Throwback Thursday - Hasselblad in 1994

The year is 1994, and we're all at Viscomm '94, previously known as Photo East and today it's PPE (Photo Plus Expo).

One of the things about Throwback Thursday is the way you time-travel back, often to the very moment the image was captured. I was president of Hasselblad USA from 1987 through part of 1999, and this was a pretty amazing group of people. The team above is a combination of sales managers with some of the home-based team.

Top row starting on the left, Jim Ritter, Tom Woods, Skip Cohen, Chuck Gutierrez, Stefan Junel (Worldwide President from Sweden), Bob Thompson, Don Snyder, Mike Bowen, Rob Logan. Bottom row: Cor VanderBeek, Tony Corbell, Dave Kohler, Rudy Guttosch, Peter Power, Carl Claesson, Jim Morton.

Jim Morton, who many of you not only know from Hasselblad but Dynalite, for many years had responsibility for setting up the booth at every trade show. I always thought it was cool that he included me in the team for setting up, until a few weeks after I left the company when he said, 

"I always knew there was no way to keep you out of being involved in the booth. I always left a few prints for you to hang, so you'd stay out of my hair!"

LOL - and I still consider him one of my very best friends in the industry! We had a lot of laughs and with his help we always had a substantial presence at every convention.

At the time, Hasselblad University was the company's major educational arm. I talked Tony Corbell into coming to New Jersey and giving up his office overlooking the ocean at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara for an office with a window facing a parking lot. He was the first and only Dean of Hasselblad University. I had a leather varsity bomber jacket made up for him which was stolen while he was on the road teaching. So, if you ever see anybody wearing one - email me! Yes, I'm serious.

I could share stories about the Hasselblad crew for days on end and never repeat myself. A few of the team have passed away, a few I've simply lost touch with, but nothing changes the smiles that a throwback image brings out.

Go ahead - try it for yourself. Take a few minutes and find one of the oldest photographs you have of you with friends and then enjoy the trip down memory lane! Now find an old image to post in your blog. It's a terrific way to remind your readers of the importance of photographs and the role a professional photographer can play in capturing memories.