by Skip Cohen

​As I started my weekly hunt for throwback images this morning, on my Facebook notifications page, they posted my memories from today going back the last few years. The very first one was a comment from a friend in the industry about Terry Deglau passing away on September 14, 2019.

Off I went in search of grab-shots with Terry, and with each one, the smile on my face got bigger. Yeah, there was a tear here and there, but throwbacks are about reliving memories that make your heart soar. The ones I pulled together above are the tip of the iceberg. We did so many things together, and as you can tell, the four musketeers were Terry, Tony Corbell, Don Blair, and yours truly. Rarely was there a convention that the four of us weren't creating chaos.

But my favorite is the one here of the four of us. And while Don and Terry might have "left the building," Tony and I are the keepers of the memories and stories! 

Nothing beats great memories. Old photographs are the mortar that keeps all the bricks of friendships together. And while we all miss people we've lost, it's those throwback photos that help create a very special immortality and testimonial to the impact they had on our lives.

​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

​I know I've often promised I'd never use that quote again, but I lied! The truth is, there isn't another one better suited to the moment. 

It's my favorite day of the week, and today's post is a perfect example of why throwbacks are important. I rarely have any idea what I'm going to share in advance. Most of my posts are written the same day they're published, and throwback themes are no exception. This morning, I went off searching for "buried treasure" and found these shots of my good buddy Duncan MacNab in an old file on Shutterfly.

Photographs bring back memories - Duncan may have "left the building," but not my heart. And while I miss my buddy, it doesn't change the smile on my face looking at the grabshot on his boat from twenty+ years ago. Duncan had a boat on Lake Mead in Las Vegas, and we spent a few hours together on the water. It was a perfect day, and when I spotted this photograph, it brought back so many times we caught up to each other.

We used to laugh about the line, "He who dies with the most toys wins!" Well, Duncan had the most toys of anybody I know. From his stereo system to snowmobiles, to the Harley, his gun collection, dive gear, camera collection, woodworking tools, and even a gas grill on runners for snowmobile trips - if something was missing, none of us could figure out what it was.

But with all those toys, what I remember most is Dunc's heart - it was bigger than life itself, and his focus on people he considered friends never wavered. He had an amazing zest for life. If you were a friend, then you also knew that he always had your back. He was ALWAYS there if you needed help.
​
Another good buddy, Bob Thompson, and I visited Duncan a year ago today. For those of you who never knew Duncan, I shared a more in-depth post when he passed away. Here's the link.

Here's my point: Where would we be without imaging? The fun and power of Throwback Thursday is in the memories old photographs and videos bring back. Whether they result in tears or laughter makes no difference. We're all part of a fantastic industry that turns intangible moments into something we can hold and savor.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

It's Throwback Thursday and I almost missed it, but not without making a very specific point about the standards you set for quality.

The portraits above are of my grandparents and great grandparents. That's my grandfather and grandmother on either end, and my great grandparents (my grandmother's parents) in the middle. My grandfather and grandmother's portraits would have been around 1920, and my great grandparents late 1800s.

Here's my point:

Beverly and Tim Walden talk a lot about how they don't create portraits but family heirlooms that are 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?

by Skip Cohen

Today's Throwback Thursday is out of the SCU archives. I shared the images eight years ago, but it makes such a good point.

The two images above are of my Dad. The one on the left was taken around 1938. Seventy years later, Bambi Cantrell captured Dad, and it's one of my favorite portraits of him. But today's post isn't about Dad - it's about you.

"What will people be saying about your photography years from now? How will your work be perceived?"

My buddy Scott Bourne said once, "Shoot as if this is the last photograph of yours anybody will ever see!" 

The image on the left was hand-colored, and I love the Olan Mills signature. On the back is the ordering number and a stamp, "Olan Mills Portrait Studios, Springfield, Ohio." It's printed as an 8x10 on double-weight paper. 

The image on the right couldn't be more classic as well, even though I've cropped it for this post. Dad was around 85. I love the pose and the lighting - She captured how I see Dad, casual yet focused with a whole lot of love on his face. He had that same smile right up to when he passed away at 93 in 2015. 

If you've ever heard Tim and Beverly Walden speak or take one of their classes, they always talk about creating an experience for your subjects. It's not about "getting their picture taken" but the event itself. You're also not capturing a portrait but creating a new family heirloom - an image that will last the test of time and be handed down from generation to generation. A portrait session ALWAYS deserves your very best!

