The Death of Laurent Schwebel


An email found its way to my inbox, with a PowerPoint presentation attached, seemingly having photographs inside, in a way to remember the great photographer Schwebel who was stabbed lately in Buenos Aires, while taking snapshots of a local memorial. Such emails are easily thrown into the garbage bin usually, but the familiarity of the photographer's name was the reason I opened the presentation: And what a shock that was!

Firstly, here's a translated extract of the Swiss Grandes Espaces on the latest incident:
Wednesday morning, February 8, 2012, Laurent Schwebel, 52, was stabbed to death by a thug who stole his camera in the center of Buenos Aires. The murderer, 24, was chased by witnesses of the drama, and apprehended by the police. Lawrence returned from Antarctic trip with Christian Genillard, and rejoiced to discover the Iguassu Falls before returning to his Alsace.
More on the incident is found here.

Laurent Schwebel
You might be wondering why would I care about the death of this person specifically. Well, the answer isn't found in letters and words, it's simply by admiring his work and his passion. I was touched so deeply that a person THIS creative and talented with a jaw-dropping portfolio, gets murdered that easily, only for the sake of stealing that seemingly expensive camera he owns.

I'll leave you with some photos, all found on Pinterest.











Comments

  1. This is sad, however it's a bit comforting to know that he will always be remembered and recognized by his art work.

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  2. I am very sorry for his family! What an amazing life's Work, how he brought humanity to our knees in humility with the images he captured! Great regard and respect for nature through this clear labor of love and passion for creation and all creatures ! Service to all, 10 fold ! Thank you Mr. Schwebel ! May you rest now in peace !

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  3. words fail me, what a tragic loss

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  4. sad... very sad!

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  5. Laurent's photograph's take my breath away. His tragic death fills me will sadness.

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  6. Amazing photos... he was able to capture nature at its best. Tragic death but his art will live forever.

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  7. "To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die..." He will live through his photography.

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  8. my deepest condolences to his family, a year after his tragic death.

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  9. I was sent the same file. His death is tragic but bizarrely, none of the photographs in the slideshow are by Schwebel.

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    Replies
    1. You are right. I recognized one of the pictures, namely the ant on the bokeh background being from Nadav Bagim, a wonderful macro-photographer. I intend to send him this info so he can check if the copyright has been infringed.

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  10. Please can you get off all pictures which are note from Laurent Schwebel? I'm sorry for my very bas english but I'm french, the husband of one of his sister Frédérique. I'm also photographer, in charge of all his pictures and rights. You can easyly catch somme of his real pictures in his official website: www.laurent-schwebel.com
    Thanks for Laurent's memory Best regards. Pierre Rich

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  11. Erika, if Nadav Bagim's Family have souls, which you apparently do not, they will let the matter rest and realize it was a tribute that somehow got credits mixed up. Or, would you rather see insult added to tragic loss piled one atop the other? Are you suggesting that Bagim's Family sue for Copyright infringement? You are a discredit to the Human Race, if so.

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  12. Author speaking here.
    I'm sorry for all the fuss that resulted of the ambiguity of whether the photos were in effect taken by Laurent or not. However, I wouldn't have written the blog and, most importantly, published these photos by Laurent's name if it weren't alike all over the internet.

    In case any of Laurent's relatives or friends would like to fix that issue, please feel free to email me so I can take the right measures in due time. I'm willing to go as far as taking this blogpost down if that would put everything back on track.

    I assume here that the point of focus should be remembering such a man, who marked history with the tip of his fingers.

    Sincerely,
    Natheer

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. My friend from Switzerland sent me the e-mail with many of his photos attached. I was so amazed I had to learn about him and went to Google. What sad new I found I think of all the photographs yet to come from this master photographer with great skills, eyes and heart. How awful for him to be killed for his camera. Very sad, bless him and I thank him for the fantastic art he shared with the world.

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  15. How can a picture of two Australian rainbow lorrikets - clearly marked with the name L. Switheringale be attributed to Schwebel? Puts the provenance of all the rest of the pictures in doubt.

    So much for the jerk who thinks rightly pointing out glaring mistakes means that person is "a discredit to the human race" and apparently has no soul. Probably a god bothering, gun toting American. What a dipstick!

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  16. Never had heard of him... unfortunately. Now, getting a pic show about these incredibly wonderful and breathtaking shots which are so unique, I sadly and only can say WHAT A LOSS !!
    Barbara Pessler
    70 Mile House, BC, Canada

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  17. Where an one see his fantastic photographs?

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  18. Relevance is what we achieve in life BUT LEGACy is what we leave behind to inspire others. His work -- truly the product of a quest for excellence, eschewing the searing heights of mediocrity!

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  19. Terrible and i feel so ashamed as an argentinean. I love his work, his art, and purpose in life. I remember that sad news of his death.
    I admire the passion of this art.

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  20. Does anyone know if the thief/murderer was prosecuted and what was his sentence? He took the life of a remarkable and talented photographer. This piece of garbage should rot all of his life in a tiny cell, before he heads straight to hell!

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  22. Sorry but some of these pictures are stolen- damsefly is my.

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