The Story Behind Haddyshack

Welcome to Haddyshack Productions, a place where Keith and I (Lynette) collaborate through image and word.

Lynette and Keith Dodson

While Keith and I both enjoy photography, writing poetry is currently more prevalent in Keith’s life. Now in our "Medicare" stage of life, we thought it'd be fun to create things together. It was totally natural for me, Lynette, to capture the visual image and then Keith would create a poetic "picture" as complementary input.

So, what kind of a name is "Haddyshack"?

The common thread of our creative work is a foundation laid at Robert A. Millikan High School (Long Beach, California) participating in Mr. Haddy’s photography classes during the 1970s.

Then last year, while casually discussing a potential creative partnership, we jokingly threw out the name Haddyshack as a play on his name and the movie title “Caddyshack.” The more we thought about it, the more we realized "Haddyshack" would be a reverential nod to the man who helped us become better artists as well as introduce an element of fun.

Mr. James Haddy – high school photography teacher. Strict, intimidating, and fair.

When not coaching boys sports, his task was teaching 16- & 17-year-olds the basics of using a camera, developing film, and making prints in the darkroom. And woe to those who took his classes thinking it would be an easy grade. Mr. Haddy's classes were not ones to just attend and complete – they were a series of existential crises and technical challenges you survived. Some people dropped his class to take Chemistry for an easier grade.

Once the basics were learned, the real lessons began - moving from taking snapshots to creating photographs. Each Friday, as we walked to the front of the classroom to turn in our weekly photo assignment, he would whistle the melody to, or quietly sing some of the lyrics from, the song “Born to Lose.” 

Over time, that foundation has continued to help us grow as photographers and in our appreciation of art in all forms. Mr. Haddy expected a lot 50 years ago. In our minds and arts, he still expects a lot today.

After all these years, we still think of Mr. Haddy frequently and hear his voice asking questions every time we pick up a camera:

• Is that really what you’re going to turn in?

• Is that really the shot you want?

• Are you excited to present that?

• Is that a snapshot or a photograph?

His gift was helping us to get in the habit of asking ourselves questions to create better art whether in photography or writing.

“Shack” represents the darkroom/creative space where the hard work of science, chemistry, and composition took place: we developed our film, enlarged the image onto photographic paper, then developed the actual print.

All analog, you might say. Nothing automatic. Not a pixel to be found. Just a lot of chemicals, tongs, trays, timers, thermometers, dilution tables, and just a few seconds of white light, before finding out whether or not we were "Born to Lose."

Welcome to Haddyshack Productions. We hope you enjoy our creative collaboration.