by Skip Cohen
This is another page from the Graphistudio "Day in the Life of WPPI" project I've written about before. It's definitely the gift that keeps on giving. After a year of hunkering down, nothing beats a quick look in your rearview mirror combined with a few smiles and the faith that we'll get back to days of being together at LIVE conferences! For the 2007 book, Victor Sizemore, Calvin Hayes, Catherine Hall, and Jim Garner were the featured four artists. What a kick to go back and see the event through their eyes!
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by Skip Cohen The fun of Throwback Thursday is always in the hunt! The series above was from Graphi Studio's "Day in the Life of WPPI" book for the 2007 convention. Jim Garner was one of four photographers whose work was featured in the album for that year. That's Charles Maring teaching a portrait class above, and there were probably 500+ people in the audience. And the image on the right, since it was his birthday yesterday, is Mike Colón, also teaching that year. I'm not totally sure, but I think Mike's program was part of the Champagne Shoot-out series, an evening event we did in one of the larger ballrooms each year. They usually started around 9:00 pm and one year went almost to midnight. We had four different photographers, one in each corner doing live shoots and teaching at the same time. Then, in the middle of the room, rather than cheap champagne, we had $10,000 of Häagen-Dazs ice cream with a sundae bar. Nothing beats the combination of great education with decent ice cream! I remember one year two young photographers complaining to me about no champagne. Champagne was the original plan until the hotel hit me with their prices for the really low end stuff. My answer, "Which would you rather have, a hot fudge sundae or cheap champagne you won't like?" His buddy smacked him and said, "Shut up and get a sundae!" I started with WPPI/Rangefinder in 2001. With an incredible team, the show grew to be the largest professional photographic convention in the U.S. And while there were always challenges in matching the right size rooms to the speakers, terrific hands-on education was a common denominator with so many of the programs. Don't let Throwback Thursday go by without your own hunt for great memory-making images. It's a great feeling to look back and appreciate the growth of the industry and the friendships we all made together, starting so many years ago! by Skip Cohen It's 2010 or 2011, and Jerry and Melissa Ghionis came to Ohio to teach as part of the Akron Photo Series. While living in Ohio, I put together several of these programs to help raise money for Akron Children's Hospital while at the same time bringing some excellent education to the area. That's Brent and Teri Ann Watkins on either side of us, along with the Sylvart Photography Studio team. We did an evening program the night before and then a whole day of hands-on shooting at Brent's studio. But while the image above is a fun one, the image that really makes me smile is the outtake when Brent just wasn't fast enough to beat the self-timer! It's photographs like this that remind me of what I love most about this industry - the friendships. Yeah, photography is a kick, and it's great working with people we all respect, but it's the mutual love for the craft that builds the bond that keeps all together. Even through the pandemic, we've all kept in touch. You should be following Brent's Mentor.photo group on Facebook. He started QuaranCon early in the pandemic and just did another online conference last week. And Jerry and Melissa are always out there, both on their own and helping WPPI. They should ALL be on your radar. Meanwhile, use Throwback Thursday as an excuse to focus on memories and friendships. As I've written before, you don't have to turn the clock back very far to find the "good old days!" Those looks in your rearview mirror are energizing and will definitely help you focus on the importance of keeping in touch with friends and associates! Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen
My good buddy Steve Troup shared this in 2011 on Facebook, and I ran across it yesterday. With the image, he wrote: Here is a real blast from the past. The PPA Industry Advisory Committee, photographed, I think, in front of Agfa Headquarters in maybe 1997. Good times, good friends. I'm going with Steve on 1997, and we were definitely at Agfa. Mark Roberts from Art Leather was the chairman of the Industry Advisory Committee. He handed off the gavel to me for the next 4-5 years, and then I passed it on to Steve Troup. Sadly, there are too many people in this photograph who are no longer with us, as well as a few no longer in the industry. However, the memories looking back on those days in imaging still brings a big smile to my face. Don't let Throwback Thursday go by without enjoying your own hunt for great memories. Then share them on social media. It's especially effective when the image ties back into reminding clients it's time for a new family portrait! Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen It's Throwback Thursday, and in my hunt for old photographs, I found this classic of my grandparents, folks, and me. And with every old picture comes a series of backstories that simply make me smile. So, here's the inside scoop on a print from the mid-fifties.
