Om Malik passed away. Tributes are everywhere, and most people writing them knew him far better than I did.

I knew him a little. We traded emails and texts over the years. This was a reply he sent me back in 2019, after I'd written to him about photography:

Kunal sahib,

That is the best story. I hope you enjoy the cameras for years to come and make great memories. Forget everything else, the technical details, the colors. just make memories. I am excited that you are on this photographic journey and can't wish for you to build your own history.

Give my best to your bride, and thank you for reading and writing back. I will love to take you up on the offer when I am in LA.

Over the years, I think his fondness for capturing light with German glass rubbed off on me, and I ended up with a pair of Leica cameras. An M3 that I picked up on my first work trip to Tokyo and then a Q2 to keep up with the kids.

That was the thing about Om. He'd mention something in passing, a camera, a watch, a pen, and a few months later you'd look down and realize you owned it, or were doing it, and were better for it. His whole interest graph worked that way. He never made you feel behind for not knowing yet. He just opened the door and let you walk through, and so did everyone else in his orbit.

The last thing we ever talked about was pens. I used to write with a fountain pen and gave it up; Om told me to start again. He won't get to see me do it, but I'm in Tokyo this week, and I'm going to Itoya in Ginza, one of his spots, to buy the pen and bring it home. I'll think of him when I reach for it to string some thoughts together.

Thanks for keeping us in your orbit, Om. Like you said in that 2019 email: we'll just keep making memories.

🙏🏼