A Throwback Story and a Challenge: Back to the 90s

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

Me, Dunc and Bob in 2022

by Skip Cohen

After over ten years of sharing old photographs for Throwback Thursday, I'm running out of images that haven't been shown in previous posts. However, there's at least one fun backstory that I don't think I shared before. And while I should be embarrassed, I'm not. After all, "boys will be boys!"

That's Tom Danielson on the bottom, Bob Thompson, then the Hasselblad sales manager for most of the West, me in the middle, and Duncan MacNab, then owner of F11, an outstanding camera shop in Bozeman. 

I've heard it said that scuba diving isn't a hobby, it's a sickness! LOL Well, like any hobby you truly love, it did become an obsession. On this trip, we headed to Bonaire for a week of diving, which included a major challenge, and a bet I was determined to win!

Here's the backstory: At a meeting of PPA's Industry Advisory Board, Mark Roberts, then chairman, and I got into a conversation about scuba diving. Somehow, the conversation evolved into whether or not you could fart beyond one atmosphere, 30 feet below the surface. According to Mark, Boyles' Law of Inert Gases came into play, making it impossible. 

The next thing we knew, the discussion had evolved into a bet, and the rumor of the challenge went industry-wide. I started getting calls from people outside the meeting encouraging me to prove Mark wrong. Even Bob Thompson's wife, Cindy, gave me a call and let me know she had money riding on me.

A few months later, we were headed to Bonaire. To best prepare for the challenge I brought along a package of beef jerky, a jar of Paisley Farms pickled brusel sprouts, and a small jar of anchovy-stuffed olives. I ate them all just before we headed to the dive site. Yes, I was nauseous, but I also remember feeling grateful that this was a shore dive and I didn't have to endure a rocking boat!

On the way to the dive site, Bob and I discussed my signal when I was ready to perform. The plan was to bang on my tank with my dive knife. Well, about 20 minutes into the dive, at around 45 feet, I felt the urge. I banged on my tank to get Bob's attention and turned his way. Bob shrugged his shoulders and shook his head - no bubbles were coming out of my tush.

Realizing I was wearing a wetsuit, I immediately recognized the problem and turned upside down, with my fins pointed up towards the surface. A few bubbles came out at the knees of my shorty (wetsuit). Victory was mine, and I could hear how loud Bob was laughing, even under water! In the quest to challenge Mark Roberts' claim, I hadn't paid attention to my buoyancy and had started to flow up slightly, but my depth was still 37 feet!

But my point this morning isn't so much about being an adult and acting like a fourteen-year-old who loves bathroom humor, but about the memories that photographs capture. What would life be like without photographs and videos?

Duncan passed away a few years ago. Bob and I visited him just a few days before he passed away. The Great Fart Caper was one of the stories we laughed about, having shared so many great trips and memories together.

The fun of Throwback Thursday isn't about old photographs, but the smile they put in your heart when you take that short walk down Memory Lane. As an industry, it's what we're all about - helping people capture memories that last a lifetime!

Take the time to search for your own Throwback images. Then, share them on your blog and on social media. They're especially effective when they're about kids and family, helping you remind your target audience how important it is to capture memories. Every day, kids grow a little more, and a professionally captured portrait is the perfect way to savor great memories.

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