"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

With WPPI wrapping up today, my timing couldn't be better to turn the clock back seventeen years. I shared this backstory many years ago, but it's too much fun not to share it again.

The program above was called "Young Guns." It had lots of attitude, with the stellar cast of talent in the picture above. Ryan Schembri, from Australia, and I co-hosted the evening program. Looking back, I have to admit it was one of the most fun concepts I've ever been involved in.

Each "Young Gun" had an opportunity to talk a little about their work and demonstrate some of their signature style. I remember Mike Larson doing his camera toss...LIVE. He had perfected the perfect toss, sending his Canon gear 12 feet in the air with the lens pointed downward while the self-timer was set. Remember, this was before everyone had a drone, and it gave the unique perspective of an aerial shot of the wedding party. 

The true fun of Throwback Thursday is the memories every image brings back. For me, and hopefully for many of you who might have been at that program, it's a terrific walk down Memory Lane. And, as I remind you each week, Throwback Thursday is a great marketing tool. Use old images to remind your clients that the kids are growing and life is constantly changing. Remember, for most of you, "Mom" is your target, and it never hurts to remind her it's time for a new family portrait!

Plus, we're approaching the second-best seasonality in photography. Easter, Mother's Day, graduations, prom, and Father's Day are all just around the corner. Don't miss the opportunity to generate new business—start planting the seeds for an updated family portrait NOW!

PS I know I've repeatedly promised to not keep using Jodi Picoult's quote, but in all honesty, it's the perfect sentiment for old photographs...and the one above was captured at a time when "everything was perfect!"

by Skip Cohen

For six years, starting with the earliest issues, I wrote for Shutter Magazine. Authors were required to include a short video summary with each article for online promotion. It was approximately ten years ago we captured the two-minute video below.  The fun of these videos was all in the challenge of getting people to remember what my point was. I knew if I could do something stupid in the video, readers might remember my point.

We're coming up with the start of spring seasonality in imaging, and relationship-building is more important than ever before. You need to OWN YOUR ZIPCODE. Every business in your community needs to know who you are and the support you can provide. And it doesn't matter what your specialty is - even as a wedding photographer being introduced to a real estate office; you have the ability to help them with all of their imaging needs with your skillset, network, and knowledge about photography/video.

We're one week away from the first day of Spring—it's time for you to come out of hibernation and start pounding the pavement. You've got to be your own noisemaker, and combining personal face-to-face introductions with email blasts, direct mail, and partnerships is an unstoppable way to build top-of-mind awareness.

So, when people in your community think about needing help with photography who comes to mind first?

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

by Skip Cohen

When you've been doing Throwback Thursday long enough, past throwbacks deserve to be shared again. I shared this in 2017, but it goes back to my last WPPI as prez. Two weeks later, after a serious disagreement with WPPI's owner, I resigned and headed off on my own.

The Awards Reception is held on the last night of the WPPI convention. It's an evening jam-packed with recognition, primarily for artists who have entered WPPI's print competition. The image above shows most of the WPPI team in 2009, who, along with 150 or so incredible volunteers, made the convention happen that year at the MGM Grand.  We had an estimated 15,000 attendees and a star-studded lineup of programs and entertainment, including Blues Traveler, sponsored by Nikon in MGM's Garden Arena.

Jerry Ghionis, jumping in on the right, while not working directly for WPPI, was pretty much an ambassador and photo-bombed the shot—helping to set the trend long before its time. 

A lot of people give me credit for building the show, but it was never just me. This was the A-team that became a family. However, two people are missing in the group shot above: Marlene Gourlay, who always refused to attend the last night's reception, and Gennie Kiuchi, who stayed in Culver City to keep the office going during the convention. 

If you haven't gone off searching for a "Throwback Thursday" image for today, what's holding you back? While I always remind you to share throwback images on your blog to remind clients of the important role photography plays in their lives, it's also a fun personal experience. I've got the biggest smile on my face right now, as this group shot brings back a whole lot of wonderful memories.

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

Photographs bring back memories. Memories are like that great bottle of cabernet you're saving—they just get better with age. Throwback Thursday is all about stepping into the time-machine and reviving old memories!

It was December 1987, and Mikhail Gorbachev had just visited the White House for a meeting with President Reagan. Senator Howard Baker was Chief of Staff and a Hasselblad shooter, and I had become president of Hasselblad USA almost six months earlier.  

