Throwback Thursday in Photography - 2010

Wandering through my Facebook photos, I came across this shot with two of my favorite people in photography, Kay Eskridge and Sarah Petty. Sarah had posted it on my Facebook timeline in 2010, and it brings back so many great memories.  Here's a little of the backstory:

When I left Rangefinder Magazine and WPPI in 2009, I had this idea for a small conference series and launched Skip's Summer School. I've shared throwback images before about that first conference and the educators who helped make it possible. This photo was from our second year. We were at the MGM Grand. The economy was still bad, and Vegas was hurting for business. We had great prices on rooms, buy one get one free coupons at many of the restaurants and a minimal attrition and food & beverage clauses with the hotel. That gave us the ability to do a lot of things you just can't do in hotel-based programs today.

We had approximately 350 people in attendance with a dozen or so vendors. The concept was a series of 90-minute programs all one after the other with Wifi in the room so people could work at their laptops and not be away from their business, yet still be away! Wifi in a conference room for 350 people set up classroom style was a relatively new concept, and I remember paying dearly for the daily boost to Wifi. 

This was also the year Vicki and Jed Taufer were overseas adopting their beautiful daughter. They got caught up in immigration challenges from the US government and couldn't get back into the US! There were a lot of us in the industry who were writing to any government official we could think of in a sort of "Free Vicki Taufer" campaign.

And to Kay, you still have "my" Arnold Palmer signed putter, but I think the twenty-year lease is just about up! It's another backstory - Kay outbid me on the putter at a PPA Charities auction years ago, and I've never forgiven her! LOL But this is a perfect example of how throwback images can take us back to some pretty special times.
 
So, besides this photo bringing back memories from nine years ago, it's also the perfect reminder of how much I appreciate the friendships in this industry. As sappy as it sounds, we really are a family. And, even with a few dysfunctional "relatives" here and there, we watch each other's backs and are always there to support each other.

Take the time to look back through your own throwbacks. It's a great marketing tool to share on your blog, but even if you don't share the images you find, take the time for a scroll down Memory Lane to appreciate your journey so far!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!