Since 1982, five high school friends have taken the same picture at
Lake Copco, California, every five years. Even though 37 years have
passed, these guys are still good friends. The next photo is due in 2023,
but in the meantime, check out their amazing collection, which is a sweet
reminder of how quickly time passes!
The original picture was taken on Lake Copco when the guys were still
teenagers and hanging out at the house of their friend John Wardlaw.
Wardlow said, “We weren’t going to do it again, but five years later,
when we all got together for a break, we decided to do it again.”
Friends liked this idea, so in 1997, they decided to keep making copies
of the famous picture. They began writing about them on the Internet in 2012.
Friends even agreed that the project would go on even after one of them died.
John Dixon, a friend, wants his son to take a picture of the bench after
everyone has left. The next picture should be taken in 2022.
The photo was taken in 1982.
John Wardlaw says, “We took this weird picture in 1982. We didn’t know at
the time that we would do it again every five years. The picture was taken
between July 4 and July 9 with a camera with 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
“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.