So, throwbacks become "waybacks" when they're really old, or they just bring back so many different memories, smiles, and memorable moments. Take the time today and go off on your own hunt for a time capsule that simply makes you smile! Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen For me, half the fun of Throwback Thursday is the hunt for old memories. When it comes to photographs and videos too, I've got files, prints, and albums all over the place. Yesterday, in search of something fun to share in today's throwback post, I ran across a folder from my last party with the industry's dream team - the staff of WPPI and Rangefinder Magazine. While a few key people are missing, this was the team that took the company to record highs. The March 2009 issue of Rangefinder Magazine broke 350 pages. WPPI grew to be the largest professional photographic show in the industry, hitting an attendance of somewhere around 15,000 that year. That was also the year, with Nikon's help, we took over the MGM's Garden Arena for a live concert with Blues Traveler. It was twelve years ago today I gave the owner of the company sixty days notice that I was leaving to start my own company. The decision was later made to leave earlier, but I was a "lame duck for the next two weeks." Webster's Dictionary defines "lame duck" as one whose position or term of office will soon end. It was a strange time, but the party at my place, just a couple of days before moving, puts the biggest smile on my face. Watch the video and you should recognize a lot of the team from those days and the industry today! Three days later, I was on my way east with Molly the Wonder Dog. The movers had picked up everything, except they refused to take any bottles of liquor or wine, so Molly's bed in the front seat was on top of a couple of dozen bottles of liquor!
We were in Ohio just a few days later. By May, my new company was established, and the adventure began. I chose Ohio because Sheila and I were moving in together, and she was in Ohio. Plus, starting a new business in California, my taxes alone would have been more than the income the first year. My best advice this Throwback Thursday is to go on your own hunt. Find some of those old images that simply make you smile and bring back those incredible memories. After being somewhat isolated over the last year, all those special memories out there are waiting for your energy. Best of all, as things get better in terms of the pandemic, more and more memory-making moments are going to come back! Happy Throwback Thursday! Intro by Skip Cohen Here's what happens when you cross Throwback Thursday with a great friendship, and then, like a chef, add a little good advice for seasoning! My good buddy, Scott Bourne, shared the post below eight years ago, and I shared it again in 2017. But here's where there's a twist - the pandemic has changed everything in business today. Right now, your most effective marketing tool is relationship building. Advertising, publicity, promotions, community involvement, a great skill set, etc., all play essential roles. However, everyone has been hunkered down for the past year, and as we slowly get back to a level of normalcy, your customer needs to hear from you - NOW! The fun of sharing a Marketing Monday kind of post on a Throwback Thursday is pulling old photographs from your stash. From the first Skip's Summer School in 2009 to the SCU blog and dozens of projects in between, Scott Bourne has been an incredible influence, sounding board, and truly good friend. In 2013 at Skip's Summer School in Chicago, one of the classes focused on video skills, created a short film featuring Scott and me as battling competitors. It was a lot of fun to do, except for one component where the class missed a beat - using copyrighted music. So, while the video never saw the light of day to the public, this is one of my favorite still images from the project. Scott and I met years ago in my Hasselblad days, but not until 2009 did the friendship take off. We started working together on so many different projects, including writing "Going Pro," which is still one of the best books ever written about getting started in the photography business. To Scott's point about caring about your customers in his guest post below - you can't truly care about them if you don't know them! All the answers on how to build a successful business are out there - you just need to listen to your target audience and understand what's most important to them! Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Damon Richards by Scott Bourne
If you want to sell photography (or anything else) you should spend more time caring about what your customers care about and less about everything else. Your customers don't care what your Klout score is, which of your lenses is the sharpest or which brand you shoot with. Your customers care about having photographs that make them (and their families) look good. That's it. That's all. The online camera forums are full of discussions about photography but, not the people who buy photography. Want to stand out? Want to get ahead of your peers, including those with nicer gear and more experience than you? Simply start caring about your customers. Put all your focus (pun intended) on them and their needs. This is NOT about you. This IS about them. The sooner you realize that - the sooner you'll start to thrive as a professional photographer. Let the nerds in the photo forums duke it out about which lens is sharper. You go out and make your customers happy by paying attention to their needs and making them look their best. You'll win every time. by Skip Cohen Once upon a time, there was a Fortune 500 company called Polaroid. They represent 17 1/2 years of my photography career and the foundation for so many things I believe in when it comes to business today. Well, a chapter from the past, going back to my Chicago days, bubbled to the surface a week ago. Here's another fun aspect to social media, and especially Facebook. Lori Hawk is a photographer based out of Kentucky. She collects cameras and recently received a Polaroid SX-70 for her collection. In with the camera was the service card below. She recognized my name and sent me an IM on Saturday morning. A