The Power of Community: A Heartwarming Exchange with Michael Koss, CEO of KOSS Corporation

When I received a mysterious package from my P.O. box, I couldn't have anticipated the surprise that awaited me. The box was marked "From Michael Koss," and as a nostalgic fan of KOSS headphones, I felt an instant sense of excitement and curiosity. As a child, I had inherited a pair of KOSS headphones from my dad, which he had passed down to me. Although they were falling apart, the sound quality was exceptional, and I would often sit for hours listening to records at the record player.

As I opened the box, I found a heartfelt letter from Michael Koss himself. He expressed his admiration for my work, citing my Q&A sessions, artist series, tutorials, and camera reviews as examples of content that brought joy to his life. Mr. Koss jokingly referred to me as "Ted," which is indeed my name, and mentioned that he play guitar too. The letter concluded with a personal touch, mentioning that my cat, Judy, seemed to enjoy the headphones as well.

The letter from Michael Koss was just one of many pieces of mail I had received for this episode. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to receive a remarkable amount of mail from viewers who share their own stories, projects, and creations with me. As someone who loves connecting with his audience, Mr. Koss's gesture served as a testament to the power of community.

One aspect that stands out about my work is the way it brings people together. When I feature something special in my videos, it often sparks a conversation among viewers, sharing their own experiences and perspectives on the subject matter. The Art of Photography series, for instance, has been a labor of love for me over the years. While some might view it as my own work, I prefer to think of it as a celebration of photography – an ongoing conversation with you guys that I cherish deeply.

As I reflect on my nine-year journey so far, there are many moments that stand out in my mind. One thing that comes to mind is the sheer volume of mail I've received from viewers over the years. It's been nothing short of astonishing, and at times, it feels overwhelming – much like when I first started this channel, with only one bookshelf filled with mail. As time has gone on, it's become clear that this mail represents so much more than just letters or packages; it represents a connection between us, a thread that weaves our individual stories into a collective tapestry.

The other aspect of my work that I want to highlight is the Photo Assignments series. While printing and shipping books might be involved in creating these projects, the end result is often incredibly rewarding. The true magic happens when I get to share these assignments with all of you – whether it's through the show description or in a future video.

For those who are curious about sharing their own work on my channel, please know that your contributions mean the world to me. Your letters, projects, and zines have enriched this community in ways I could never have imagined. As I continue to create content around photography and music, I hope to do so with the same passion and love that you bring to yours.

In conclusion, receiving a letter from Michael Koss was just one of many heartwarming moments I've experienced while creating this channel. It reminded me once again of the power of community and the connections we forge when we share our passions with others. If you have any work or projects you'd like to share with me, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your contributions are what make The Art of Photography such a special place.

