Jeffrey Aaronson’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs, the Guy Who Changed Our Modern World
February 1984: It’s a classic winter day in Aspen. Snow is falling like heavy cotton as photographer Jeffrey Aaronson sits hunched over his light table, editing film. As he lowers his loupe and glances up from his slides for a moment, he suddenly notices a flash of brown amidst all the white outside his window. A UPS truck is pulling up in front of his studio. Jeffrey isn’t expecting a package, so curiosity immediately tickles his frontal lobe.
In a matter of minutes Jeffrey finds himself staring at a large white box sitting on his studio floor. He can do little more than shake his head and smile when he sees the word Macintosh printed on its side, along with its signature design.
Inside the box he finds a brand new Apple Macintosh 128K computer along with a keyboard and a new thing called a mouse. He also finds a hand-written note from Steve Jobs. It simply reads:
“Be a part of the future—Steve”
At that moment, Jeffrey knows he has just opened up more than a computer box; he has opened up his entire world—a world in which anything is possible. Not because of the machine per se, but because of the impact the machine’s creator has had on him. The computer is merely a symbol of all that is possible when a brilliant imagination is supported by hard work and fearlessness.
Jeffrey smiles at the boldness of his friend’s characteristically minimal note, and is stunned by his generosity. But then again, not really. In the past month, Steve Jobs has bowled him over countless times…
Read the rest of this story and enjoy many rarely-seen photographs of Steve Jobs in our ebook, Steve & i: One Photographer’s Improbable Journey with Steve Jobs, now available for Kindle devices on Amazon, the NOOK on Barnes & Noble, and the iPad and idevices on iTunes.
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In memory of Steve Jobs
1955-2011
A person who changed everything, and reminded Jeffrey to think different.
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Wow!
Never knew all this about Jeff!
Hope u guys are well
Wallace
Wallace, what a fun surprise to see you here. Life is in chapters, and this is one of Jeffrey’s more memorable ones. I’m glad to be able to share it with you.
What a lovely tribute and great pics to boot! Reminds me of the time when I met Steve! You should do some type of book. I’d even help you market it! Cheers!!
Thank you Susyn. A book may be a possibility. I’ll keep you posted!
Please do. You have my email. Cheers!
Thanks, I will. I appreciate your offer and your enthusiasm!
Fascinating peek into an inspirational life. I was still at varsity in 1984.
Thank you for your nice comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Jeffrey is like Forrest Gump, always with a front seat to history. Thank you for providing this intriguing glimpse of Steve Jobs’ early days. Genius unfolding. Nice.
That’s the beauty of being a photojournalist. You never know where it’s going to take you, but it’s bound to be interesting!
Beautiful tribute. Few people and opportunities like this bump into us in life. Good for Jeffrey for saying yes, grabbing on and hanging on tight.
Thank you, Kim. I’m glad you enjoyed this tribute. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know.
Marvelous. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you, Jack. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Becky and Jeffrey, I’m sure many would agree that there is a very valuable book waiting to be made from these 1984 photographs. This beautiful story you’ve given us hints of astounding depth of character of these who were involved in the creation of humanity’s greatest invention so far, Jeffrey obviously included. What a moment in history. If there had only been a photographer around when Gutenberg was cranking out his first pages . . .
Maybe an ebook, more appropriately?
Thank you, Jim. We are happy to be able to share this story and celebrate an extraordinary human being.
I’d buy such a book right away. Hopefully it’ll be done soon.
Thank you Nikolai. We are receiving many comments like this, wanting us to make a book. I’ll let you know if it happens. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
What a great story. I wonder how many thousands, if not millions of people, were inspired to greatness by Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs’ life was one of inspiration. I don’t think we’ll ever know just how many people he touched.