Since 1982, five high school classmates have taken the same photograph every five years at Lake Copco, California. Despite the passage of 37 years, these men remain close friends. The next photo is scheduled for 2023; in the meantime, check out their incredible collection, which serves as a sweet reminder of how rapidly time passes!
The original photograph was taken on Lake Copco when the men were still adolescents and spending time at the residence of their friend John Wardlaw. Wardlow stated, «We weren’t going to do it again, but when we all gathered together for a vacation five years later, we decided to do it again.» Friends admired this concept, so in 1997, they decided to continue duplicating the famous photograph. In 2012, they began posting about them on the Internet.
Friends even agreed that the endeavor would continue after the passing of one of them.
John Dixon, a friend, requests that his son photograph the bench after everyone has departed. The following photograph should be made in 2022.
The image was captured in 1982.
John Wardlaw explains, «We took this strange photograph in 1982. We were unaware at the time that we would repeat the event every five years. The photograph was captured between July 4 and July 9 using a Pentax 35mm wide-angle lens.
1987
“On that day, around June 19, we ran into the same people in Copco Lake again. This time, a Canon AE1 was used to take the picture. There are a few things that don’t match up with the original.
1992
“That day, it was cloudy and cold, so we all wore T-shirts. The Canon AE1 program started up again around June 14.
1997
“This is where we started to move away from the original photo, but then we went back. We also took a picture with no T-shirts on, but we didn’t post it.
This one was taken with Nikon FM2 at the beginning of September.
2002
“John M. left his glasses here, and once again, we didn’t come close to the original. Also, we brought a big can. The Canon AE1 program was used to take a picture on June 8th.
2007
«John M.’s spectacles were left here, and once again, we failed to match the original. Moreover, we brought a large can. On June 8th, a picture was taken using the Canon AE1 program.
“In this picture, we got the original box and a new hat, which we used in the next pictures. Taken on September 8, for the first time, with a Nikon D70, which is a digital camera.
2012
“That year, we got the picture of Robert Young that was in the jar in the first picture. Another Nikon D800 was used to take a picture on June 26.
2017
“On that day, the three Johns finally opened their chests like in the original photo. We hadn’t been on a diet since 1987, so we had to start one. »
This picture was taken on June 27 with a Nikon D800.