PORTFOLIOS   /  NEWS   /  SERVICES   /  COOL SITES  /  CONTACT   /  RESUME

MY TRIBUTE TO GENE TRINDL- I'M HUMBLED HE CALLED ME HIS FRIEND

A Great Photographer, a Wonderful Teacher and a True Friend

We Miss Him Already

The industry lost a great talent last week with the passing of Gene Trindl. I lost a wonderful teacher and a true friend. We first met on the ABC Television set of "The Hazel Brandon Story" in Atlanta, Georgia some years back. Gene was working for Proctor and Gamble (the sponsors) and I was working for ABC (the network) . We hit it right off, and in just those few days of working along side Gene, I learned a great deal about the film and television worlds as they relate to still photographers.

We kept in touch on the phone for some time. I was sent to L.A. to work on a feature film and on one of my days off, I went into Studio City to look around. Crossing the main street I passed a guy who looked familiar and said out loud, "Boy, if that guy didn't look like Gene Trindl ..." I heard a response in a familiar voice: "I am Gene Trindl - and you're that photographer from Georgia."

It was the first time we had seen each other in about four years. Well, there was a Starbucks on the corner and we proceeded to have a reunion, of sorts. We talked about all that we were both in to and about an hour or so later went our separate ways with a promise to stay more in touch than we had.

A few years later I was called back to Hollywood to work on a few pilots for the various networks and I called Gene to "warn" him that I was on my way out west. He said he hoped the place could stand another easterner and that I should call him when I got there and settled in. We worked together on a few projects, hung out and experimented on some photo techniques. He introduced me to one of his friends - Jerry Sanders (another great photographer who has taught me much in the world of computer manipulation of photos and whose picture of Gene appears in this tribute).

The three months I was there I will never forget. It was the last time I saw Gene. We had spoken many times on the phone since then and I always threatened Gene and Jerry that I was coming west for a little stint and we would "play" with photography a bit more and see how far we could push the current boundaries of image capture and manipulation. The time got past me - as it often does in this business - and I never got to make the trip before Gene got his call to take that final journey to go home.

Gene holds the distinction (one that will NEVER be surpassed) of being the one photographer who has the most TV Guide covers to his credit. He will remain one of the great Hollywood photographers of all time.

Those that knew him will miss his humor, his personal interest in others and his curiosity about all things photographic. Those that never knew Gene ... that too, is a loss. We all go through this life but once, and those that got the privilege to know Gene, well ... we got the better ride.

Gene, we miss you already - but we will never forget the impact you had on our lives ... you made us all a bit better. God love you -

                                                                            Guy

                                                                            July 5, 2004

   © 2008 Guy D'Alema   All images protected under copyright law.    Last modified: May 10, 2008     CWG