WPPI 2004 - Iconic Friendships

by Skip Cohen

Thanks to photos captured by Alan Karlin, I'm going back to WPPI 2004 again. The top image is the late GREAT Monte Zucker with Joe Buissink in the background. The bottom photo is Calvin Hayes with Clay Blackmore holding the microphone.

If you've followed me for even the shortest time, you already know my love for Throwback Thursday. These quick looks in the rearview mirror are perfect for appreciating the future. And they're right on target to remind you to capture images at every convention and workshop you attend. ClickCon is coming up - so if you're there, grab images at every chance, and remember to download them when you're home. Remember, today's captured photos become tomorrow's throwbacks.

But there's another point I love about these two images today. Around the same time I started as president of Hasselblad US, Clay was starting as Monte's assistant. The two of them became legendary, like Batman and Robin. A few years later, Calvin appeared on the scene. Together with Clay, they were responsible for some outstanding programs, always loaded with great content.

Great friendships are a signature of this industry. If you've been to the Texas School, Tony Corbell and Joe Glyda are another pair of power educators. Then there was Don Blair and his son Gary back in those earlier WPPI days. We're not quite back up to speed the way we were pre-pandemic and people teaching together, but there are a few power couples around, like Jerry and Melissa Ghionis, Bobbi Lane and Lee Varis, and the list goes on and on. 

But it's not just about the skills these power pairs have but their contagious love for the industry. It's their passion for education, sharing, and helping other artists that sets them apart. They never slow down, and they never show any lack of content for the career path they chose. 

Great memories, even better stories, and it's another Throwback Thursday with me excited about what the future holds.  There are so many new people on the horizon to continue the legacy left by people like Monte Zucker and Don Blair!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!