A 28-Year Photography Throwback

"This is what I like about photographs.
They're proof that once, even if just for a heartbeat, everything was perfect."
Jodi Picoult

by Skip Cohen

​I know I shared this many years ago, but the fun of Throwback Thursday is based on no image or story having an expiration date! And looking back, I never shared the best memory of the trip above.

It was around 1996 in Bonaire. Starting at the top, is Bob Thompson, me, Duncan MacNab, and Tom Danielson at the bottom. In the early 90s, I got my scuba certification, and that was it - I WAS HOOKED. Somebody once told me, "Diving isn't a hobby; it's a sickness!" 

But the best memories are what Throwback Thursday is all about. 

During a PPA Advisory Board meeting earlier that year, Mark Roberts, then chairman, told me that due to Boyles Law of Inert Gases, when scuba diving, it was impossible to fart beyond one atmosphere (30 feet down). I have no idea how the topic came up, but I took that as a personal challenge - boys will be boys!

But the sidebar to the story is that I started getting calls from people who wanted me to know they had money bet on my skills. People I didn't even know were placing bets on my ability to defy science! Of course, none of us cared to even check on what Boyles Law really stated—a bet was a bet. It was the adult version of the kids on Christmas Story, and I had been triple-dog dared!

On this trip to Bonaire, I brought my own personal kit of gas-inducing delectables: beef jerky, pickled Brussel sprouts, and jalapeño stuffed olives. Determined to prove Mark wrong, I started to prepare shortly after breakfast. About an hour before we hit the water, I ate a little of each delight - the countdown had started! 

I remember feeling inspired: Our depth was around 45ft., and I banged on my tank to get Bob Thompson's attention. My Boyle's Law-defying fart had stepped onto the ocean's stage, but Bob didn't see it...Like a cartoon character with the light bulb above my head, I realized why - I had on a wetsuit. I turned upside down, and the bubbles came out of my ankles. 

Bob was laughing so hard, I could hear him underwater. While my buoyancy got a little screwed up, looking at our gauges, I was at 37 ft! I had proven Mark Roberts wrong and secured my reputation as a legend of the sea.

If you haven't already done so, take the time regularly to pull out old photographs and videos. I know I promised not to use Jodi Picoult's quote so often, but it's the only one that fits! And those poignant looks in your rearview mirror are powerful reminders of what we do as an industry - we help the world capture memories.