phone call later, we had determined the camera had been repaired twice, once in 1980 and again in 1985. Most people don't know that the first production run of the SX-70 camera was over 300% defective. Each camera came back repeatedly for service. If the Internet had been around then, Polaroid would have gone out of business! Instead, thanks to an amazing man, Jon Wolbarst, a Polaroid VP, who had responsibility for Customer Service, Polaroid became a leader in consumer support. We were one of the most pro-active and recognized corporate service departments in the industry. Jon felt Customer Service was the company's conscience and never eased up on manufacturing or the company executives to stay pro-active, always fighting for the customer. The response card above went out with every repaired camera. We needed to make sure our service was the very best! They were so worried about a class-action suit that we made "roving rep" calls, heading out on personal visits to those consumers who screamed the loudest. We made house-calls to teach people how to use the camera. I was based out of Chicago and got a call one night to fly to Detroit the next day to meet with a woman who couldn't take a decent picture. It was because she could barely see, and the camera had an incredibly sensitive follow-focus system. So, with flash, if she took a picture of me and focused on my ears, the front of my face would be completely blown out. To help correct the problem initially, they added the distance scale on the front of the lens. Later on, the technology changed, so the problem eventually disappeared. A BIG thanks to Lori for helping to keep the world a tiny place. What a kick to be contacted with this snippet from my history. I was with Polaroid from 1970 to 1987 and based out of the service center outside Chicago from 1976 - 1981. There's nothing like a trip down Memory Lane to make you smile! Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen The pandemic has turned photographs captured only a year ago into valuable "throwbacks," but today's post is truly a collection from the good old days. It was 2005 and the twenty-fifth-anniversary celebration of WPPI. GraphiStudio had a great idea of producing a day-in-the-life of WPPI album. The albums were stunning, as four different photographers, working independent of each other, captured their story of the convention each year. They were given no guidelines except to capture memories. I grabbed a few favorites for today's post, but it's not just about Throwback Thursday. Memories like this, while they're a fun look in the rearview mirror, they're an opportunity to look forward. None of us know what the first convention will be when we feel safe again, but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hearing stories of business starting to pick up in various parts of the country. We're also headed into the second biggest seasonality of the year with Mother's Day, graduation, and Father's Day. Now is the time to be blogging about the importance of family portraiture and capturing those special moments. Use Throwback Thursday as a marketing tool to help remind your audience of the need to grab new memories! That means you need to be ready. I'm not suggesting it's easy, but too many of you have pulled away from your business and simply shut down. Now is the time to be boosting your skill set and keeping in contact with your customers and community. As I've written so many times over the last year: "Hunkering down is about your health, NOT about your business!"
by Skip Cohen In 1997, one of the all-time best ad agencies, Kalmar Ad Marketing, had an idea for an inflatable Hasselblad that would join us at many of the photographic shows on the calendar each year. So, from the floor of WPPI to the "lobby" of Javits, Hasselblad University programs, and even a few dealer events, "Big Blad" made an appearance. It was pretty remarkable. Built to scale, it was approximately 14 feet high and took only minutes to inflate and deflate. It had its own internal air compressor. It was a replica of a 503CW and was in storage for many years, including my garage. My Dad made a trip to visit us in Ohio in 2010; we took it out and blew it up in the driveway. That's our granddaughter, Belle and me. Sadly Big Blad died of "respiratory failure" - the dampness and mold from storage for so many years did her in! It's Throwback Thursday - take the time to find an old photograph and have friends join you on a trip down Memory Lane! It's a great way to keep in touch, especially during the pandemic. by Skip Cohen Wandering through my archived grab shots, I sure didn't have to go very far to find a Throwback Thursday shot or two. It's IUSA in 2018 in Nashville, and Bobbi Lane was doing headshots over in the FujiFilm booth. That's Max Alewel from Marathon Press, who I talked into going over and being abused for his portrait. LOL Bobbi and Max are two prime examples of one of the things I miss most through the pandemic - catching up to friends! And at every convention, these two are always at the top of my list to track down. The best thing about throwback images is the memories they bring back. So, take the time, and whether you share them or not, find a few throwbacks. Nothing beats a great memory and a smile. Wandering through the Internet, I found this explanation about smiling from EverydayPower.com. "According to scientists, smiling causes an influx of positive emotions that help in relieving stress and lowering your blood pressure. Each time you smile, you benefit your health and happiness. Not only can smiling lift your mood, but it can also elevate the mood of those around you. When you smile at others, it gives them a boost of happiness, helps them to lead a healthier life, and influences how they perceive you." Like all of you, we're looking forward to that first convention where everyone feels safe enough to be together. It's not going to happen right away, but it will happen, and what a celebration that's going to be! PS Looking for a great online program coming up on portraiture. Bobbi and Lee Varis are teaching online on March 27 at 9:00 A.M. Here's the link for more information! “The people who make you smile from just seeing them, those are my favorite people.”
