The first picture in the tradition, from 1982.

In 1982, a group of high-school friends–John Wardlaw, John Dickson, Mark Rumer, Dallas Burney, and John Molony–got together at Lake Copco in California for a day of fun in the summer.  Using a timer on a camera, the five friends took a picture sitting on the bench making their best cool guy facial expressions.  Five years later, the guys got together in their college years, met at the same like, and took another picture.  For the past 30 years, these five guys have been taking the same photo every 5 years on the same bench at the same lake.

“I look at the photos and think of the relationships I went through.  Wedding rings come and go, if you look closely,” says Dixon, who maintains the group’s website and image gallery.  “We plan on doing this for the rest of our lives, no matter what.  Up until there’s one guy just sitting in the same pose!  Even then, maybe someone will take a picture of an empty bench for us.”

The five say that their trips are just good clean fun, and maintain they’re more about pulling off pranks and telling jokes and not about drinking or partying.  Through marriages, moves, divorces, job changes, and weight gains, the five have been meeting every five years and taking the same picture.  It’s a fun tradition, and I hope it continues.

Tags: lake copco, california, John Wardlaw, John Dickson, Mark Rumer, Dallas Burney, John Molony, five guys take the same photo for 30 years, same photo for 30 years, 5 guys take the same photo for decades, unusual images, unusual pictures, unusual traditions, five-year photos for 30 years

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