Memories flood over me as I see some of these images unfold on my 24″ display. Some of the images really smack me up and down and back up again – for a number of different reasons. A few things I thought when I saw this shot:

We must have been having a great time on this summer day in Wisconsin. We were no doubt clowning around without a care in the world and much to look forward to. It was a good time to be 14 or 15 years old.

I’m lucky to have spent several years with this guy. Bruce was a fabulous friend and he most definitely helped set my life in a positive direction. We need to get together again.

What a shame that the average teenager will definitely not have a couple thousand slides to sift through 40 years from now. In fact, they are unlikely to have more than a few pictures of any kind remaining four decades from now. Formats will change, storage media will come and go. Web sites and Inkjet prints will fade from their memories.

It’s also sad that most images these days are shot on camera phones. No matter how good these devices get, they will never produce a shot like this, made with a Miranda Sensomat and a Soligor 200 mm lens. Some of my very first images were shot on 120 film, and when scanned today, produce files in excess of 200 megabytes. Compare that with your average 1 megapixel cell phone image.

Depth-of-focus issues have been a challenge forever, but I could get good bokeh before I even knew what it was.

These photos have managed to bring me tremendous joy four decades after I shot them. I’m lucky to have taken so many. I only wish I had taken more.

My advice? Get out and shoot some pictures.