Bob Gilka R.I.P.

Robert Gilka in 2007
Photo by Bruce Dale

R.I.P. to all the ships at sea. Repetition is part of my DNA. To the point; repetition helps you became a more complete photographer, artist, musician, and business man.You have heard me say I am the luckiest man on the earth. Bob Gilka was one of my instructors at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. As I walked in, (a wet behind the ear want to be photo journalist) I met Bob. He said to me, “do you play football?” and I said yes. He said, “We’re going to have a touch game, I want you on my team.” I said fine. That was pretty much the last nice thing he had said to me over the next week. I watched him and the other great instructors literally tear people to shreds. little did we know he was not tearing us apart, he was actually building and rebuilding us. The experience and the teaching is with me every day, and it never goes away, It never will go away. When you entered Bob’s office at national geographic, there was a sign on his door that said ” Wipe knees before entering.” To be quite honest it’s actually impossible for me to put into words the power, the expertise, and the strength of someone like Bob. He did not live through the golden age of photography. He was the golden age of photography. The whole photographic community is in mourning. The next time you get on your knees to make a photograph, think of Gilka.