Throwback Thursday - The Art of Being an Elario

One of the few things most of us feel Facebook does right is keep us connected. A few weeks ago Joe Elario posted the image on the left from a trip to NYC, and then yesterday, Facebook sent me an archived image with the title - "Eight Years Ago Today" on my home page. It's from my last convention as president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI.

Numerous times over the years I've written about the best quality of our industry having nothing to do with imaging but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Well, Joe and I met in 1988, my first time in the Hasselblad booth at what was then known at Photo East. Today, it's PPE and still in New York each October.

Joe was a Hasselblad shooter and came by the booth each year. When I moved over to Rangefinder/WPPI we started catching up to each other in Las Vegas as well as New York. Joe's son JP was probably in the business when he was old enough to hold a camera. He was in his teens when he started coming to the conventions with his Dad, and as they say, "the rest is history!"

Hit any of the major conventions and you'll often find JP speaking in the Miller's booth and on a daily basis, check out the family blog.

​Joe and JP aren't just one of the more remarkable father-son teams in professional photography, they're creative artists and relationship builders. They never slow down in building relationships with their clients, friends and vendors.

I recently found this postcard mailer they did years ago. It's probably from the 90's some time, but the perfect example of a terrific direct mail piece. Each time they did a new one Joe would send me a copy.

The fun of this particular Throwback Thursday post goes well beyond a trip down Memory Lane - great marketing ideas are always fun to share. This card was 6x9 and clearly got through all the noise and made a point about the consistency of Elario quality.

I entitled today's throwback post "The Art of Being an Elario" because they really are unique. There are some terrific ingredients that go along with being an Elario - integrity, a strong belief in friendships, quality in their images and a thorough understanding of what it takes to build relationships.

And let's not forget diversity. While weddings are clearly a passion for both Joe and JP, there's nothing they can't shoot! I shared a post of Joe's images from a day at the track in 2014. Just click on the image below to see more of his work.

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I found the video below in the archives from Profoto's introduction of the B2 two years ago. Although I had shared it previously, it's perfect to add to this profile post.

So, Happy Throwback Thursday and a big thanks to Joe, JP and their families for adding some special memories to my career and friendships my wife and I cherish!