So, what's the answer to that question? Are you creating images that, years from now, your clients will be looking back and smiling, remembering the day you did their portrait?

by Skip Cohen

It's Throwback Thursday, and since today is exactly sixteen years since the friendship with Sheila launched, I had some fun digging through old images. While I know I might have shared a few of them in the past, according to the "Rule of Throwbacks," they can be shared again if you're too old to remember sharing them previously...and I qualify.

At the end of April, 2009, Molly the Wonder Dog and I packed up the car and headed east from Playa Vista in California to Ohio. Sheila and I had decided to move in together.

The movers had packed up my apartment, and we hit the road the minute they were done. At the time, the movers refused to ship liquor and wine, so the car was loaded with 24 bottles on the front passenger seat floor and another 40-50 in the trunk.

The trip was a kick, and I remember it bothered me that Molly had to stop fewer times to pee than I did! I let her drive across parts of Oklahoma and Texas since it was all open road, and there was nothing for her to hit! LOL

Meanwhile, the shot at the top and the one below left me speechless. I still don't understand the cars, but a 72 oz. steak, back then, I probably would have been stupid enough to try and eat the thing - but "free limo service" plus blocked arteries - How could one resist?

If you haven't gone off on the hunt for your Throwback Thursday shots, what are you waiting for? Old photographs are a never-ending reminder of how incredible the career path most of us chose really is. What would life be like without photographs?

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

As I've written virtually EVERY week for years - the fun of Throwback Thursday is in the hunt for old images combined with the memories they bring back.

In August 2014, the ALS Association launched the ice bucket challenge. The story goes that it was never meant to be conducted the way it was, but the challenge caught on and spread like crazy. In the end, they raised over $220,000,000!

In my search today for a great throwback, I ran across this video from eight years ago. While I know I shared it once before, it's too much fun not to share again. That's the fun of throwbacks - they don't have an expiration date.

My Dad passed away a year later, and while he's been gone for almost eight years, nothing can stop the smile on my face as I post this.

Throwbacks are also a solid reminder of the importance of our industry. We help people take intangible memories, stop time, and create tangible moments that can be appreciated forever! Think about the value that imaging has added to the world.

​So, what are you doing to share your own throwbacks and great memories today? 

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

I'm back to 19 years ago at WPPI, thanks to one more batch of photographs from Alan Karlin. The top image is from print judging, one of the convention's greatest assets. Years ago, I entered one of my own images in print competition and went into watch the judging. I was still with Hasselblad then and wanted to understand what the event was all about. I stayed in print judging for hours, completely enthralled by the process and what I learned.

Each category had a panel of five judges, all experts within that specialty. As each print went up for review, the judges would comment. It became one of my favorite events at WPPI because there was so much you could learn about composition, posing, lighting, and even printing.

And that's Michele Celentano below in 2004. One of the most respected educators in portraiture - if she's teaching a class or speaking in a booth on the trade show floor, run, don't walk to grab a seat. You'll never be disappointed.

Last but certainly not least - David Anthony Williams got the Lifetime Achievement award that year. Besides being a WPPI icon for so many years, nobody's more genuine than David. He was caught completely off guard, and the emotions just flowed. 

These grab shots may be from 19 years ago, but the fun of Throwback Thursday is in the memories they bring back. As things slowly get back to normal, if you've got a convention, conference, or even a workshop coming up in your area, make it a point to be there. It's not just about what you might learn, but being together with other artists and creating new memories.

​Remember - today's grab shots are tomorrow's throwbacks!

by Skip Cohen

Thanks to photos captured by Alan Karlin, I'm going back to WPPI 2004 again. The top image is the late GREAT Monte Zucker with Joe Buissink in the background. The bottom photo is Calvin Hayes with Clay Blackmore holding the microphone.

If you've followed me for even the shortest time, you already know my love for Throwback Thursday. These quick looks in the rearview mirror are perfect for appreciating the future. And they're right on target to remind you to capture images at every convention and workshop you attend. ClickCon is coming up - so if you're there, grab images at every chance, and remember to download them when you're home. Remember, today's captured photos become tomorrow's throwbacks.

But there's another point I love about these two images today. Around the same time I started as president of Hasselblad US, Clay was starting as Monte's assistant. The two of them became legendary, like Batman and Robin. A few years later, Calvin appeared on the scene. Together with Clay, they were responsible for some outstanding programs, always loaded with great content.

