How did I meet Arnie Gilbert? I was the education chair at Friends of Photography [founded by Ansel Adams and Brett Weston in 1967 in Carmel, California]. Whenever I needed someone with real expertise to speak, I’d call Arnie and he’d jump on a plane and fly out to speak to our group—just for the fun of it—anytime I asked him, several times a year. This went on for about 20 years. And he bought a lot of our work, too, which we appreciated. Before I knew it, we were not only connected photographically, but we became close friends, personally. Whenever I was in Chicago, I stayed with him and his wife Temmie at their home in Flossmoor, so I grew to know their boys well, too. The Gilberts are very important to me, personally and anything I can do to let people know how remarkable Arnold Gilbert was, please let me know.—Al Weber, 2007
