A Look Behind the Curtain of a Classic

​by Skip Cohen

Years ago, I came across the image below. It's a classic, and before I used it in a blog post to make a point, I did a little digging and talked to the company that owned the photograph.

I wrote: Searching for the copyright, Davidson & Company, out of Atlanta, came up as owning the image. It took a little time to explain to one of their staff, who had no idea what I was talking about. Think about how it sounded answering the phone and hearing, "I'm trying to track down the company that owns the right to the shot of a guy with his head up his butt. Are you the Davidson & Company who owns it?"

A few minutes later, I was on the phone with Ken Davidson, and not only did he give me the okay to use it, but he also shared a little of the backstory. The story adds to my appreciation for the journey so many of us have been on in this industry. The image was shot on film and manipulated with conventional retouching. It was created for a commercial client in the late 1980s!

Last week, I received a comment from Michael Washak, the photographer who took the original image. He saw my post from last May about the photograph. Remember, this was captured/created long before Photoshop. But even with Photoshop today, the quality and realism of the original have not been duplicated.

I contacted Michael for permission to share his comment in a blog post. One great phone call later, I had more of the history behind this classic image. He wrote:

I'm the photographer who, while working for Davidson & Co, took the original images. The lower body and background were taken in one shot. Our larger sales rep was photographed from behind. The arms and upper body were photographed from above. The thinner upper body was the retouch artist who used his airbrush skills to blend the two images and painted the seem lines in the pants.

The original images were photographed in black and white using a Hasselblad 500cm 120 film camera. The base print was done in a conventional darkroom using a rubylith mask to separately print each part. Then the conventional retouch artist did his work.

The reason the image looks so convincing, and has not been effectively replicated, is that back then, before photoshop, I became skilled at photographing elements in perspective to build images from individual parts. In the 90s Davidson went digital and their portfolio is now legendary.

Here's my point: We've become so used to looking at the magic artists have created that we forget it's more than just clicking a button or two in Photoshop. We take for granted the skills involved in creating stunning images. And while I often write about great professional photographers being magicians, it's still remarkable to hear the backstories.

Eight years ago, I started the "Why?" series specifically to introduce you to some of the industry's great artists and one of their favorite images. While I slowed down a lot in adding more artists, there are now over 130 photographers featured in the project. Just click on the button below and check out some of the most respected artists in photography.
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Take the time to follow up on the backstories behind your favorite images. You'll meet some amazing people in the process, and even better, you just might pick up a few skills to help you in your own search for creating the ultimate image!

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Check Out the Artists Featured in "Why?"