Photo by Mel Evans

I’ve written before about how important the “journey” part of photography is for me. Sometimes if I’m lucky it leads to important friendships.

Along they way I met Drew Wagner. Drew was a fine photographer and a founding member of the Monalog Collective. His work was completely different then mine but we became friends and colleagues in support of black and white analog photography.

I last saw Drew in December and we spoke several times in early January. Then all of a sudden and out of nowhere he got sick and passed away this past week … just one month after he was diagnosed.

Drew was a great person and a fine photographer.  He said that he was captivated by the magic of the optics, mechanics, and chemistry of photography since he held his Aunt’s twin-lens reflex camera as a teenager. This led to a lifelong passion with photography, and black and white analog photography in particular. He worked with medium and large format cameras and developed silver gelatin and dry glass plate negatives to create silver gelatin enlargements, silver chloride contact prints, and albumen contact prints in his darkroom.

Look, we’re all going to die. It’s part of life, but often death comes too soon, as was the case with Drew.  He had so much he wanted to do … new projects, working with Monalog to establish a student mentor program and more.

Drew was excited about learning and experimenting with alternative processes and making wonderful photographs until it was all taken away. He had a passion and pursued it! In the end he was gone before his time and all the new ideas and projects he had planned but a dream.

Drew did the hard work and had a clear vision of what could be done next.  His life was filled with meaning and purpose.

What about you?

If you have a passion for your art, or anything in life, don’t waste a moment of your precious time. It all goes by fast.

Hey Drew, keep on shooting!

Stay safe,

Michael