In the Time Machine - Back to the 90s

Tony Corbell, Terry Deglau, Skip Cohen, Don Blair

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!