Great friendships are a signature of this industry. If you've been to the Texas School, Tony Corbell and Joe Glyda are another pair of power educators. Then there was Don Blair and his son Gary back in those earlier WPPI days. We're not quite back up to speed the way we were pre-pandemic and people teaching together, but there are a few power couples around, like Jerry and Melissa Ghionis, Bobbi Lane and Lee Varis, and the list goes on and on. 

But it's not just about the skills these power pairs have but their contagious love for the industry. It's their passion for education, sharing, and helping other artists that sets them apart. They never slow down, and they never show any lack of content for the career path they chose. 

Great memories, even better stories, and it's another Throwback Thursday with me excited about what the future holds.  There are so many new people on the horizon to continue the legacy left by people like Monte Zucker and Don Blair!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

Throwback Thursday is definitely a favorite day of the week for me. The fun of it is the hunt for old photographs, which bring back great memories. After my life-long career in this industry, poor Sheila can probably lip-sync all my best stories.

I was president of Hasselblad USA from 1987 to 1999 and left on terrific terms to play on the Internet with a company that made me an offer I couldn't refuse. However, hindsight is always 20/20, and my 2 1/2 years on an Internet start-up was like 7:1 in a dog's life, so it felt like 15!

Sometime in '93, Mamiya America, our main competitor, ran an ad congratulating Annie Leibovitz on her new exhibit. It didn't say she was a Mamiya shooter, but the inference was obvious. So, I started thinking - what could we do that would pull together all the great names who were then using Hasselblad gear?

The answer was to launch Hasselblad University. We started with two weekend workshops, one in Santa Barbara at Brooks Institute and the other at RIT. I don't remember who was teaching where, but on two different weekends at the end of the summer, we had ten different industry icons teaching at each campus. The program was set up so that over a weekend, each attendee could spend four hours with four instructors of their choice. Also, we had evening programs featuring all the instructors, which added to the power of the event.

The program was a dismal failure. Nobody wanted to go to Rochester, although there was plenty of interest in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, we underestimated the popularity of Santa Barbara the weekend before Labor Day. Room rates were absurd. In the end, we quietly canceled both workshops.

But the logo for the event won a design award, thanks to our ad agency, Kalmar Ad/Marketing. It later would become the brand symbol for everything we did in education, which then became road shows with 3-4 speakers and 4-6 cities per series.

by Skip Cohen

When we were all hunkered down through the worst of the pandemic, time seemed to drag on and on. No conventions, no workshops, meetings all on Zoom, conference calls - that personal appreciation to be with friends disappeared. As a result, it seems like I don't have to go back very far to find an "old" photograph for Throwback Thursday.

The shot above is me and Scott Kelby from The Grid a little over five years ago. It was my first time on the show, and being there was simply a kick. I don't remember the topic that day, just that I had a blast, and if you've ever hung out with Scott, he's the perfect host. In fact, everybody involved from Kelby Media is top shelf!

If you haven't tuned into The Grid, click the banner below. There's always something worth watching, and all the episodes are archived. It's a lot of fun to look back on past episodes, and there's always something new to learn.

Meanwhile - have you gone off in search of your own throwbacks today? You don't have to go back very far to find a memory or two you forgot about!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

By Skip Cohen

It's my favorite day of the week, Throwback Thursday. I've set the time machine for 2004 and WPPI. Thanks to Alan Karlin and two albums he put together back then, it's a fun look in the rearview mirror.

That's David Bentley, Bill Hurter, and Clay Blackmore in the first photo; Brian and Andy Marcus are in the second. And that's Big Daddy Blair on his electric scooter to the right. Click on any image to enlarge it in the SCU Lightbox.

While they're all fun images to bring back memories, I actually started laughing out loud, looking at Don Blair. In 2004 he was slowing down a little, and we rented a scooter for him to get around the convention. He had left the scooter with the bell desk before leaving the building earlier in the day. When he came back, they gave him a scooter, and off he went.  

It was around 9:00 pm when a bellman chased me down, wanting to know if I could locate Mr. Blair. The bell desk had given him the wrong scooter. It was a privately owned model, fully loaded with extra power, side mirrors, and a beautiful black finish - hardly the normal rental.

They found Big Daddy and switched out the scooter for his rental. I watched all the blood drain from the face of the bellman who had made the mistake. Unfortunately, Don had taken a few turns a little tight, knocked off one of the side mirrors, and put a few scratches in the scooter. There are no words to describe how hard it was to keep a straight face - Don turned the Porsche of scooters into what looked like a demolition derby winner!

