 by Skip Cohen It's a perfect post for Throwback Thursday, even though I first shared the image above many years ago in a post about people who think procrastination is an art form! Having spent my entire adult life in the photographic industry, I always try to be sensitive to copyright issues. I first saw the photo above on the Internet at least twenty-five years ago. A few years back, I wanted to share it in a post and decided to research who owned it. Google makes it impossible for anything or anyone to hide for very long. Searching for the copyright, Davidson & Company, out of Atlanta, came up as owning the image. It took a little time to explain to one of their staff, who had no idea what I was talking about. Think about how it sounded answering the phone and hearing, "I'm trying to track down the company that owns the right to the shot of a guy with his head up his butt. Are you the Davidson & Company who owns it?" A few minutes later, I was on the phone with Ken Davidson, and not only did he give me the okay to use it, but he also shared a little of the backstory. The story adds to my appreciation for the journey so many of us have been on in this industry. The image was shot on film and manipulated with conventional retouching. It was created for a commercial client in the late 1980s! Click the banner below to check out more of Davidson & Company's work. You'll see some stunning images. On their About page, you'll see a number of testimonial quotes, all with a few common denominators of "extraordinary service, trust, Customer Service, quality, consistency," and the list goes on and on. They're a company that's stayed on course with their original goal—establish a reputation for being one of the very best! A BIG thanks to Ken for allowing me to use the image, which he described as one of the most ripped-off shots in photography! PS These people are professionals—do not try this at home. Any similarities to today's political personalities are purely coincidental! 
2 Comments
Ed Malkamaki
5/16/2024 12:29:35 pm
Skip, you always find a way to entertain me. I have seen that picture many times and I can always put a face to go with the picture. Tell Shelia hello. Hope to see you in August.
Michael Waschak
10/17/2024 03:39:52 pm
Hi, I wanted to add a bit more to the background of that image. I am Michael Waschak. I’m the photographer who, while working for Davidson & Co, took the original images. The lower body and background were taken in one shot. Our larger sales rep was photographed from behind. The arms and upper body were photographed from above. The thinner upper body was the retouch artist who used his airbrush skills to blend the two images and painted the seem lines in the pants.The original images were photographed in black and white using a Hasselblad 500cm 120 film camera. The base print was done in a conventional darkroom using a rubylith mask to separately print each part. Then the conventional retouch artist did his work. The reason the image looks so convincing, and has not been effectively replicated, is that back then, before photoshop, I became skilled at photographing elements in perspective to build images from individual parts. In the 90s Davidson went digital and their portfolio is now legendary. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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