Thomas J. Abercrombie

Thomas J. Abercrombie (Stillwater, Minnesota August 13, 1930 – Baltimore, Maryland April 3, 2006) was a noted writer and photographer.

Early life

His interest in photography came after his older brother got a Leica camera. He then built his own camera from scratch.

He began in journalism working for two local newspapers, the "Fargo Forum" and "Milwaukee Journal".

At "National Geographic

He was invited to work at "National Geographic Magazine", where his first report was from Lebanon. He had never been abroad before.

As a staff member of "National Geographic" magazine, Abercrombie was known for his work in Muslim countries, visited all seven continents, and was one of the first two journalists to reach the South Pole in 1957 (the other was Rolla J. "Bud" Crick of the Oregon Journal). [Daryl Lang, "Thomas Abercrombie, National Geographic Photographer, Dies At 75", PDN Online, April 12, 2006, accessed: 12/23/2006.] [Paul Siple, "90 Degrees South" (1959), p. 349] Abercrombie was the first person to win both the Newspaper Photographer of the year (1954) and the magazine photographer of the year (1959). He dived with Jacques Cousteau which he said "was like swimming with a fish".

After 1965 Abercrombie frequently covered Saudi Arabia and he converted to the Muslim faith, taking the name Omar. He was the magazine's expert on the Middle East, and reported from Mecca. He covered the region from Morocco to Afghanistan for more than three decades, until he retired in 1994.

Retirement

After retiring from "National Geographic" in 1993, Abercrombie taught geography at George Washington University.

Abercrombie died at Johns Hopkins Hospital of complications from open-heart surgery.

Legacy

Abercrombie's photojournalism career is documented in the 2004 film, "White Tiger: The Adventures of Thomas J. Abercrombie," by filmmaker Patricia A. Leone, Blue Marlin Productions, Progressive IMG and Gabriel Film Group with original music score by Kevin Harkins. The film showed at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

The August 2006 issue of "National Geographic Magazine" included a tribute article, "A Geographic Life" to Abercrombie. In addition, the Abercrombie Crests of Antarctica are named in his honor.

References

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040602187.html The Washington Post on Thomas J. Abercrombie]

External links

* [http://www.bayweekly.com/year98/lead6_7.html New Bay Times Interview]
* [http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0608/feature5/multimedia.html 54 photographs by Abercrombie]
* [http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0608/feature5/ Tribute to Abercrombie by National Geographic Magazine]
* View The Trailer for White Tiger [http://www.progressiveimg.com/ta.html