Make time if you haven't searched out a few throwbacks today. Old photographs bring back memories, and they're a perfect reminder of how important imaging is in all our lives.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

​When you've lost a pup, the hole in your heart is slightly larger than the Grand Canyon. It takes time to get over the loss. I know everyone reading this post who's ever lost a pet understands.

But there's something that happens years after the loss; life goes on. You never forget that pup who was in your life, but you can look back and smile. That's the joy of imaging and the career field most of us are in.

In 2008 Sheila and I took Molly with us to Catalina, just off the coast of Los Angeles. As docile as she was, she wasn't allowed on the boat without a muzzle. Just to make her feel good, I also put one on, and another memory was made.

Molly was by my side for thirteen years, and it was one adventure after another. Do I miss her? Absolutely, but we can't stop time, and as I look back on those days, I'm grateful she was my nonstop partner in crime.

We took Molly hiking in Sedona (below) on another trip, but her favorite place was hanging out on the porch of my apartment in Playa Vista. While Lucy and Belle (our two pups today) have filled the void, these memories are so great to look back on...and Molly will always have a piece of my heart. Nothing beats those memories!

For me, the fun of Throwback Thursday is never knowing what I'm going to find or how big the smile might be when I strike gold. If you have yet to go looking for your own throwbacks, what are you waiting for?

by Skip Cohen

I shared these images back in 2015 but ran across them recently in my office stash. They're too much fun not to share again. 

Meet my grandparents and their hardware store in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Fairport is a little town on Lake Erie, and I'm guessing these photographs are from the early 1920s. It was called Rogat Hardware, and they also had a small furniture store next door, Fairport Furniture. When I was a kid, I used to help out on Saturdays and before the major holidays.

In the photo below, you'll notice the guns over on the left. Once I was old enough to learn how to work the cash register, it wasn't uncommon for me to make a sale of ammo, along with anything else that was purchased. Times were simply different from what they are today.

Nails were sold by the pound; window shades were cut to your window size as well as glass. Bikes and grills were always sold completely put together with air in the tires! And it wasn't unusual for somebody to be short on cash at the register and for my grandfather to put it on their account - no credit check - just a handshake.

If you haven't gone off searching for your own throwbacks today - what are you waiting for? When I find actual prints like these, it's like discovering gold. Think about it for a second - if these were digital files, they'd be lost somewhere on a jump drive!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

Without question, time flies when you're having a good time. I'm amazed that it's been eleven years since the program above took place.  But the fun of Throwback Thursday is in the memories that old photographs bring to the surface.

This was the Kentucky convention, and it's coming up later this month. David Ziser was coordinating the convention that year, and it was his last event in that role. My program was marketing and business, and I went on just minutes before the kick-off for the Super Bowl! Not easy to compete with, but the attendees at this convention were incredibly passionate about imaging, and I still had an almost full room. Afterward, Sheila and I went out to dinner with Jerry and Melissa Ghionis, and that dinner remains one of the funniest evenings we've ever had!

It was also the launch of a unique program we did for the school system. There were two programs - one for Kentucky photo educators and another for students interested in a photography career. My support for the teachers that year resulted in a sponsorship to be a Kentucky Colonel, and I'm still proud to be a member.

If you haven't gone searching for an old photograph - what are you waiting for? Throwbacks are a never-ending reminder of why we're part of one of the most incredible career fields in the world. No matter what you do in imaging, you help turn intangible memories into tangible moments that people can share forever.

It's also one of your very best marketing tools. Throwback stories published by you on social media help to plant the seeds of ideas for updating family portraits with your readers.
​
Happy Throwback Thursday

by Skip Cohen

While I might have shared this throwback many years ago, it's fun when a throwback becomes shareable again! Also, remember, the joy of Throwback Thursday is in the hunt for old memories.

Going back to 1999, Don Blair and I published a book together, Don Blair's Guide to Posing and Lighting Body Parts. It was a year in the making and introduced as the opening night program at WPPI that year. It's one of my most fun memories.

We had shot all the images in the book in Las Vegas, so we could use the same models for a program at WPPI when the book was delivered. The room was packed, and we kicked it off with some fun - we stole "Big Daddy's" red hat, claiming that without it on his head, he didn't know an fstop from a bus stop! Brought in under top-notch security, the cap was delivered. We kicked off the program with one more surprise. Everyone in the first few rows of the room put on a matching red hat! We'd purchased a hundred of them!