To find more videos, subscribe to my channel, and share this article with your fellow photography enthusiasts – and remember to like it!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enokay this is one stack of four that arein my living room I think it is timebecause I haven't done one in weekslet's do a little mail todayso first upis this book from Ed Ruttledge called thepeople of Chavita and I'll share alittle at his letter with you Ed writesDear Ted not sure I would call theenclosed a zine but sending it anyway Iwas invited by the Civita Institute tospend a month as artist-in-residence atthe Institute's property in Civitadi Banoregio, Italy in the fall of2015 when accepted for this project itwas open-ended so I met with theInstitute's president and asked what areyou interested in having photographedthe people of Civita he replied - I almostchoked I have done landscape photographymy signature characteristic being nopeople in my work so this was achallenge for me yet of the photoproduct that was eventually to be theresult of my month at Civita I liked thepeople series the best the book wasintended to be a coffee table book for afundraiser images with titles only Ihave added some comment via post-itnotes - Ed this is outstandingEd this is an excellent project and anexcellent book I will link up to furtherinformation in the description if youare interested in seeing more thank youEd this is awesome next up is a zineand a few prints from Lee Johnson who livesin Switzerland and I want to share a littleof his note with you this is really coolhello Ted longtime viewer of yourYouTube channel here I have included alittle project shot about four years agoironically it was shot over a period ofthree weeks but it was my first attemptat taking a body of work and trying toedit it down to something moresubstantial this is a nice little zinecalled The Green The Blue The Grey - it is aphotographic journey through the PacificNorthwest which is one of my favoriteplaces in the United States everythingis so gorgeous out that way and you cansee that evidence in this book it's areally nice little collection just on atime and a place taking over a period ofabout three weeksso Lee thank you very much this isoutstanding next up this is reallyawesome and it was a really nicesurprise to get this is a book that wasphotographed by Tom Barr and words byKate Davies I believe is how you sayher name - Tom you might recognize fromthe comments section he is a viewer ofthe show and an excellent photographerthis book is really cool and I want toshare with you a little of his letter helives in Scotland and he writes dear TedI am a recent subscriber to your excellentArt of Photography channel I'm sendingyou a copy of my recently completedphoto documentary project, Shetland OoTextiles, Wool, Work - it's an explorationof the interactions between landscapeand the people in the textile industryof remote Shetland Islands there are twothings that especially interest me as aphotographer people at work (or play) orwhere that work (or play) takes placeShetland is a fascinating place to thinkabout the relationship between humanlabor and place and my starting pointwith the project with a desire to showhow a particular landscape has beenshaped by the work of wool and toillustrate the many different ways inwhich wool shapes humans lives inturn I wanted to show people at work andin places where that work occurs andin Shetland those spaces are variedfrom the cozy interiors of sheds andliving rooms to the drama of windblownhills and cliffs my guiding principlewas that the images should suggest a realdignity and the beauty of the workthat's done with wool and the textilesin Shetland and hopefully capture someof those same qualities in working withShetlanders themselves - this is reallybeautifully written Tom this is anexcellent book I am blown away and Idon't know if i'm pronouncing it rightbecause I know it is a local term but Ibelieve that Oo is a basically asubstitute for the word wool or slang soi guess this is Shetland Oo so if I'mlooking like a fool right now Iapologize but this book is outstandingand guys a couple videos ago I talkedabout the importance of being inspiredby things outside of photography and Ithink Tom has really brought thattogether with the work that he's donewith this collaborative book and it's itis documentation of an industryparticularly in the Shetland Islands ofwool but I think it brings a lot of thatinspiration and what you see in thisbook are younger people who are bringingthecraft element back to something that isan older industry and this is reallywell done I really can't praise thisenough Tom thank you this is awesome ifyou guys want to buy a copy this book itis available and I will link that up inthe show description so check it outok so I want to share this with you guysand I have to preface this by sayingthat when I went to the p.o box theyhanded me this box and it said it wasfrom Michael Koss now when I was a kidI had this pair of KOSS headphones thatI inherited from my dad - he'd passed themalong to me and they were falling apartbut they sounded so good and I would sitthere and listen to my dad's records atthe record player when I was little Imean we're talking like 7 or 8 and I hadthese huge KOSS headphones I called himmy cans and of course now that's theslang for headphones and so jokingly inmy mind I'm sitting there thinking thatwell KOSS are probably reaching out to theshow I get this home I open it up lo andbehold this is a letter from MichaelKoss and he says dear Ted we are bigfans thanks for everything you do fromyour Q&A to the artist series from yoututorials and processing to your camerareviews always loads of fun verymuch enjoyed the fact that you can wieldan axe as an additional sauce for thegoose I play guitar too and I thought itwas very cool that he knew thatenjoy the enclosed with our thanks my sonCharlie manages our content whilefreelancing out of Brooklyn I am inbased in Milwaukee hope to meet one daythanks a million Michael J Kosschairman and CEO KOSS corporationMilwaukee this is awesome Michael thisis really nice thank you for your lovelynote and thank you for the headphones Ineed a pair and these are really awesomeby the way my cat judy likes them too Iwant to thank everybody who I featuredtoday that has sent something in this isreally special and it's one of thethings that I enjoy the most if youhave sent something to me and I haven'tgotten to it yet I promise I will I havelike there's a stack of mail herethere's one over here I have this it'spiling up because I haven't done a mailvideo in a while and so I promise to getto that in the next week or so nowhaving said that I want to add somethingto this the Art of Photography thevideos that I make here for those of youwho have watched a lot of my videos I'msure you understand thisbut the Art of Photography I don'tfeature a lot of my own work I've featuredit occasionally but it's not about me - theArt of Photography is a celebration ofphotography and it's about aconversation that we have together andit's a celebration of the relationshipthat I have making these videos with youguys and that's really important to meand over the years there have been a lotof things that really stand out to meI've done the show for nine years nownext year will be your number ten andthere's a lot of things that stand outbut the two things that are reallyspecial to me one are the mail stuffthat you guys send when I get mail fromyou guys it used to be just like onebookshelf and i'm about to have to buy abookshelf for everything and it's reallyspecial to me because this is stuff thatpeople you know there are otherYouTubers that do mail episodes and alot of time to get food or candy orwhatever they rip it open and it's justkind of this thing where they go throughit and I am so proud that the stuff thatpeople send me is work it's somethingthat they poured their heart and soulinto and I think that's evidenced withthe stuff that I've shared with youtoday there's some really amazing stuffand I'm so proud of you guys and I'm soexcited to have you share that with meand then I can turn around andshare it with everybody else the otherthing is Photo Assignments which is also veryspecial to me too and it's a little moreimmediate there's no printing orshipping or bookmaking involved butanyway the mail stuff particularlyzines and projects that people do arevery special to me and I hope that youguys get that out of it too i'm going tolink up to people's stuff that they'vegiven me likes to in the showdescription if you have something thatyou would like to send in my mailingaddress is in the description of everyvideo on this channel so you can lookfor it there and I'd be happy to sharethings on the show so anyway guys thishas been fun if you enjoyed this videoplease remember to like it share it andas always subscribe to the art ofphotography for more videos and I'll seeyou in the next one until then later\n"