Bill is dead.
A few days ago I noticed that Bill’s blog “Augmented Reality” seemingly had been hijacked. I am lazy at following blogs, but I knew from following him on Flickr, that lately he updated only in long intervals. I thought, well, he’ll already know, but if not, I should tell him about it. Maybe his Google credentials have been compromised as well and …
The email bounced. A second one, to another address also bounced. Now I was beginning to worry.
There are a few Bill Birtch in the world, but narrowing the search to “Bill Birtch London Ontario” uncovered the sad truth.
I never knew him in person. We met virtually in the forums of Craig Tanner’s old photography school “The Radiant Vista”. A few years ago I thought of travelling to the US to attend one of Craig’s workshops. Bill Birtch and Ted Byrne would have been on top of my list of people to visit. Then I was short of money, had to change places in Villach and in Vienna, and so the trip never happened. I can always do it a few years later, I had thought.
Bill. What little I knew about him gave me the impression of a gentle and wise man, a brave man and sensitive artist, a friend if one can have friends in this virtual world, a friend already missed dearly.
Goodbye Bill. I’m thinking of you. The Song of the Day, “To Love Is To Bury” by the Cowboy Junkies, is for you. I know you would agree.