Sadly, so many of you never knew Don Blair, but you do know the legacy he left us - it's all about quality, kindness, support, and a passion for the craft.  I miss him, but at the same time, I've got a heart and head full of outrageous memories...probably enough to do another book.

Here's one more story...during the program above, at one point, Don was supposed to demonstrate hand posing. I sent up the model and was furious when he didn't follow the script. Instead, he switched and posed a tall groom with a short bride. I was hard-wired to the video guy, and while the audience didn't hear me, the videographer listened to a long list of f-bombs mumbled under my breath.

Well, a minute later, I was mortified - I had sent him the wrong model for hand-posing!  The bride I sent up had lost two fingers on one hand as a kid! Definitely not an ideal model for hand-posing. Right up until a couple of weeks before he passed away, Don was still busting my cookies about sending him the wrong model! And we laughed every time the topic came up.

If you haven't gone off in search of your own memory-making moment from the past - take a break. Those looks in your rearview mirror help justify why you're working so hard today. Plus, they're a reminder of the daily role imaging plays in our lives!

And to Big Daddy - sure do miss you pal. I learned so much from you over the years as did thousands of artists in the industry who continue to hand down what you taught them!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

by Skip Cohen

​The fun of Throwback Thursday is all in the memories old images bring back, but sometimes there's a bonus beyond just the look in the rearview mirror. It's the look to the present day as well as anticipating the future.

While the image of Sheila and me clowning around is one I've shared before, it's the relationship with a great buddy I wanted to share this morning, along with a point about portraits of you and the people you love.

Clay and I met around the same time in the late 80s. He'd gone to work as Monte Zucker's assistant, and I had just joined Hasselblad USA as president. That was in 1987, and the friendship and respect for each other continued to grow. We'd catch up at virtually every convention, and Hasselblad was a regular sponsor of programs Monte was doing and later, Clay on his own. 

In 2010 we were living in Ohio. I was doing the Akron Photo Series and bringing in professional photographers several times a year for workshops. All the profit went to Akron Children's Hospital. When one of my favorite shots of Sheila and me was captured, Clay was speaking that night.

So, here we are, thirteen years after that session and thirty-six years after our first meeting. Clay's grown to be one of the industry's most respected portrait artists and educators. When we catch up at a conference, it's as if the last thing we talked about ended with a comma - the conversation just starts wherever we left off.

But here's my second point - when was the last time you updated your own memory-making family portraits? There's that old expression about "shoemaker's children needing shoes." You're a professional photographer or aspiring to be but most of you have forgotten your most important client...YOU!

​All of you have friends and associates in the industry. So take the time to do a portrait session and get to know the front of your camera rather than just the back!

And to Clay - thanks for being such a great buddy. Sheila and I are looking forward to the next conference and catching up. Like so many of your friends, I couldn't be more proud to say, "Yeah, I know Clay Blackmore!"

​Happy Throwback Thursday! 

by Skip Cohen

While I know I've shared this speaker lineup in the past, with WPPI having had a great show two months ago, it's a fun look in the rearview mirror. Click on either page of the speaker lineup for an enlarged view in the SCU Lightbox.

​While a number of speakers have retired from speaking and a few passed away, these two pages are still a testimonial to the passion for education from WPPI and the industry.

It's Throwback Thursday, so grab a coffee and take some time to dig through your own files. We're all part of an amazing industry, and nothing beats a walk down Memory Lane, especially when so many legendary speakers are by your side!

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

I know I shared this several years back, but some photographs bring back so many memories they're worth sharing again.

The first book I co-authored was with Don Blair, Don Blair's Guide to Posing and Lighting Body Parts. We wrote it together in the 90s, but it truly took a village to bring it together. One of the most important parts of that village is pictured above.

Because we were delivering the book at WPPI, following the opening program that particular year, we decided to shoot all the images for the book in Las Vegas, allowing us to bring in many of the same models for our live program featured in the book.

Remember, this was all done on film, and in between shooting images for the book, we took a break to do a cover shot (about the authors). Terry Deglau had an idea to play off body parts with auto parts. He made arrangements at a local junkyard for us to have access on a Sunday morning. When the owner of the yard heard it was Don Blair, there wasn't anything he wouldn't have done for us. Don Blair Photography did his senior shot twenty years earlier!

The four musketeers above represent a chapter in my life that will forever be cherished. Hanging out with Tony, Terry, and Don Blair at virtually every major convention was always a memory-maker. And now that Terry and Don have both passed away, a photograph like this becomes even more important.