I learned that Senator Baker bought his camera gear from Penn Camera, also a Hasselblad dealer. So, I asked our D.C. salesman to let me know the next time the Senator was scheduled to stop by the store, and we'd take him to lunch. But when the Senator was contacted, instead of letting us take him to lunch, he invited us to his "house"...the White House!

​The memories of hanging out with Howard Baker feel like they happened yesterday. He was a remarkable man and simply loved photography. I couldn't have been more proud to have been sitting in his office and talking about his career, his love for America, and, in turn, imaging. I remember him saying, "Skip, I've been Chief of Staff for only a short time, and I was a Senator for almost thirty years...and this job feels longer!"

As we left the White House, the microphones for part of the Gorbachev visit were still in place. I couldn't resist stepping behind them and looking like I was speaking at a press conference. 

Today's post isn't about the pain and disgust I'm feeling about politics these days. Every day, I'm more astonished by what's happening in America. I was invited to the White House twice in my career and so proud to have been there each time. Sadly, that would not be the case today.  

by Skip Cohen

My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all died of Alzheimer's. Two days ago, my good friend, Kristen Jensen, who also lost her mother to the disease, shared a post about Alzheimer's on Facebook. I'm unsure where the post started, but it was one of those please-share-chain-letter-type posts. While I normally hate stuff like this, it was so spot-on and accurate to what we experienced with my mother.

I started this post with the plan to share it yesterday, Throwback Thursday. I decided to combine a few of my favorite throwback images of my Mom with my own version of a public service message, which is below. Well, I posted the piece on my FB page and was surprised at the response from so many people. So, I decided to hold off and wrap up the week with an additional focus on the Alzheimer's aspect, and a mini-tribute to Mom, including a hand-colored portrait from around 1940.​

by Skip Cohen

It's Throwback Thursday, my favorite day of the week, but rarely are my throwbacks tied to me personally. But, fifty-five years ago this week, I started my first day at Polaroid in Waltham, Massachusetts. I started at $2.89/hour. That was February 1970, and I remember Time Magazine having a cover shot of a college grad in cap and gown pumping gas. Jobs were hard to find and I had just moved to Boston. Little did I know what the future was going to bring.

I spent 17 1/2 years at Polaroid and loved the company. I still laugh at those early days working in R&D wearing a white lab coat, a slide rule on my belt, and learning the chemistry side of emulsion development. It was a fantastic company, and I stayed there all those years because of the great people I worked for and with. And in terms of bosses - I was lucky - they all gave me enough rope to hang myself but pushed a chair underneath me if the rope got a little taut!

One day, you're 17 and you're planning for someday.
And then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today.
And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life.
John Green

by Skip Cohen

It's my favorite day of the week...Throwback Thursday!  While I posted this image many years ago, it's a classic and deserves to be shared again. Take some time looking at who's in the group. You should find a whole bunch of familiar characters, now "old-timers," including yours truly. 

For ten years, every year, usually in February, a group of photographers headed to Yellowstone with plenty of camera gear for three days of winter creativity and a whole lot of laughter! What started with just four of us, Duncan MacNab, Chris Kent, Bob Thompson, and me, became a decade of annual trips each winter with a good number of leaders from the photographic industry.

On one trip, I think the one above, Duncan MacNab, who organized the trip every year, towed a gas grill on runners to Two Top. The Two Top Loop is one of the most famous snowmobile trails in America. It's 28 miles long and has spectacular views. Plus, the snow blows across the trees, forming snow/ice sculptures that look like something out of Hollywood.

But just the view for our group wasn't enough. At the top, around 8,000 feet elevation, Duncan fired up the grill for cheeseburgers—even topped with grilled onion if you wanted. Imagine being at the top of a snow-covered mountain, buried in the silence of winter and below-zero temperatures, smelling burgers coming off a grill. Now and then, another group would come snowmobiling by and do a double-take at twenty+ people at a barbecue!

One year, it was so cold that the Pepsi I was drinking turned to slush within minutes. You had to drink very carefully to avoid resembling the kid in Christmas Story with his tongue stuck to the flagpole. But there was good news—the Twinkies, loaded with preservatives, NEVER froze!

While the fun of Throwback Thursday is in the images you find, it's a great marketing tool. Use throwback images to remind your readers/followers of the importance of photography and capturing those special memories. This is the perfect time of year to highlight old portraits and start planting the seed for an updated family portrait in the Spring.

