Sal diMarco, Jr.

1947-2004

I met Sal for the first time in 1998 or 99, at a Leica event in Germany. I was immediately struck by his generosity, his wealth of knowledge of all things Leica, and his many "war stories" from a long career as a photojournalist.

In the following years I have had the good fortune to meet with Sal in New York, London and Germany. Each meeting was yet another opportunity to renew a friendship and to enjoy Sal's many stories and benefit from his knowledge.

It was with great sadness and shock that I learned of Sal's sudden death in June 2004. There was an outpouring of tributes to Sal on the Leica Users Group and other internet fora.

My little tribute here consists of three pictures Sal took of me in the spring of 2001 on a London street. We were having coffee outside on a dreary, rainy day, when I noticed the homeless man and his dog. I was struck by the tenderness with which the man wrapped the blanket around his dog to protect it from the rain. I walked over to him, talked a little, gave him a couple of pounds, and took a few pictures of him and his dog. Meanwhile, Sal was shooting away, and a few weeks later I received three slides from him in the mail. Now I appreciate this memento more than ever.

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