Barry Mittan RIP

[victorskid]

Posted by Skate Canada on Facebook:

Another sad day for the figure skating photography world. Barry Mittan was a fixture for so many years in the skating world. His passion for the sport was reflected in his photography. We are very saddened to learn of his passing, and join the many people from across the skating world who have already paid tribute to him, and send our sincere condolences to his wife Jayne. We shall miss him, and his photographs, just as we missed Gerard Chataigneau and Mike Cassese at our first nationals without them.

[Alex Forrest]

Wow, I met him way back too. Like 1994. Horrible way to die. It was J. Barry Mittan, right? He basically owned the rights to every skating pic on the net. And he was a nice one. Just wanted every single one of his photos to have his name on it... My thoughts go out to his family, but really, they go out to Barry first and foremost. He was quite a legend way back when. He graced people with his talent and presence. Very sad news.

God, I'm going back 15 years, but didn't some skate mom at Sasha and Naomi's rink turn him in for photographing skaters? I think he stopped his passion for the perfect picture after that. I could be wrong, but Barry was always good with a story at Nationals. I think when some mother of a talentless daughter got no attention she turned him in to police.

RIP, and don't worry Doris is dead anyway.

[Jarrett]

Mr. Mittan was very nice to share all of his photos throughout the years.

[AragornElessar]

I did a double take just now when bringing up GSD for the first time tonight and saw this sad news. In the space of only a few months, we've lost two of the men who for many of us gave us the greatest skating pictures of the last, at least, 30 years.

Thank you for all of the wonderful pictures Sir. Rest in Peace.

[aemeraldrainc]

What sad news. My condolences to his family and friends.
He was the first photographer I ordered photos from and they were always so beautiful. I hope USFS will acknowledge his passing.

from Facebook:
U.S. Figure Skating


U.S. Figure Skating mourns the loss of longtime skating photographer Barry Mittan, who passed today. Our thoughts are with his family.

[BigB08822]

I remember him well! I didn't recognize the name until someone pointed out the correct spelling and mentioned JB. May he RIP. I know I bought photos from him on a few occasions and I believe he was always generous about allowing me to use his photos on my websites way back in the day.

[Sasha'sSpins]

That is very sad. Back in the days when there weren't that many skating photos available online, his were some of the first. I ended up doing a skating website for a school project while in college and emailed him explaining I was broke, but working on the website. I asked if he could send me one of skater's pictures for free. He ended up emailing all of them to me, and some from a previous event that wasn't even listed -which was very nice of him. RIP

What a decent, classy guy he was. Thanks for sharing.

My heart and prayers go out to Mr. Mittan's loved ones and friends. His gifts will be sorely missed in the skating world.

[overedge]

His photographs were always excellent. I'm glad to hear all these stories about how generous he was with them too.

[The Observer]

Kind of shocked to read about what happened to him.

When I first saw news of his death on Twitter, I assumed it was a heart attack or cancer. Had no idea till I came here and saw the first post that he was in a bad car accident.

[marysy]

I'm so sorry to hear this. He had some of the most gorgeous G&G photos, and I too remember contacting him about photos a long time ago and receiving a very kind response. Rest in peace, and all the best wishes to his family.

Thanks Sylvia for posting the link to his website. Some of those photos bring to mind some of the first and best figure skating photos I had ever seen, back when the internet was still in its infancy. Wonder if it's still possible to still order his photos; if so, may just order one of those DVDs with all the photos of a particular skater that is advertised on the site.

[SHARPIE]

What sad news to wake up to - had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and he supplied pictures freely for some sites I was involved in back in the day - rip

[floskate]

I'm so sorry to hear of his passing. RIP

[joeperryfan]

Sad news indeed... I was under the impression he had stepped away from skating because of health issues, I am a bit shocked to find out that the cause of his death was a car accident, I guess it was his time...

I, like everybody else, at one point had tons of his photos on Pixieworld, it was very nice of him to help the skaters and the fans in that way. RIP

[YoenNL]

I am shattered by this news. Barry was always friendly to me at championships when I was judging there. He will be greatly missed. Does anyone know how and where the accident happened? Was it in Zagreb?

[Carina]

Very sad news RIP, Barry, we will not forget your fantastic photos.

[paskatefan]

What horrible news! His pictures were always among my favorites. Thanks for sharing your personal skating related encounters with him. My condolences to his family & friends. RIP, Barry.

[eliza61]

Awful news, Barry became a facebook friend a few years ago after I emailed him asking advice about skating photography. I facebook chatted to him on the odd occasion, mainly to ask advice about photography and of course about skating. He was always more than happy to patiently share his wealth of knowledge with novices like me. RIP Barry, my condolences to his family and friends.

[Kasey]

How very sad, and what a loss of a talented man. RIP and thoughts to his family.

[Aussie Willy]

I am shattered by this news. Barry was always friendly to me at championships when I was judging there. He will be greatly missed. Does anyone know how and where the accident happened? Was it in Zagreb?

This was from the OzSkater Facebook page.

We have just learned that renowned internnational ice skating photographer and all round lovely guy, Barry Mittan, has passed away after being involved in a horrific car accident in his home town in Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida.

Barry sustained catastrophic head injuries and was on life support, which, we have heard, was turned off today.

[Meredith]

What a loss! Barry Mittan's were among my favorite skating photos over the years. My condolences to his family and many friends.