While this is a throwback of a throwback, I first shared the rant below almost ten years ago. It was sent to me by a buddy, Jim Jernigan, who's long since passed away. But it's so appropriate, especially right now.

While it's slightly off the topic, but still in line with how life has changed over the years, I'm so tired of seeing families at dinner in a restaurant and everybody on their phones!  A few years back, we were with Michele Celentano and Paul at their house. Michele had a rule in the kitchen - NO PHONES!

Out of visits with great friends come terrific memories. The picture of all of us together above is from that same trip. It's what started our friend's wall, which I've written about before. 

If you haven't taken the time for a quick look in your rearview mirror yet today, grab a coffee and look back. While we can't go back, we can appreciate how far we've come. Most of the time, the journey forward has been for the better, but I can't deny I miss looking back to a time that was so less complicated.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

​It's Throwback Thursday, and I'm always surprised at what I find in drawers, boxes, files, and jump drives when attempting to clean my office. It's a never-ending process. I'm sure I shared these long ago, but there's no expiration date on the fun of trips down Memory Lane.

In 1998, Hasselblad USA was named the Best Swedish Company in America. It was indeed an honor. Going back to the 90s, there was so much the US company was doing to support the professional and serious hobbyist photographic community. It was an exciting time that included many of the imaging legends.

We all look back at times and discuss how much technology has changed. Well, business is no different.

One aspect of the fun of Throwback Thursday is the memories that old photographs bring back related to how we did business. Prior to '98, we were still using fax machines; the Internet was ramping up, but nothing like we have today; there was mail-order, but most transactions started with a phone call to a toll-free 800 number, which was a big deal. And everyone had a "Rolodex" of business contacts. Social media hadn't taken off for the masses just yet, and AOL was the primary platform.

I used to wander into Kodak's Daguerre's Chat Room late on Saturday nights, as professional photographers would stop by and talk about whatever event they just photographed. It was like an episode of Cheers - with so many of us knowing each other outside the Internet and being regular visitors.

Get started today if you're not in the habit of hunting down a throwback image once a week. You'll find those old photographs bring back some great memories and reinforce the value of photography even more. And don't be afraid of sounding like an old fart when you tell a younger associate how you used to do business. 

The Internet and social media changed how we market, communicate, and stay in touch. It also gave the average consumer a level of reach that only small magazines had thirty years ago. It made the importance of great service even more dominant.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip  Cohen

​This is a strange post to write on Throwback Thursday. Normally, my Throwback posts are upbeat and rarely tied to current events. But watching the news this week and the fires in southern California, while they brought back some great memories, they're based on a foundation of destruction.
​
I lived in Pacific Palisades for seven years when I was with Rangefinder/WPPI. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived and holds many wonderful memories. But it's a very strange feeling watching the news and seeing your old street on fire, as well as the entire town center where I spent so much time.

Living in the Sarasota area and dealing with the destruction from three hurricanes last year, combined with the horrific devastation in Asheville, I really thought I'd seen just about everything...until the news this week. In fact, for years, while I've empathized with people dealing with Mother Nature's horrible destruction around the world, it's never hit me as hard as the fires in California right now.

The picture up top was from the back deck of my condo in Pacific Palisades. "June Gloom" with the marine layer would roll in and sit in the valley, but we were always above it. We overlooked the dog park, where Molly the Wonder Dog grew up, shown below.

There was a fire road for those of us near the top of the mountain, but it was on fire, so the only way out was down Palisades Dr. I'm sure most of my old neighbors drove right into the traffic jam, where we saw bulldozers clearing cars on the news! 

​While there's no confirmation yet that my old neighborhood has been destroyed, I texted my next-door neighbor from back then. She sent me the pic to the right, taken as they fought through traffic trying to leave the Palisades and get to safety on Tuesday.

The likelihood that anything survived in the area is slim, and my heart goes out to old friends and neighbors who have lost so much. We're sending prayers and positive thoughts to everyone caught in the tragedy. I can't imagine the pain of loss they're all feeling, but when it hits this close to home, especially the street where you live, it's impossible not to be affected.

by Skip Cohen

It's a new year filled with possibilities. What I love most about Throwback Thursday is the wonder of turning back the clock to a time and world that wasn't filled with so many horrific tragedies. Mining for old memories lives up to author Jodi Picoult's quote above, which I've shared so many times in the past.

