  The images of the supermassive black holes Sgr A* and M87* by the Event
Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration mark a special milestone in the history
of the subject. For the first time we are able to see the shadow of black
holes, testing basic predictions of the theory of general relativity. We are
also now learning more about the fundamental astrophysical processes close to
the event horizon that help to shape entire galaxies and even parts of our
cosmos. The ultimate result was only possible due to a large collaborative
effort of scientists and institutions around the world. The road towards these
images was the result of a long sociological and scientific process. It started
with early pathfinder experiments and a few simple ideas that were remarkably
successful in predicting the basic observational signatures to look for. This
was based on the premise that black holes are inherently simple objects. Here I
describe this journey and some lessons learned from a personal perspective.
