people" photography. I would like to do a bit more with my grandkids but don't want to invest a lot in a light. What would be an inexpensive constant light I could buy to sync with the R3? It would be used in close quarters so super power isn't a requirement. Thanks.