Koi Fresco by Skip Cohen As the pandemic continues, the importance of Throwback Thursday just keeps growing. I find myself often wandering through my files, along with albums and shoeboxes, in a therapeutic way, looking for something that makes me smile and reminds me of life pre-Covid19. Well, nothing captures a quicker smile these days than a scuba trip from the past. I'm not sure where we were, but this is around 2006. From location destinations to live-aboard trips, there was a group of us who headed off diving at least twice a year or more. In terms of people you might recognize from the photo industry: me, Paul Fishkin now with the Mac Group, Bob Rose, now teaching at RIT, Kayce Baker (behind Bob) back in her FujiFilm Days, and Karen Hart, who you'll recognize from so many different companies she's represented, including Zeiss, Tamrac and Hasselblad. Outside the industry, but often with us on every trip, Karen (blue blouse) and Bill Kuglar (yellow t-shirt) from Minneapolis, Tom Danielson from Chicago, and Mitch Rubinoff from NJ. Tom Danielson and I started diving together in the early 90s. He was essential in helping develop the H38, Hasselblad's underwater housing back then as well. Somewhere during life's travels, we became the "Nitro-Boys." Between Tom and Bob Rose, we've been together on hundreds of dives over the years. A few months ago, as a podcast guest, I was asked what I missed most - the answer was easy - people! Zoom, Facetime, and Skype are all wonderful for a temporary solution to physical distancing, but nothing replaces real-time with friends. And scuba is one of those sports that provides an incredible quality of time, and with each trip, the friendships, along with the stories, all grow. So, as we hit the eleven-month mark of hunkering down, take my advice and use Throwback Thursday as an excuse to catch up to old friends and relive those special moments from the past. After what we're all feeling through the pandemic, you only have to go back a year ago to find the "good old days!" by Skip Cohen Downtime during the pandemic has definitely raised the bar on my "Throwback Thursday" game. Every week I spend at least half an hour wandering through old photographs, and while most people would say I'm not being very productive - I'll argue just the opposite. The older the photographs, the more great memories come back. Along with those memories comes a reminder of the value of imaging. From pictures that only go back to before the pandemic to ones like above, of me at age four, each photograph has a backstory. Turning back the clock is like a giant vitamin boosting my emotional immune system, helping me stay focused on today as well as the future. We all know how dog years are 7:1 to humans. Well, life during the pandemic at times has felt the same way. It's almost a year since we hunkered down, but it feels like seven! The smiles old photographs generate offsets so many of the issues with the pandemic...at least emotionally. So, the backstory is I loved every cowboy series I could find. Between Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers, I had the guns, the outfit, and obviously the horse! Now think about how times have changed - if a kid pointed a gun like that at you today, the kid would be tossed out of pre-school, some fool would call Child Protective Services, and the parents would be arrested. But that doesn't change the value of the trip down Memory Lane. At bedtime, my Dad would sit on the edge of the bed and be the bad guy, talking in a low voice about robbing the stagecoach. I'd sneak up behind him as Hopalong or Roy and wrestle him to the ground, stopping crime and scoring a point for the good guys. Wishing everybody a great Throwback Thursday. Take the time to wander back to the good old days. And if you're an old westerns fan, you can find anything on YouTube, like the William Boyd tribute below. Happy TBT! by Skip Cohen
These days you don't have to go back very far to find a memory-making moment that's perfect for sharing on a Throwback Thursday. This is just two years ago at Photoshop World in Orlando. It's at the Hyatt, and it's four great friends about to grab breakfast. That's Robert Vanelli, Levi Sim, me, and Dave Moser. But there's more to today's post. For years I've written about the best thing in this industry: the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Until the pandemic, while I wrote about it, like most of you, I never really appreciated all those "let's catch up" moments that happen at every convention. Plus, I've referred to myself as the industry's biggest lunch slut for years. Well, Moser's just an hour