Over the last few days, I started my annual process of cleaning out the closet in my home office—a daunting task! In the process, I found a large envelope of things my folks had saved over the years. The fun of old photographs is always in the backstory of memories that immediately flow.

​I found the postcard below. 

The backstory starts with me being a little introverted as a kid. My parents thought it would help me if I went to an overnight camp for a couple of nights. I was only six, but they, along with a friend's parents in the neighborhood, decided Camp Loretta would be perfect for both of us.

What's missing in the card, which from printing my name you can see I never wrote, is that the experience was terrifying.

The first night, the counselor told us a ghost story about the Ghost of Camp Loretta who, in the past, came in the window (the one by my bunk) and took one of the kids while they were sleeping. The counselor, as he told the story, lifted his t-shirt, and his back was covered in scars - captured by the Ghost when he was younger. He'd been tied up and whipped. (The scars were probably lipstick streaks, but told in the light of a small flashlight, they sure looked real to little Skippy!)

Well, I was in the top bunk, and my friend was in the bottom. In the middle of the night, I was so scared that I climbed down from my top bunk and into bed with my friend Danny. That wouldn't have been an issue, except that I wet HIS bed! That led to the bunk all waking up and the counselor making me take my wet underwear out and hang it on the laundry line at the edge of the woods - where the Ghost was waiting. Miraculously, I didn't die and survived the ordeal.

As I looked at the postcard, so much more than just that story came to mind. To start, the card was written by the counselor who planted all the fears! For the next twenty years, I'd sleep with the cover over my head! And for years as a kid, I'd never go into a dark room without making a lot of noise, hopefully giving the Boogie Man time to leave.

Fifty years later, I'd catch up to Danny. My buddy and photographer, Arnold Crane, mentioned his name one night when talking about people he was working with. I tracked Danny down, who was then living in Los Angeles, as was I. We grabbed dinner, and I apologized for wetting his bed. His response: "You're kidding me. After all these years, I thought I did it—I was in therapy for years!" There was nothing but laughter that followed.

So, here's my point—take the time to start the new year out right, and make Throwback Thursday your day to turn back the clock with a look in your rearview mirror. I'm not suggesting you dwell on the past; just take the time to appreciate it. Plus, old photographs are the perfect way to stay focused on the value of imaging and our ability as an industry to help the world turn the intangible into tangible memories we can hold in our hands forever.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

​I know I've shared these images several times over the years, but it's holiday time. Like many of you, my thoughts pull me into the time machine, especially regarding my grandparents. At one point as a kid, I was lucky enough to have four grandparents and three great-grandparents still living. And since my grandfather was one of eleven, the holidays were pretty remarkable.

The two large portraits are of my grandfather and grandmother on my mother's side. In the middle are my great-grandparents. My grandfather and grandmother's portraits would have been captured around 1920, and my great grandparents' would have been late 1800s.

While Throwback Thursday posts are about memories, that's not my main reason for sharing today. Most of you who follow my blog are working or aspiring to be professional photographers. In a world where we've been sucked into instant fulfillment, and classic portraiture seems to be getting more and more rare - there's still nothing like a stunning portrait when the artist understands posing and lighting.

I'm so tired of meeting portrait artists who describe themselves as "natural light specialists." Seriously? We all know that means they haven't taken the time to learn studio lighting. And while you can get some of the effects with digital manipulation, there's still nothing like a solid image - "right out of the can!"

Beverly and Tim Walden talk a lot about how they don't create portraits but family heirlooms meant to be handed down from generation to generation. You owe each client your very best skills. They trust you to never say, "That's good enough."

Think about the portraits you've done over the last few years. Will they stand the test of time and be considered just as beautiful to family members when you're long gone?

"My Man - Wishing you a cool Yule!"
Big Daddy Blair

by Skip Cohen

It's hard for me to believe that I still find photographs I haven't shared over the last 10+ years of Throwback Thursdays. I think of my lifetime stash of photos as one giant priceless treasure. Whenever I open the "vault," the memories flow.

I picked this set of images of Don Blair, family, and friends because it's that time of year when he'd be wishing everybody a "cool Yule." When I lower my voice and say the quote above out loud, I can picture him with that big smile and an even bigger love for the craft, his family, and friends.

