"Mr. Rob" Has Left the Building

The Hasselblad sales team in 1994: Front row: Rudy Guttosch, Gene Frank, Mike Bowen, Skip Cohen, Rob Logan, Jim Morton, Jim Ritter, Cor Vanderbeek, Dave Kohler...back row: Roger Layton, Bob Thompson, Peter Power, Tom Woods

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

1998: Rob on Bourbon St. in "N'awlins"

by Skip Cohen

I've used that Jodi Picoult quote at least a dozen times over the years, but there isn't a better one to describe what photographs mean to us. 

Like a combo at Taco Bell, today's Throwback Thursday turns back the clock and, at the same time, is combined with a lot of love for a great guy who the industry lost recently, Rob Logan. We've all lost friends over the years, and while I don't do eulogy-like posts very often, here's one I really want to share today.

We often lose touch with friends and so many people who come into our lives. But, when someone we care about does pass, there's this incredible flood of memories, and most often smiles. We relive moments from the past as if we were in a time machine. We start the clock; however, far back, we want to go, and then watch life roll by repeatedly thinking, "Where did the years go?"

Rob was one of the all-time great people in our industry. I met him in 1987 when I joined Hasselblad. He was our sales manager in the south, based out of New Orleans. There isn't a person who ever met him who doesn't smile when you mention his name. He was simply a good guy!

I lost touch with Rob a long time ago, but that doesn't change the love or respect I feel about him. When I heard the news yesterday, my only response was, "Aw shit." Seriously, what else could I say over the sadness? But that sadness took me on a quest to find old photographs, mostly prints. Each image I found made me smile and pass on a story to Sheila, who met Rob only once.

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Hasselblad University: Larry Peters, Rob Logan, Terry Deglau, Skip Cohen, Bambi Cantrell, Rich Herzog

1998: Rob with Karen Hart

1998: Al Zimmerman and Rob

Tom Woods, Cor Vanderbeek, Peter Power, Mike Bowen, Roger Layton, Jim Morton and Rob (Photo bombing before it was even an expression!)

The bottom line isn't so much about life being too short, but going by too fast. When we're in our teens, we can't wait to grow up, and when we're finally a big kid, we do our best to slow things down - both of which are impossible. So, the best thing to do is not waste our most valuable commodity...TIME. 

The pandemic has given us all an opportunity to appreciate old friendships and take those looks back to times that made us smile. It's also a great time to get back in touch with old friends and even new ones from the last year or two. And best of all, with all of us spending more time on the Internet, everyone is pretty easy to find!  

And to "Mr. Rob," we're all looking back on so many great moments shared with you, all the laughs and here and there even a few tears. You'll be missed from this industry, but if there's a way to find immortality, you did it with your smile. We'll miss you buddy!