I have told this story before, but things get repeated for different reasons. I took a photo of the kids on August 18th, 2007. I was working at Staples Corporate office at the time, Barbara was on a work trip. Staples had announced an offer to all office associates that the next day they would be setting up a Digital print lab in the cafeteria and we could have files printed for free. I figured I would get a fun portrait of the kids, blow it up and surprise Barbara upon her return from the trip. Outside we go, putting a horrible old black backdrop on the fence, using a Nikon D80 with kit lens and piece of white cardboard as a reflector. I put Danny, age 6, on a step stool so he could be the same height as his older sister, age 8. Now Dan was a loud kid, he is now a loud teen and I am betting he will be a loud adult. This will all pay off with his music I am sure. Then Anna was quiet, so quiet and shy, so the pose was Danny screaming and Anna shushing him, the photo was called Peace and Boy.

I printed it, it caused a huge stir at the office. This was before the dailypic, this was at the end of what was a horrible few years where I did not take photos. Barbara loved the photo, coworkers loved the photo, it took on a life of its own. Remember we were not saturated with photos all over the place in 2007 the way we are now, it was not hard to impress. It was great, I was booking family/kid portraits based off that photo. I made my first business cards, that photo was on it, and so was the newly named “timricephoto”. I look at that photo as my entry back into photography (I had taken a break – that is another story).

Here we are, 10 years, 13 days from that original shot. Instead of those two little kids, I have two incredible young adults living in my house, well for the time being. The loud little “Boy” is now 6’1″, 16 years old and loud in so many great ways. He has a genuine smile and presence that lights the world. Then there is “Peace”, she is no longer quiet, the shush sign is now a peace sign, meaningful for many reasons and she is just shy of 19 years old. Hours away from leaving home for college, and changing not only her world, but all of our world for the better. I thought it would be fun to revisit this shoot before the next variation of the family kicks in, and I was lucky enough to have them agree. How much changes in 10 years. I sent a group text to my kids saying meet me at the studio at 5pm. One drove themselves, one was dropped off by a girlfriend, this time the only stool that was used was so Dan could sit and be shorter for his sister. I have a far different camera, professional lights, backdrops and a studio space…. all that can be tied back to that one photo in the back yard. My business is not what is without them, I am not who I am without these kids, in so many ways, and I would not change any of it.

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Seven years ago this week, years before the launch of timricephoto, I shot a photo of my kids that got me a lot of attention. My wife was on a business trip, I set up a backdrop in the yard and thought we would surprise her with the print when she got home. We needed a stool for then 7 year old Danny to be as tall as 9 year old Anna. We named the photo Peace & Boy. Now if you have met my children, you know this is a simple, yet accurate depiction of my kids. It still hangs in my house and was even the first image used on timricephoto business cards. 7 years later, Danny slouched a bit for the shot today so Anna could catch up to his height and we swapped sides for no other reason than I am not arguing with teenagers (I said they were on the wrong side, but no one listened to me).  The concept is still accurate, if not more so now, but so many other things have changed. One is about to be a black belt the other is weeks from getting behind the wheel of a car. I love the original shot, but I remember being frustrated trying to get it photographed before the sun dropped. Today it was “Hey, do Peace and Boy” and bang instant pose. They are easier to work with now, I am sure it has to do with simply appeasing the old man and his camera, so they can move on.

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