BAPLA was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Prior, a longstanding and much-loved figure within the picture and footage industries. Through his publishing ventures, events and unwavering support for the sector, Bob brought together generations of picture researchers, agencies, archives and buyers, and remained curious, engaged and passionate about the industry throughout his career.
We are grateful to former BAPLA Board member and Topfoto's John Balean, who shared the following memories of Bob:
"My first encounter with Bob was when he was producing an annual stock directory called Stock Index. Bob was a good salesman, and the publication was of excellent quality and well worth being a part of. I have a run of Stock Index dating from 2000 and it was probably at all the old BAPLA Buyers' Fairs and CEPIC Congresses that followed where I met Bob on a regular basis.
Bob was an industry man through and through, always wanting to know what was happening. I learnt from one of these meetings that for many years he published a magazine called Hot Shoe, and he was amazed when I told him I had somehow acquired a copy of Hot Shoe No.1 from around 1980.
As a creative at heart, I think he was quite sad when digital succeeded print publication, but he was never frightened to reinvent himself. He began organising industry events which evolved from small forum-based gatherings into larger networking events, eventually specialising in footage, which we at Topfoto continued to support despite only licensing still images.
My last conversation with him was about organising the Topfoto logo on an apron for last year's footage Marketplace. He was always meticulous about getting the design specifications right, and as a result everything always looked great. Thankfully, he saved a Topfoto apron for us, which now hangs in the office.
Good food and drink were important to Bob at his events, and we should all raise a glass to him for everything he did for the image industry. He will be greatly missed."
Image credit courtesy of John Balean and Topfoto (Hot shoe No.1, magazine cover)