The year is 1999 at WPPI, and we were the keynote presentation before the conference started. The images are all thanks to Bambi Cantrell.

Since I've described the program so many times in the past, here's the short version: We were introducing our first book together, Don Blair's Guide to Posing and Lighting Body Parts. We surprised Don with a few hundred people all wearing red berets! The program followed the layout of the book, even using the same models. The following day, on the convention floor, everybody was able to pick up their advance-ordered copy. 

Marathon Press did an outstanding job printing the books. Don and I flew to Nebraska and were in the plant as the first pages came off the press. Everything was delivered right on time, as promised—something that rarely happens these days!  

If you haven't gone off today in search of your throwbacks, take the time. It's the perfect reminder of the value of photography—stopping time and turning the intangible into memories you can hold in your hand.

​This is where Jodi Picoult's quote about photographs is so relevant:

by Skip Cohen

There's a practical side to Throwback Thursday and a pure fun side. The practical side is how old photographs remind us of the value of imaging. Whether you're looking at pictures from the past or grabbing a few seconds of old videos, it's the power of capturing memories that continues to drive everyone's love for photography. But then there's the fun side - for me, it's the hunt. While searching for older photos, each one I discover, time shifts me to another place in the past.

After over a decade of sharing Throwback Thursday images, I found this one from 1990. If there was a golden time in this industry, it was back in the 90s. This is a throwback of a throwback, having first posted it in 2014. It's a kick to think back to the days when PhotoEast was a powerhouse—the show nobody missed!

There's a fun sidebar to the story. Sadly, Marc Hauser passed away at 66 in December 2018, but notice the tie he has on. For a few years, he had his name on his own ties, which were then sold at Bloomingdales, where I bought the one on the right. Each tie was signed, and you either loved his designs or hated them—but it didn't make a difference—each one was unique!

The year is 1990, and I was on the Advisory Board of Photographers + Friends United Against AIDS (P+FUAA). They had put together a remarkable project to raise money through an exhibit and art auction called "The Indominable Spirit". If I remember right, the sale of the prints in the exhibit raised close to 1.5 million dollars for AIDS research.

Along the way, Hasselblad got involved in a few different fund-raisers. We sold Ansel Adams' 1977 Cadillac, and part of the proceeds went to the group. Then, we did a couple of workshops as part of PhotoWest and PhotoEast (later becoming PPE).

The image above was from a very special shoot Marc Hauser did for us. Marc waved his fee, and Leeza Gibbons, then the anchor on ET, contributed her's back to the fund-raiser. This image was done at PhotoWest. Marc then came back for PhotoEast later that year, and did a second shoot with Carey Lowell of James Bond fame, one of Timothy Dalton's co-stars in "License to Kill." Again, Mark nailed it, and we raised a little more for AIDS research.

But the true fun of Throwback Thursday is trying to figure out who's in the picture! I know that's Jim Morton on the far left in the back, Leeza Gibbons in the middle with Marc and Mark Rezzonico, now President of Profoto on Marc's right. William Hunt, then Chairman of the Board, is next to me in the back row behind Marc, and on the far right is Paul Mackler, then show director for the company that used to do the PhotoEast and PhotoWest shows. This shot is from 24 (today 34) years ago, and it's true - time really does fly when you're having a good time!

P.S. As I wrote ten years ago, I don't remember the names of other people in the photograph. If you do, let me know and I'll add them to the list.

Digital wasn't in the picture yet, but Polaroid was. We laid the storyboards out all around a hotel room, page by page. As we completed each topic, the final Polaroid was taped to the page. Everything we do in publishing today do is all on the computer. Regardless of the increased efficiency, what's missing is the fun of building the finished product!

The shot at the top was done in two parts, with the binding down the middle—the book was spiral-bound and designed to fit in your camera bag for easy reference. Everyone in the group shot was either a model or involved in production.

One of my favorite images was one of Don's combining hand-posing and showing both rings. Don's understanding and love of lighting were remarkable. Every portrait was consistently stunning—from his lighting to the pose to the expression on each subject, he never compromised.

The fun of Throwback Thursday is all in the memories old photographs and videos bring back into focus. Searching for what to share today, I ran across a copy of the book, and it was perfect timing. 

Don passed away in 2004 on a Sunday. I remember his son Gary telling me he was convinced that Don died that day because his wife Donna (who passed away in 1996) always made roast beef on Sunday and she was waiting for him.

