Adventure photographer Bobby Model, 36, dies in Wyo
Matthew Kruk
Adventure photographer dies in Wyo
MATT JOYCE - Associated Press writer
Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:00 am
CHEYENNE -- Bobby Model, a noted adventure photographer who suffered a
traumatic brain injury more than two years ago in South Africa when a
chunk of concrete smashed through the windshield of his car, has died.
He was 36.
Model died Wednesday at West Park Hospital in Cody after a brief
illness, said Sharon Miller, Model's photo assistant. The cause of death
of wasn't immediately available.
Model's work appeared in National Geographic, Outside, The New York
Times and other publications. His assignments took him from the rivers
of Burundi in search of a fabled man-eating crocodile to climbing the
Nameless Tower of northern Pakistan, one of the world's largest granite
walls.
"He really was a guy that lived his life," said Steve Bechtel of Lander,
a fellow rock climber and Model's roommate at the University of Wyoming.
"I don't think he had a lot of regrets. He pretty much thought of the
things he wanted to do, figured out how to make it happen, and then
implemented his plans. That's a really cool thing that not many of us
get to do."
Model moved to Nairobi, Kenya, in 2004 to better position himself to
cover Africa, according to a biography on his Web site. Model's sister,
Faith Model, shared a house with her brother in Nairobi. She was driving
Bobby to meet some friends when the incident happened in Cape Town,
South Africa, in June 2007.
Police opened an investigation but suspended the case when it went cold.
Anne Young, Bobby's mother, said it was a mysterious tragedy.
"You wonder why this happened. Was it a carjacking? Was it someone
trying to feed a starving kid and were desperate?" Young said in an
interview with The Associated Press in March 2008. "Maybe it was just a
random act -- wrong place at the wrong time. We don't know."
Model underwent treatment in South Africa, New York and Denver before
returning to his hometown of Cody in December.
Miller said Thursday that Model's rapid decline this week was a shock.
"I think he was just working hard, trying to stay positive," she said.
"He had a lot of therapies -- actively working on speech therapy,
physical therapy, occupational therapy -- the whole bit. It's such a
traumatic injury, it just requires huge amounts of efforts to get back."
Tim Power, Park County coroner and owner of Ballard Funeral Home in
Cody, said arrangements for Model were pending as of Thursday.
Model landed his first major photography assignment in 1995 when he
accompanied renowned rock climber Todd Skinner to the Nameless Tower in
northern Pakistan. National Geographic helped fund the journey, on which
Model shot memorable images of the granite spire.
In 2006, Model was named a National Geographic Society "Emerging
Explorer" because he "braves the most challenging locations to cover the
toughest topics -- culture, conflict and extreme adventure."
Model was working on a National Geographic photo essay documenting the
Baltistan region of Pakistan, site of a border dispute with India,
around the time of his injury. He viewed the assignment as a chance to
branch out from adventure photography.
Rebecca Martin, director of the expeditions council at National
Geographic, frequently called on Model for adventure assignments.
"You could send him off anywhere and he'd come back with an incredible
story," Martin told The Associated Press in March 2008.
Bechtel said Model's health had been improving amid the challenges of
therapy.
"It was a strange situation with him because it was so much stress for
so long, and it seemed like we just started catching our breath before
this happened," Bechtel said Thursday.
"Bobby was a good communicator and a compassionate person," Bechtel
added. "He's one of those ones that the world is worse off without."
Kris Baker
news:q5ctm.44784$GS3....@en-nntp-07.dc1.easynews.com...
> http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_540bdfae-0aff-5987-909d-fca8f7bc8b87.html
>
> Adventure photographer dies in Wyo
> MATT JOYCE - Associated Press writer
> Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:00 am
>
> CHEYENNE -- Bobby Model, a noted adventure photographer who suffered a
> traumatic brain injury more than two years ago in South Africa when a
> chunk of concrete smashed through the windshield of his car, has died. He
> was 36.
Damn. This proves you never know.
Kris