away, Vanelli two hours, and the last time I saw Levi was at WPPI last year. The pandemic has put a hold on all those moments...and I miss these knuckleheads along with dozens more of you. The phone is excellent - Zoom is great - texting, email, Facebook are all great - but NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING. A few months ago as a podcast guest, I was asked, "What do you miss most?" My answer, "Bumping into people, literally." While there's light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine becoming more available, we still don't know when a level of normalcy will return. It's frustrating, but at the risk of sounding like the old fart that I am, we've got no choice but to keep our eye on the prize - all of us being able to be together again! Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen Sometimes the fun of a Throwback Thursday image isn't just the photograph's subject but everything else. Heading off on my weekly search through old pictures, I found this one of me around age six. Here's the trip this one image took me on:
And there you have it - the pure fun of a look in the rearview mirror and a moment of connecting with the past. In all honesty, I miss the simplicity of it all. Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen Sometimes the fun of Throwback Thursday goes well beyond the photograph itself and includes a few backstories. Let's start with the portrait above. Sometime around the mid-90s, Kodak launched their DreamMaker ad campaign featuring noted professional photographers staring in their own fantasy portrait. That's well-respected photographer Lisa Evans above. The campaign was for Kodak's VPH films, and the ads ran in just about every photographic magazine. In addition to Lisa's, one of my favorites was Al Gilbert's on the right. Before sharing Lisa's fantasy portrait, I called her. What a kick it was to catch up on the back story. She sent me an email and wrote: Thanks for taking me down memory lane. Being invited by Kodak to be a part of their Dream Maker campaign was a real treat. As I mentioned I got to choose the photographer I wanted to create my Dream portrait. After my first choice. Annie Lebovitz was unavailable, I chose Mario Casilli who did a wonderful job. Known for his incredible portraits of the stars that dawned most of the TV Guide covers for so many years, and of course as head photographer at Playboy Magazine, he had the skills needed to help create a Mermaid. Kodak gave me one of the most memorable experiences of my lifetime. From working with the costume designer to fit my mermaid tail and hand made shell bra, the makeup artist and even getting hair extensions and hair styling. A team of five people flew from NY from Kodak and the ad agency to watch the making of the mermaid in what used to be the old Pasadena Library, which Mario Casilli had converted into his incredible photography studio. To top it all off after the shoot, Mario Casilli himself drove me to the airport in his Rolls Royce. The Mermaid image was on the back cover of The Professional Photography Magazine, Rangefinder Magazine and more. But that's only the first chapter of the backstory. Last fall, I wrote about the industry losing one of its biggest and best supporters, Kodak's Terry Deglau. At his memorial service in Pittsburgh, I caught up to Bill Burbank. Bill and his team were responsible for putting together so many of the Kodak ads and programs back in those days. A couple of weeks ago, he sent me a phone shot of Lisa's DreamMaker portrait with a comment, "Look what I found!" That led to me calling Lisa, her email back to me, and the two images above. And while they're her phone shots of the experience and won't win in print comp, they're perfect for capturing the fun of the story. As I've written a few dozen times in the past, the best thing about this industry has little to do with photography but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft! And, as it turns out, Bill's brother lives just a few blocks away from us. Bill's no longer in the photography industry, but that doesn't take away from the fun of getting together whenever he hits Florida for a visit! Happy Throwback Thursday and a BIG thanks to both Bill and Lisa - what a kick to turn back the clock. Throwback Update: My buddy Glen Clark posted the image below with his comments on my Facebook post, then did a great version of his own Throwback on FB. These are the first truly clean copies I've seen that show just how beautiful the campaign was. That's the legendary Jay Stock as Buffalo Bill, and Glen also had an original of the Lisa Evans ad. THANKS Buddy!