​The last photo in the book, shown below, is another favorite. Photographed by Bambi Cantrell, it plays off of the body parts theme.

If you missed searching for a few throwbacks today, try taking the time. Old photographs bring back memories and remind us of the incredible contribution imaging has made to the world!

​What a kick!

by Skip Cohen

​In the early '90s, thanks to my good buddy Helmut Horn, I got my certification in Scuba. That introduction to the sport launched a quest of over 300 dives over the next three years and a reminder of a funny tagline I heard about diving..."It's not a hobby but a sickness!" LOL

But there's a fun aspect to my love for diving - like the degrees of separation Kevin Bacon game. Helmut Horn introduced me to diving. At the time, he was President of Coastal Hotels, which managed Cheeca Lodge in the Keys. Here's the first connection - Helmut is an incredible artist and Hasselblad shooter. When Hasselblad sold Ansel Adam's Cadillac for charity, Helmut bought it and returned to one of his hotels, the Carmel Highlands Inn, just down the street from Ansel's house, where I picked the car up initially.

Helmut introduced me to Tom Danielson, also a Hasselblad underwater shooter. A few years later, Tom and his wife Linda were headed to Bonaire on a trip, and I needed a dive buddy if I wanted to join them. Somebody suggested Bob Rose (now teaching at RIT), who is known by so many of you in the industry, especially from his days with the MAC Group. Well, those two knuckleheads, Tom and Bob, became my most frequent dive buddies. I got my kids certified along the way, and my daughter Jaime came on many of our trips as well.

At one point, we were doing so much diving that somebody would go to the DEMA (Dive Equipment Manufacturers Association) show and find another trip for everyone to do, and the "family" started growing—That's Jeff Gunderman, then at Kodak, in the first row on the left, me and Bob Rose. My daughter Jaime is under the Okeanos sign on the boat. 

These are from a trip to Cocos Island, AKA the Island of Sharks. I describe it as the most fun I never wanted to do again. It was definitely advanced diving with thermoclines and strong currents. In fact, a few weeks later, one of the dive boats lost two divers.

But in spite of some hard diving, I got to see a part of the underwater world that only a few people in the world have ever experienced - and thousands of sharks!  In 1999, I got a call from Bob Rose inviting me to join him at the IMAX theater to see the newly released "Island of the Sharks" film. To keep it real, we took our scuba masks and snorkels with us to watch the movie! LOL

These days, the film is available on YouTube, and I've included it below.

Here's the bottom line about Throwback Thursday: Photography allows us to take incredible walks down Memory Lane. Those "walks" are powerful reminders of the importance of imaging in our lives. If you haven't taken the time today to hunt down a few old photographs, trust me and do it now. As I've quoted Jodi Picoult hundreds of times, photographs remind us of a time when everything was perfect, even if just for a heartbeat!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

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
​
When Throwback Thursday and Halloween collide, the topic choice is obvious - my Dad's birthday. The poor guy was born on Halloween, and growing up, he rarely had a birthday cake without the doorbell ringing, or his kids headed out the door to trick or treat. What's so ironic is that when I was a kid, Dad was in the wholesale candy and tobacco business. I had a whole warehouse full of candy to choose from...but nothing was as good as what you got to "hunt" for yourself!

Dad passed away at 93, nine years ago, but the longer he's gone, the sweeter the memories to cherish have become. Minimal tears, just smiles and appreciation for him being in my life. He was my best buddy, and those last few years, living only six miles away, gave us quality time to be together.

We moved to Florida to give him a hand with my mother's Alzheimer's, and it's one of the best things I've ever done. Plus, Sheila was able to get to know both my folks. As tough as Alzheimer's was, there were still so many incredible moments when Mom would come back to us, and we'd often laugh until we cried - one of Dad's traits when something hit him funny. 

However, it's Halloween, and I went digging through some old photographs. I found a shot of me and my sister on Halloween. I was eight and wanted to be a "spaceman" that year. Searching through another album, I found a shot of Dad (on the left) with his brother at about the same age. The fun of Throwback Thursday is always in the hunt—I never know what I'm going to find.

Gray Drug at the local shopping center carried a full inventory of costumes this time of year. They were $2-$5.00, and according to Reader's Digest, the most popular costumes over the mid-fifties were Davy Crockett, Batman, Frankenstein, and Zorro. I'm not sure why I wanted to be a spaceman!

