Buried 90s Throwback Treasure in Photography

fby Skip Cohen

I know I shared the shot above a long time ago, but while cleaning out the attic recently, I found an old suitcase, and it was filled with "treasure!"

In the early 90s, Hasselblad launched an outstanding ad campaign, "Hot Stuff." It featured some of the most recognized artists in the industry. As Embroidery Boy at Hasselblad, I put it on everything - including these two bags.

The larger bag we made up for the salesforce at one of the annual meetings, while the smaller bag was filled with Hot Stuff baseball hats and sold at PPA National by members of the A-team in photo back then - Calvin Hayes, Wendy Saunders, Clay Blackmore, Don Blair, and Bambi Cantrell.

I had this brilliant idea to sell baseball hats at the convention and drafted five good friends for the "sales" force. Their job was to wander around the convention and sell hats. I even had special bags made for the inventory they were carrying. Calvin's got one in his hand. I don't remember the parameters, but there was even a little trash talk with a contest to see who was going to sell the most.

When the smoke cleared, we gave away more hats than we sold. I'm not sure anybody came back with much cash, even though the money was going to charity. I know Don Blair gave every one of his away, and Calvin had to come back for an extra hat for a cute girl he met at the show. It was non-stop laughter, but it was a great-looking hat, and I still have a couple I wear from time to time.

---

But buried treasure like this brings other throwbacks and terrific memories. For example, the tag on one of the bags was from the 1993 Snowmobile trip to Yellowstone. Organized by an incredible buddy who we just lost a few months back, Duncan MacNab, the trips happened every year for ten years.

Throwback Thursday isn't just about old photographs but the memories and smiles they bring back. That look in your rearview mirror helps you focus on what's in front of you and the importance of every new day. And while it couldn't sound more sappy - we're in the business of capturing memories so we can savor and cherish those special moments later on.

And no matter what I write about on Throwback Thursdays, it always comes back to the same Jodi Picoult quote:

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

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

---