by Skip Cohen It's Throwback Thursday and like the old Monty Python series, "And now for something completely different." My good buddy Glen Clark was packing up to move from California to the Carolinas. In the process of cleaning out his garage, one great piece of memorabilia after another appeared, which he collected and shipped to me. Well, I couldn't just write about these priceless artifacts...I went for the video below. Besides the fun of the friendships we've all made in this industry, there are so many events and spoecial moments we've all shared - including all our business cards over the years. Glen's were priceless, but if you want to see the largest industry-wide collection, catch Tony Corbell's, which are all stored in one big binder! I have a whole footlocker of items collected over the years. While you can never go back, the fun of Throwback Thursday is dedicating a little time to that look in the rearview mirror beyond photographs. From trade shows, conventions, new product launches, and promotions, all of us have our own stash of priceless memorabilia that just can't be thrown away. So, Glen couldn't throw it away, but he could ship all this stuff to me, and now I'm trying to figure out where to put it! LOL And to my buddy Glen - thanks, pal - I'm looking forward to the pandemic being over and getting time with you guys to laugh about everything that was in this shipment! And now that you're moved in - don't be surprised if I start sending you stuff from my stash. Happy Throwback Thursday! by Skip Cohen I know I shared this photo a few years back, but cleaning my office recently, I found the album it came from. Alan Karlin sent me two small books many years ago. They're his shots from WPPI 2004, and this one is a classic. I'm not sure I've ever seen a group shot jam-packed with more industry legends. Click on the image to view it a little larger in the SCU Lightbox! And on that note, I can't think of a better way to wrap up 2020 than a sprint down Memory Lane. We're all tired of the pandemic, wearing masks, using words like "hunkering down" and "social distancing," but none of those things are in your rearview mirror! So, wrap up the year and look back to a time when life was simpler and extraordinary - we just didn't know how special it was at the time. And one last time in 2020 sharing Jodi Picoult's quote about photographs - BECAUSE THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO DESCRIBE THE PICTURE ABOVE... This is what I like about photographs. They're proof that once, even if just for a heartbeat, everything was perfect. Happy New Year - here's to 2021 and having faith that moments like Alan Karlin captured in 2004 will soon return! Stay safe, healthy, and thank you for your support and friendship through another year in imaging!
Welcome to the 2020 Circus "Stay positive, Test Negative" Ali, Bleu and Fisher by Skip Cohen It's Throwback Thursday, Christmas Eve, and a year we'd all like to forget is quickly coming to a close. So, I'm covering all bases with today's post, starting with my annual favorite holiday card for at least the last decade! Ali, Bleu, and Fisher Cotton do it up big every year. I've shared so many of their past holiday extravaganzas! It wouldn't feel like the holidays without their creativity! This is one part Throwback with a few of their past cards and another part, a marketing reminder. Doing your own holiday card is one of the best marketing tools you have. It doesn't matter if it's one of your images or a staged family portrait like the Cottons do every year! And if you missed this season, then think about something to send out to clients and friends in the first quarter - you'll stand out even more! Next on my "Borgasmord" of content is to wish all of you a terrific holiday season. Whatever you celebrate, be it Christmas tomorrow, Chanukah, which ended on the 17th, Kwanzaa on Saturday, or any other holiday, Sheila and I want to wish you the very best. It's been a tough year and an especially difficult holiday season as family and friends are more than six feet out of reach. But, the year is almost to a close, and there are certainly more positives than negatives in the air right now for 2021. We couldn't get our act together to do a family card this year. It's the first time we've missed it in a whole lot of years. However, that doesn't change our appreciation for all of you, the fact that we feel blessed to be together, and how grateful we are for your support and friendship. And last on the list because it really is Throwback Thursday, and there aren't enough of you who remember the Underwood commercial with Mason Reese from the '70s or my use of the word "Borgasmord." On that note, and hopefully a smile on your face, I'm wrapping up today's post. Happy Holidays and thank you for all your support, feedback and encouragement over the toughest year any of us will hopefully ever face! It's really true - "I get by with a little help from my friends!"
by Skip Cohen Throwback Thursday, especially during the pandemic, has become one of my favorite days of the week for two primary reasons. First, I love the role photography has played in ALL of our lives, going back as far as you want to search. Second, I take time at least once a week to wander through life looking in my rearview mirror, and while this is my Dad's life I'm sharing today, it doesn't change the fun of it all. I found these two class photographs from 1934 and 1936, 7th and 9th grade, looking through some old albums. Obviously, those were growth years for Dad going from twelve to fourteen. And his signature was a full head of hair, and great sweaters, right up until he passed away five years ago at 93. This year has been a tough one for everybody. The power of our photographs and their memories, at least for me, has an almost therapeutic effect. Whether it's the photographs themselves or the hunt through the past, they take my mind off the challenges of the pandemic. While I know everybody in these two photographs has probably passed away, they were all part of what Tom Brokaw referred to as the greatest generation. From the Great Depression to Pearl Harbor and WWII - this is the generation of kids responsible for so many of the freedoms we've taken for granted for so many years. It's holiday time and perfect to take a long look back on your family's journey. Happy Throwback Thursday! |
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