Happy Throwback Thursday! If you haven't already gone off in search of old photographs, take the time now. All those old photos help remind us of the amazing industry we're a part of. We help the world capture memories and make them tangible. 

And to my Dad—Happy Birthday! I miss you, Pop, but I've got so many great memories and a lifetime of appreciation for your support, guidance, and never-ending sense of humor—except for that one time when I got Grandpa's new Oldsmobile stuck in the mud in Leroy! LOL, but that's another story and post!

* I keep promising not to share this quote again, but I've never found a better one that really hits on the wonder of photography!

by Skip Cohen
​
I wasn't sure what I would share for Throwback Thursday until I opened my email. There was a message from Sara Frances with the artwork on the right.

What a kick to be a part of a book project, now with nine different awards. I'm so proud to have been asked by Sara to write Cruisin' With Ansel for her book, Unplugged Voices. It's a stunning book with 125 Tales of Art and Life from Northern New Mexico, the Four Corners, and the West.

Click on the banner for more information and order your copy. You won't be disappointed.

The story I wrote, which is below, is about one of my most cherished memories, driving Ansel Adams' Cadillac through Yosemite with my good buddy, Terry Deglau. Terry passed away five years ago last month. I don't live in the past, but I miss him a lot, just like so many of you who knew him. The fun of Throwback Thursday comes with those memorable looks in the rearview mirror. It's the way lost friends, with the right memories come back, almost as if they were here right now.

While I've shared the story a couple of times over the last fifteen years of blogging, with the book now being one of the most recognized in photography, it deserves another moment in the spotlight.

There we were, in Yosemite National Park, driving Ansel Adam’s Cadillac. King of Photography in the West, Ansel Adams.

I used to joke about my brush with the celebrity world as boiling down to getting into a cab in NYC as Vincent Price was getting out. Over my fifty-two-year history in the photography industry, I consider myself having one of the most amazing careers in the business! "Amazing" is a lofty, even arrogant word, but I don't use it lightly. My definition of success has repeatedly changed over the years and morphed into being defined by the smile on my face each morning. So, when I say “amazing," I mean that it's been about the people I've worked with, the projects, and the passion I'm fortunate to have for this industry that I love dearly. It’s the relationships and the friendships; so many of these people have become like family.

I’m turning back the clock to the nineties. I was president of Hasselblad USA from 1987 through 1999. In 1991, I was invited to join the Board of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson. Ansel was one of its founders. At my very  first Board meeting, Richard Avedon turned over his archives. Attending a very upscale reception that first night, and capping the celebration in a little Mexican bar with Avedon, I felt like a rookie ballplayer drafted in the ninth inning to the team that won the World Series. I had done nothing to contribute to the event, but there I was, sharing in the accolades…. But that's another story!

At a meeting a few months later, it was announced that Virginia Adams, Ansel's widow, had donated his 1977 Cadillac to the Center to raise money for its visiting scholar fund. The president of the Board, decided to buy it, but the following day came in asking somebody to take it off his hands—his wife wasn't a big fan of his intended purchase. Well, there I was—president of Hasselblad. Victor Hasselblad and Ansel had been good friends, and I had an idea. So, I bought the car with Hasselblad's money, and decided we'd show it at two upcoming major shows: Photo West at Mosconi in San Francisco and then at Photo East in NYC.

But I didn't want just to sell it—I wanted to make some noise. I remember being frustrated with so many foreign companies in the industry. At the time, I felt there wasn't enough focus on giving back to the American market. Of course, Hasselblad was Swedish, but it was time for the company to be more active and give back to programs in the U.S.

We put the car up for sale, and it became a publicist's dream. We didn't just sell the car, but created a package that included a Hasselblad camera and lens, a case of Kodak film, and a Bogen tripod. The proceeds would go back to Photographers + Friends United Against AIDS. And that’s another story. This incredible group raised over a million dollars with a photography auction pulling in collectors worldwide. Best of all, Kalmar Ad Marketing, then Hasselblad's advertising agency, put together a great ad featuring the Cadillac, the gear, and the short backstory. It ran in virtually every photo magazine at no charge! Remember, this is back when

​everything was in print, no internet. There was even a cost difference for a color ad versus black and white. Well, we had “cover” advertising positions all over the place.