Here's my point - old photographs create a never-ending foundation to reinforce what makes imaging so important in everybody's life...the memories. If you still need to take the time to search for your own throwbacks today, grab a coffee and take a break. Find an old image that makes you smile, then take a nice long look in your rearview mirror. It's the perfect way to charge your battery for the day ahead.

You can't go back, but those trips down Memory Lane help you appreciate the view going forward!  ​

*I keep promising myself not to use Jodi Picoult's quote again, but there is no better one for old photographs!

by Skip Cohen

I wish I could take credit for the title of today's post, but I saw it on a t-shirt recently. However, it couldn't be more accurate how so many of us feel with a home office! And indirectly, it ties in with Throwback Thursday - not as a photograph but as a concept we all deal with.

Most of you know my backstory, but here's the short version - In 2009, I resigned as president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. I disagreed with the way the owner of the company was doing things and decided it was time to head out on my own. Plus, for years, I'd been inspired by so many of you and the entrepreneurial spirit I've witnessed over and again.

It's 14 years later, and I'm still a work in progress. For a long time, it was hard for me to unplug at the end of the day with a home office. Initially, I was afraid I'd have difficulty focusing, distracted by our home, the weather, the dog or dogs, and even the refrigerator (unlimited snack food). But the truth is, it was just the opposite. I was over-focused on work.

While I miss the interaction with coworkers and the support of a staff - my problem has been more centered around "living at work." For example, it's that last stop at the computer before going to bed - you know, the one five minutes to check email that turns into 30-60 minutes. Or worse, it's a challenge if that last email is something more critical or negative that sends me to bed, stressed or agitated. 

So, here's what I've learned as I pick a Throwback that, overall, I don't miss working out of a corporate office:

• Take scheduled breaks throughout the day. There's no water cooler to catch up to friends with, but there's Sheila and two pups to hang out with, on and off during the day.
• Don't work in a vacuum. I regularly share what I'm working on with Sheila. She's got a great head for business and she the perfect muse and sounding board.
• Use my phone! I'll repeatedly catch up with friends and associates with a quick call.
• I break late morning, usually around 9:30, for breakfast with Sheila. We share making breakfast and sit down together and catch up.
• Music is usually playing all day long, thanks to multiple Alexas.
• Usually, sometime between 4:30 and 5:30, I pull the plug, and unless I have something urgent coming in, my computer is shut down. And I've stopped checking email before bed - nothing won't wait until morning.

So, looking back to all my years in business, except the last 14 outside the corporate world, all I miss is the contact with friends, and that's where conventions and workshops play a role. Would I make the change to my own business all over again? Absolutely and I couldn't have done it earlier in my career because I wouldn't have been ready for it.

Happy Throwback Thursday! Whether it's looking back on some aspect of your career or
enjoying the memories an old photograph brings back, the key is to cherish where you are right now!

by Skip Cohen

A new aspect of Throwback Thursday is when you've been doing them long enough that previous throwback posts become new ones! I know I shared this at least five years ago, but when I ran across this group shot of the Hasselblad sales force with some of the management team at the time, it struck me how short life really is. The industry has lost at least six people in the group shot above.

Old photographs add a touch of immortality to those people we've lost. They bring back the stories about them, their personality, and so many traits.

Some memories are too good not to go back to more than once! But, I also forgot about the shot of "Two-Gun Tony Corbell," and I, as a wrangler, walked us into position for a photo opportunity.

We were doing a Hasselblad sales meeting at the Westward Look Hotel in Tucson. The year is sometime early 90's. I wanted an authentic-looking period shot of the old west with all of us. I'm laughing about how seriously I took the group portrait. I remember being upset because you could see Mike Bowen's Nikes, but I never thought twice about my Porsche Carrera sunglasses! 

There's also a fun sidebar. This was the Hasselblad team, but the photographer we hired captured the image with his Bronica gear. Plus, forty years later, at a high school reunion, I found out I went to high school with him! He just didn't connect it then, which goes back to three years in high school where I was "Steve." (I got tired of all the Skippy Peanut Butter jokes, but down deep, I've never been a Steve.) He didn't know he knew "Skip."

Well, it's Throwback Thursday, and you need to have fun with the opportunity to dig out and share a few old images. And, if you don't share them on your blog to remind clients how fast their kids are growing, at least find a few for your own enjoyment.
​
​Happy Throwback Thursday!