Five friends have been taking the same photo together every five years for four decades.

A long-standing tradition of five friends, who take a photo every five years at the same California lake, continues despite one friend's recent health scare.

On Wednesday, the group snapped their 9th photo, 40 years after their first shot in 1982 at a cabin on Copco Lake, located along the California-Oregon border. Their tradition became famous a decade ago and gained attention again in 2017 after Dinogo.com shared their story and images.

This year, some of the friends feared the photo would only feature four of them instead of the usual five, as they had originally posed together as teens.

John Dickson, who resides in Santa Barbara, where the friends first met, admitted, 'I was devastated. We feared there would be an empty space on the bench where we always take our photo.'

Dallas Burney, positioned in the center of the series of photos that mimic the original pose, shared with Dinogo that he underwent surgery to remove a large cancerous tumor from his left leg in 2019.

'I had liposarcoma,' said Burney, an elementary school teacher. 'I had a feeling something was wrong for months before I got the diagnosis.'

'I was away from school for five months. I can't run anymore, but I can still walk,' Burney added.

On Tuesday evening, Burney walked around Copco Lake with ease, accompanied by Dickson, Mark Rumer-Cleary, Jon Molony, and their host, John 'Wedge' Wardlaw.

It had been since 2017 that all of them had been together. Burney's cancer diagnosis and the pandemic made it hard for them to reunite.

But before anything else, it's time for food.

The night before the photo, the group gathered for another cherished five-year tradition – enjoying 'Wedge' tacos.

Wardlaw fills hard taco shells with meat and pan-fries them so hot that he wears gloves and safety glasses to shield himself from the sizzling oil.

The laughter and jokes kept flowing.

'Salt is the key ingredient,' Wardlaw joked with a laugh.

'We'll all be drinking water by midnight,' Molony quipped.

Two of the friends, seated by the window, jumped up from their chairs.

'Bald eagle!' they shouted excitedly.

The magnificent bird, with its iconic white head, soared above the cabin, adding a sense of grandeur to the moment.

Tuesday also brought sightings of a bobcat, deer, and some cattle.

As they often do, the friends spoke over one another, excitedly pointing out that Oregon was visible across the lake.

40 years of cherished tradition.

By midday Wednesday, it was time for the main event to unfold.

The latest photo was taken on a perfect 79-degree day, fit for a travel brochure. The five friends debated their poses before freezing in place as the Nikon D800 camera snapped away. They sat in the same order and struck the same poses they've had since 1982.

Rumer-Cleary always keeps a hat resting on his lap or knee. Molony holds a jar in his right hand, while Burney's right hand rests on his knee.

'It's good to be back here and know that cancer won't take away what we're doing,' Burney said.

It's all about the friendship.

The deep bonds displayed in the last photo, taken in 2017, once again sparked a flurry of interest around the laid-back group of five.

The five friends told Dinogo they found themselves featured in a German museum exhibit about friendship, and their photo was also showcased in Costco's magazine.

Once again, their photos went viral, circulating across social media platforms where they were both scrutinized and praised.

'There are some ridiculous quotes you just can't include in any article,' Wardlaw remarked.

'There were comments about three of us going shirtless. Some said we looked great and that it was brave, especially after turning 50,' they shared.

Four of the friends are 59 years old, while Rumer-Cleary is 58.

Rumer-Cleary described the attention the photos have received as surreal, saying that sometimes strangers approach him.

'It's happened to me for a couple of reasons,' said Rumer-Cleary, a software engineer and the founder of Occam Networks. 'I'm 6-foot-6 and have facial hair. They don't recognize me immediately – they'll say, 'You look familiar, but I can't figure out why.''

Way back in the beginning...

The five friends, all alumni of Santa Barbara High School, took their first photo in the now-iconic pose as teenagers using a camera timer back in 1982.

Their reunions are held at the Copco Lake cabin, which was built by Wardlaw's grandfather in 1970.

Over the years, they've fished, hiked, barbecued, gathered berries for homemade pies, and pulled pranks on each other.

Molony recalled the late-night knocks on walls, firecrackers thrown into bedrooms in retaliation, and the endless teasing they exchanged.

Dickson admitted he gave Wardlaw the nickname 'Wedge' because of the shape of his friend's head after a haircut.

'I hated that nickname,' Wardlaw said. 'But of course, it stuck.'

Dickson is the only one who still resides in Santa Barbara, where he manages a tourism website, SantaBarbara.com.

Molony is a photographer based in New Orleans. Rumer-Cleary is retired and lives in Portland, Oregon. Wardlaw works as a filmmaker and photographer, calling Bend, Oregon home.

Burney, a veteran of the Air Force, will begin his 23rd year of teaching this fall in Northern California.

As a cancer survivor, Burney isn't concerned about the future of the photo or his health.

'But I do have some anxiety about sitting on that railing,' Burney admitted.

'As we get older, so does the railing. We gain a bit of weight, and the bench and railing sit about 30 feet up. I worry one day we'll hear it crack,' Burney remarked.

This conversation led to dark humor, with Burney showing a picture of the tumor that had been removed from his leg.

'It looks like a tri-tip,' Burney laughed, comparing the tumor to the triangular-shaped cut of beef made famous in Santa Barbara County.

The friends all grinned and, almost in unison, remarked, 'Well, it *does*.'

After four decades of jokes and camaraderie, it was only natural they would poke fun at the tumor that nearly interrupted their photo tradition.