But here's the best part of the story…

The best thing about photography has nothing to do with imaging directly but with the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. One of my very dearest friends, Terry Deglau, who was then with Kodak, joined me after Photo West. We'd had the car on display with our booth, and Rod Dresser, Ansel’s last assistant before he passed away, joined us with some of his personal collection of Ansel’s prints. My friendship with Rod, led to selling Ansel’s camera gear to shock-jock, Don Imus, for $100,000, for charity a few years later—but you guessed it…. That’s yet another story.

The minute Photo West was over, we hit the road to go to Yosemite, in the Cadillac, of course.

There's something mystical about driving Ansel's car in Yosemite, down roads he knew like the back of his hand. The car seemed to sense it was “home.” And all along the way, breaking through the serenity of Yosemite, we'd be playing Ansel's car horn. If I remember right, Ansel had programmed in 85 different songs. I'm told that each was a tribute to somebody he knew or someplace he'd been. Just a few bars, but enough to recognize songs like “Dixie” and “On Wisconsin.” Every time we hit the horn we’d break out laughing, determined to discover ALL of them. It was so magical! I'm convinced that after driving the car for three days in the park, I wrapped up the trip completely understanding Ansel's detailed, esoteric Zone V photo exposure system and development—just because my tush was where his had been for so many years.

The car was sold at Photo East to Helmut Horn, then president of Coastal Hotels. The Carmel Highlands Inn was one of its managed properties, and he wanted to bring the Caddie back to its roots, just down the street where Virginia had handed me the keys a year earlier. On the wall in my office is a framed print of Ansel's car with Virginia and me the day I picked it up. There’s even a story with that one—notice the vignette? Jeff Nixon was visiting Virginia and grabbed the shot for us, but I had the wrong lens shade on the camera!

I’ve lost track of the car. Last I heard it was back in Yosemite. However, in my desk drawer are Ansel’s original car keys, and the license plate is in a plaque on my wall. And while the industry lost Terry Deglau several years ago, there isn't a day that I don't look at that photograph and cherish my friendship and the adventures Terry and I shared.

My Ansel story is just one in a fifty-two-year run. Each story has a common denominator, namely that everybody involved has an unquenchable passion for imaging. Their hearts are all in the game, and it's contagious. People who have touched my heart, watched my back, and supported so many different ideas. I've learned from them, been blessed to be able to help with their projects, and they've helped me in mine. In a recent blog I wrote, ”You can't create images that tug at people's heartstrings if your own heart isn't in it!"

Somewhere deep down inside, whether we each recognize it or not, we're all hoping to change the world—no, not the entire globe—just our little piece of it. We all want to leave this world having made a difference in somebody's life, which makes life special for me. There are so many people who have made a difference in mine.

This story is mine, but think about your own life and your significance to your friends, associates, and family. Never slow down in your search for excellence. But don't look for perfection.

​by Skip Cohen

Last week, the "Rock 'em - Sock 'em" robots at Facebook deleted one of my posts on the grounds that it violated community policy and was deceptive. It was nothing of the sort, but it took me on a flashback trip to 2016 when Facebook shut down my page, claiming my name wasn't really "Skip."

Numerous friends helped me protest, including Brent Watkins, who got creative with his "Free Skip" silhouette  thumbnail. I even wrote an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg—I have no idea if he ever saw it.

After seven years with Facebook, I've recently been shut out because I couldn't confirm my identity, even though I've sent you copies of my driver's license and gun license, copies of unopened mail with my name on it, screenshots of books I've written, speaking engagements, business cards, and even my Google page when you look up my name. 

My birth announcement above was included in the post. A few hours later, I was reinstated, but with A.I., the robots are back, and instead of getting smarter, they're on an overdose of stupid pills. I reposted it on my F.B. page with just the link and a request for help from my friends. There were lots of empathetic comments. My old buddy Jon Vansteenberg said it best:

This happens all the time. I've had it 3 or 4 times. They can't distinguish between simple reportage of quotations, some from profound thought leaders, and complete Waccos. It personifies the invalidity and waste of trying to 'control' peoples' free speech. George Carlins 7 words performance boundaries would be far better and cheaper than spending billions on alienating good faith users...

It's ironic, though - the robots were unhappy with my post, but if I had paid to boost it through their paid advertising program, I'm sure it would have passed!

We all have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, but if this nonsense continues, F.B. is going to follow the flush with my Tweet stream!