Turning Back the Clock Thirty-two Years in Photography

It's the first Throwback Thursday of the new year, and as I searched through my stash, I decided to make it a "daily double." Back in July, I wrote about Hasselblad and NASA and shared one of the holiday cards the team at the factory in Sweden made for all of us to use. 

Well, thanks to my good buddy Jim Morton, the holiday cards live on! He sent me his stash earlier in the year, and considering it's just after the holidays, these are perfect for today. And as usual, there are behind the scenes stories for both.

I think the card above was for the holidays in 1988. I joined Hasselblad as president in July of 1987, and the backorder on the 2000 FCW was pretty substantial. It had been on backorder for over a year, announced before the factory had adequate time for delivery. There was even one price increase on the product, again, before it had ever been delivered.

So, when the holiday card came out featuring the camera, I refused to use it. In fact, in one Board meeting, I remember my sarcasm reaching a peak and asking if it was true that "Hasselblad in English meant backorder?" My comments weren't received well, but they did make a point.

​The gold 500CM was introduced in 1987 and in celebration of Hasseblad's 30th anniversary. Over the next twelve years, I was with the company; there would be at least three more gold cameras. Each time they represented another anniversary. While the 500CM was in celebration of the 30th anniversary, the 503CX in gold was in celebration of the 50th and came ten years later.

I remember questioning how we jumped twenty years in just ten. The answer was the gold 500CM was celebrating Hasselblad as a camera company, but the 50th was in recognition of the company's start as a business entity and a trading company.

Each time a new gold camera came out, the factory would push the US company to take more of them. We represented 1/3 of Hasselblad's worldwide business, but the gold cameras were getting harder and harder to sell. So, they changed the camera models, and then the color of the leather with limited editions of one in dark navy and another in burgundy.

Each anniversary edition was stunning, but by the time we got to the fourth one, they were no longer as unique as they were in the very beginning. Plus, as a company, they represented a huge hit on the value of our inventory. However, there's still nothing that beats the sound of a Hasselblad and having it in gold, for some, makes it even sweeter!

Happy Throwback Thursday!

Take the time today to take your own look in the rearview mirror. Then share it with your readers. For most of you, "Mom" is your target audience. Use throwback images to remind her how much her family is changing, the kids are growing and time isn't slowing down. It might be after the holidays, but it's the perfect time to update that family portrait!