Reid Blackburn
His camera captured the raw power of Mount St. Helens, a story cut short by the very eruption he was sent to document.
1952–1980 (age 28)·American photographer·Birthday: August 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Reid Blackburn was a photographer with a keen eye for the natural world, working for The Columbian newspaper in Washington. In the spring of 1980, he found himself on the front lines of a geological drama, assigned to cover the awakening of Mount St. Helens. His images, taken for both his paper and National Geographic, served as a crucial visual record of the mountain's ominous transformation. On May 18, stationed at the Coldwater II observation post, Blackburn was positioned to capture the climactic eruption. He never filed those pictures. The lateral blast from the volcano claimed his life, along with dozens of others. His legacy is twofold: a portfolio of striking pre-eruption photography and a solemn reminder of the peril faced by those who document nature's fury.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Reid was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Reid Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Reid's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1980Died at 28
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
Key Achievements
- His photography provided critical visual documentation of Mount St. Helens in the months leading to its catastrophic 1980 eruption.
- Was on assignment for National Geographic magazine at the time of his death during the eruption.
- His work for the United States Geological Survey helped scientists visually monitor the volcano's activity.
Did You Know?
He was only 28 years old when he died.
His car, found buried in ash, contained exposed film that was later developed, providing some of the last known images from before the blast.
A scholarship for photojournalism students at the University of Oregon was established in his memory.
“The mountain is restless; I need to be closer.”
