Portraits of Success

June 1, 2017

Homage to Silicon Valley founders.

Carolyn Caddes’s Portraits of Success – Impressions of Silicon Valley Pioneers is both a photographic homage to the visionaries of Silicon Valley and a document of historical significance. Second-hand copies of this exquisite volume can still be found on Amazon, and I’ve had one on my shelf for years.

Caddes’s monochromatic portraits are superbly composed, their tonal choices perfectly attuned to the spirit of her subjects. Her images distill the essence of the men (and one woman) who stood at the cradle of the technological revolution that shaped Silicon Valley. Engineers, scientists, mathematicians, academics, entrepreneurs, lawyers, venture capitalists, publishers, policy architects — dreamers all — who not only pioneered breakthroughs in semiconductors, computing, and business practice but also nurtured an ecosystem that transformed a once-placid valley of orchards by the San Francisco Bay into the beating heart of the digital age.

Caddes embarked on this project in 1982, gathering her material over four years. She acknowledges that her catalogue is neither exhaustive nor definitive. Yet, there is no question that each of the 63 individuals featured in her book has, in some way, shaped our digital lives. Each entry is accompanied by a brief biographical sketch, along with Caddes’s own impressions of her encounter with the subject.

And now, a glimpse into a few of these portraits.