RIP "Hernando Bob"

[C91]

Bay News 9:  Beloved Bay area photographer dies

When I worked at Bay News 9, we often bought video from Hernando Bob.  He would drive all the way from Brooksville to Tampa and shop his footage to stations.  It wasn't always the best video.  He used a consumer grade handy-cam and didn't own a tripod.  It was shaky, but since most television stations in Tampa didn't have a bureau in Hernando County, Bob was our go-to guy.  He was especially proud of video he shot on chilly "winter" mornings:  Those rare occasions where frost formed on the windshields of neighborhood cars and he would shoot video of his hand scraping through the glaze.  He'd call my desk at 5:30 am to tell me he was coming down with it and would I like to buy it?  I was pretty liberal with buying his video.  Especially on weekends when we needed fresh material.  I think management had to clamp down on me spending too much of the freelance budget on Bob's video at one point.

His freelance worked help him pick up some money on the side, but he also did a lot of work gratis.  He would often talk about shooting video for the humane society or local EMS.  They would use it for training videos or local cable access productions. 

He told me about his cancer shortly before I left Bay News 9 in 2003.  He had just had a treatment and was very hopeful about how it would turn out.  Even while fighting the disease, he continued to shoot video and always had a positive attitude.

So, here's to you Hernando Bob.  If there's an afterlife, I hope you brought your camera along.

[Locutus]

What a nice story.  RIP Hernando Bob.