The story of Walden’s Photography began many years ago with Tim’s father, Bob Walden. Bob began his career in photography doing mostly commercial assignments in Cincinnati, Ohio. A brother in Indiana and two uncles in Kentucky also had photography businesses that helped Bob during his early years. At the age of thirty, Bob was confined to a wheelchair due to a spinal injury, and wasn’t expected to ever work again because of the severity of the injury. Commercial photography was no longer an option, so Bob decided to open a small photography business in his home and do portrait work from his wheelchair. He called it his therapy! Beating the odds his doctors had given, Bob photographed over 1000 weddings from his wheelchair, ran a successful portrait studio, travelled and taught photography to others, earned his Photographic Master and Artist Degrees, and passed on the legacy of photography to his son, Tim.

At the age of twelve, Tim decided to pursue photography as a career. Maybe it was in his blood! Tim often says that it wasn’t his dad’s excellence in photography that inspired him to become a photographer, but his dad’s passion! After training at home and spending summers taking basic photography courses by mail, Tim began assisting his father with weddings at the age of sixteen as well as learning how to print fine art black and white prints in the darkroom.

Continuing to perfect his passion, Tim joined every association he could, attending week-long photography courses in Winona Lake, Indiana during summer breaks. At the age of twenty three, Tim earned his Master of Photography and Craftsman Degrees. In 1976, Tim and Beverly married after being high school sweethearts, and Beverly joined the Walden team in the studio in 1979 as the receptionist, framing specialist and sales person. After working together as a trio for many years, Bob decided to retire and sell the business to Tim and Beverly. It has been said that no man can build their vision under another man’s vision, but must strike out on their own. Following Bob’s retirement, Tim and Beverly could let their vision of Walden’s blossom and become a reality.

In 1988, Beverly decided to get behind the camera, earning her Master of Photography Degree as well as her Craftsman Degree in three short years. She became the main children’s photographer at Walden’s for an extended season. In the meantime, Tim was thinking of a new direction for Walden’s that would take him back to his roots of fine art black and white photography printed in a darkroom. Together, they introduced this new style of black and white portraiture to the public in 1993, naming it Relationship portraiture as it captured families with their children in a stark and contemporary yet intimate way that was new and exciting. The Relationship portraits quickly became the most requested style of portraiture at Walden’s, and both Tim and Beverly became specialists in this area for several years. More than a decade later, the Relationship portraits still form the backbone of Walden’s with rich color portraiture offering a beautiful alternative.

After many years of perfecting these portraits, Tim and Beverly again felt the urge to step it up. With Beverly’s background in art, she worked with Tim to develop Beau Visage in 2005, a division of Walden’s that offers painted portraits of women and children with an artistic flair unique to Walden’s. Again, the public embraced this new offering with open arms and Beau Visage continues to grow weekly.

As Walden’s has continued to grow, so have Tim and Beverly’s lectures across the U.S., Europe and Asia. In order to keep the studio at full capacity during their times of absence, Tim and Beverly decided to open an associate-run division, and Studio B was birthed in 2006. With young photographers trained extensively by Tim and Beverly, Studio B’s main objective is to offer contemporary photography for high school seniors as well as babies under one year old. Now our high school seniors have a place to call their own at Walden’s, and can rest assured that they will be photographed in a way they can be proud of. The babies have their own set that makes them appear to be floating, with light coming from all sides. Captured in tight compositions, the Studio B associate then photographs vignettes of the baby including toes, fingers, faces, ears and noses. To complement this series, full body images are also included. From this session, large images are printed in a contemporary style patterned after home decor in New York and California. So, whether you are just starting a family or have a high school senior ready to graduate, Studio B is the place to go!