Jimmy - Nearly 90 and still a cheeky little school boy...

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Family portraits don’t always take place in our Hobart studio; from time to time I’ll venture out to a clients home in southern Tasmania for a relaxed documentary style family portrait shoot to document a bit about the special place that is home to the special people.

We launched a pretty massive giveaway for Mother’s Day earlier in the year and the major prize of a $3590 portrait package (photoshoot and artwork) went to the lovely, lively and lucky Lyn.

Lyn decided to have me come out and photograph her family including her beloved father-in-law Jimmy. A week or so ago I did just that, and here are some of the results.

This is Jimmy…

Jimmy was asleep when I arrived. Right there in his special inside chair, with the fire cranking, surrounded by the memories of his beloved family.

Jimmy was asleep when I arrived. Right there in his special inside chair, with the fire cranking, surrounded by the memories of his beloved family.

Now, there’s a few thing you need to know about Jimmy…

  • He loves a visit to the casino. In fact, most regulars there will know him by his first name. They’ll be able to tell you all about his antics but if you want to know about his winnings then… well… you’ll have to ask him yourself.

Here’s Jimmy in the middle of his castle. Note the Lotto tickets on the wall behind him. Classic Jimmy.

Here’s Jimmy in the middle of his castle. Note the Lotto tickets on the wall behind him. Classic Jimmy.

  • Jimmy lives on a beautiful property down in Geeveston - this is the same house he was born in… like actually born in. I asked him if he had cleaned up afterwards… he liked that.

Jimmy having a laugh at his own stories or my silly questions… I can’t remember which!

Jimmy having a laugh at his own stories or my silly questions… I can’t remember which!

  • Jimmy loves a cuppa. His favourite outdoor chair needed reinforcing after his hip surgery to make sure it continued to stay the test of time. This is his favourite morning spot but he was happy to entertain me and have an afternoon cuppa there this time round. He chose the mug - nice styling choice Jimmy.

  • Jimmy’s partial to going for long walks on his property but “HE DOESN’T GET LOST” - it’s just that the cops have had to come find him a couple of times. Now he packs a fancy mobile phone that can ping his location. Very handy!

Don’t follow Jimmy up this track. You might not make it back ;)

Don’t follow Jimmy up this track. You might not make it back ;)

  • Jimmy’s pretty proud of his wood shed. Why wouldn’t he be? You’re probably jealous…

Jimmy with a 100 year old wood shed full of perfectly stacked firewood

Jimmy with a 100 year old wood shed full of perfectly stacked firewood

  • Jimmy loves a story and he has a million. From growing up through war times, tickling fish (you can go google that), UFO’s… there’s not much he doesn’t have a story about!

  • He’s glad he doesn’t have to look after the apple orchid anymore. Jimmy (and the rest of the family) spent countless hours working hard on the family orchid and a while ago made the call to get rid of it. He’s still pretty happy with that decision.

Jimmy standing by his watertank, looking over the paddock that was once orchid. The house he was born in and still lives in today is n the background.

Jimmy standing by his watertank, looking over the paddock that was once orchid. The house he was born in and still lives in today is n the background.

  • Jimmy is partial to tinkering in his shed.

Old mate Jimmy the nearly 90yo standing proudly in his shed full of old tools, fishing gear and who knows what else!

Old mate Jimmy the nearly 90yo standing proudly in his shed full of old tools, fishing gear and who knows what else!

  • Last fun fact is that Jimmy loves his family.

Here’s Lyn and her hubby (Jimmy’s son) Stephen with their two beautiful offspring Kaycee and Adam. This shot is going straight to the poolroom as a big piece of wall art 😍

It was such an honour to spend some time with such a special character at this stage in his life journey. People always remember to document family milestones through professional photography in the early days of their families story (which I love!) but it’s not so common for me to be asked to create images like these.

I sure hope I get to meet more ‘Jimmy’s’ so that more families have memories like these to treasure forever so, I’m going to make an effort to free up some time so I can document a few more legends in the places that have helped shape their stories.

Is there a Jimmy in your life that should be honoured through some professional portraits like these?

If you have a special person, who still lives in their special place and you think it might be worth having me come visit to make some portraits with their whole family like these, get in touch below and we’ll make a plan. 🤗

As well as the favourite family image being destined to live as a large piece for the wall at home and a handful of smaller prints to scatter around the place, Lyn decided to have us design a beautiful display album showcasing all of her favourite images from Jimmy’s shoot which is going to look amazing! Can’t wait to see how that turns out! (I’ll post it here later) As mentioned before, Lucky Lyn won all this by entering our most recent Mother’s Day competition on facebook. Gotta be in it to win it folks!!

Thanks for sending through some behind the scenes pics Lyn - and thanks Adam and Kaycee for being such awesome assistants!