Contents
Who took (t)his picture?
Drawings I made
Who took (t)his picture, continued
Question answered
More photos of Rob Nanninga
Footnotes
Who took (t)his picture?
Hello everybody.
I promise to write a blog soon, but something has come up and I hope Google will work its magic again.
After the very sad and recent passing on May 30, 2014 of my very precious friend Rob Nanninga, a Wikipedia page is created, look here (Dutch) and here (English).
Rob’s faithful friend Jan Willem Nienhuys – of the Dutch Skeptic Foundation, Skepsis – wrote this In Memoriam:
In Memory of Rob Nanninga
On May 30, 2014, skeptic Rob Nanninga, founding member of Skepsis in the Netherlands, and editor-in-chief of its periodical Skepter, died aged 58. No one else had so much influence on Skepsis, both by setting an example and by his method of work.1
Rob Nanninga is – yes, I assume he’s still there, now “on the other side” – a very humble and wise, loving and caring human being. It was always about the other, not about himself. Photos of him are very rare. He didn’t want people to see him, he was living in the shadows (of Groningen), doing his extremely important job as Editor-In-Chief of the Dutch “Skepter”, the well respected and thorough magazine of the Dutch Skeptic Foundation. The “Skepter” was his brainchild. Also, very conscientiously as well, he managed the Skepsis website.2
But now there is this Wikipedia article about Rob. I know that people are planning to upload a passport photo of Rob. It’s the same as published on the Skepsis website. Rob should be in Wikipedia, and now he is. I would like to upload a photo I have of him, but I don’t know who took this picture. It’s the one you see at the top of this blog. So I can’t, until I found the owner of the photo and have her/his permission to do so.
Rob sent me this photo of himself on May 17, 2012 (see photo at the top).
As accompanying text he wrote to me: (first Dutch, then translated)
Iemand stuurde me laatst de onderstaande foto.
Wellicht had ik dat blauwe jasje gekocht voor
een tv-optreden in 1992. Dan was ik toen dus
ongeveer 37. Het kan ook wel wat later zijn.
Groetjes,
Rob
—
Someone recently sent me the photo below.
Perhaps I had bought that blue jacket for
a television appearance in 1992. I was
about 37. It may also be a little later.
Greetings,
Rob
On this photo you see Rob how he truly was (is): a very conscious personality with this amazing sweet smile combined with a slightly quizzical look. But the most striking in my view, his very intense, almost “hypnotic” eyes. I once had this astral experience with Rob. It forever tied me to him, as only fate can. It was an exceptional strong and timeless experience. I will not tell the entire contents right now, but I saw Rob’s very intense stare, looking at me while he was sitting (with other people) at a campfire. He spoke to me with his eyes.3
Drawings I made
I made drawings of his photo:
And then I discovered I had to use heavy paper, like I always did, but I temporarily forgot, and made my best drawing, to me that is:
Color:
Detail left eye (for viewer: right):
Black and white version:
Who took (t)his picture, continued
Back to this photo. I would appreciate a photo of Rob in his earlier years on Wikipedia. Of course, a recent Skepsis photo of Rob is okay by me too, but there should be a photo of Rob while he was in his “mobile years”, when he still was appearing and seen in public, more healthy looking too. There is a substantial difference in both photos as you can see.
So please, can the owner of this photo contact me, and hopefully grant me permission to upload this photo on Wikipedia? Your name will be stated there (if you want).
Thank you for your help!
Constantia
Question answered
It turned out, Jolanda Hennekam, Rob’s earthly girlfriend, was the photographer. Following this blog, she contacted me about it through my website. I didn’t know, because Rob emailed me that somebody sent him this photo. I asked her if it’s okay that I upload this photo to Wikipedia. She didn’t answer me on that one, but in November 2016, she did give Wikipedia permission to use the photo, providing them with the original too. It turned out, there’s in fact much more to this photo.4 I hope there is a higher resolution as well…
More photos of Rob Nanninga
Photo selection: from the Skepter CD-ROM:
Get your own Skeptic Treasure, Rob’s gift to the world
Rob Nanninga, Skepter, Volume 1, #3, September 1988
Footnotes
[1] Continue reading: Jan Willem Nienhuys‘ In Memoriam Rob Nanninga (English) In Memoriam Rob Nanninga (Dutch)
[2] Look at the February 4, 2012 archive version of Rob’s Skepsis website and/or you pick a version
[3] I do tell more about this astral experience with Rob in Lion Hearts Part III
[4 ] In the Winter of 2016, I discovered there was more to this photo of Rob. If you just continue reading through these blogs, you will find out what it is, but if you want to know now: Part IV of Lion Hearts
Lion Hearts 