FORT WORTH, Texas — Time stands still when moments are captured on camera.
“That moment in time is just that, right then, because now time has moved on and you’re never going to catch that moment again,” said Robert Sims, Genuine Shotz.
That is why Sims, a Fort Worth native, loves candid photography.
“That’s how I got my name, Genuine Shotz, because I wanted to catch people in their genuine emotion at the moment that I take the picture,” said Sims.
He has been taking pictures for seven years.
“It was an interest that turned into a hobby that turned into a business,” said Sims.
He’s taken pictures of celebrities, concerts, and events.
“To be entrusted to capture those moments for them, it makes me feel good,” said Sims.
It is also a feeling he has when taking photos of his favorite subject, Ms. Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth. He has followed her for years.
Sims was there at the Juneteenth March in 2020 where Ms. Lee walked more than two miles fighting for Juneteenth to be recognized as a federal holiday.
“Over 300, 400 cars just waiting to ride behind Ms. Opal, and I wanted to make sure that I caught that photo to see that because that was one…That was a pretty impactful moment for things that were changing,” said Sims.
He was able to witness changes, such as Juneteenth finally getting its federal recognition. “It was more than we ever could’ve imagined at that time,” said Sims. “I didn’t know that I would be so engrained into it as I was.”
He has been engrained in more reasons than one because Ms. Lee is Sims’ great grandmother.
“It’s comforting to know the person that’s with you. As the youngsters say, ‘They’ve got your back,’” said Ms. Lee. “We’re trying to record history. It’s not just about me. It’s about the things that we’re doing and that needs to be recorded for the next generation or so. I’m delighted to have him along.”
It is a journey that Sims did not fully understand when he was young, but he gets it now.
“Very much so especially having my own child, my daughter Zoey,” said Sims. “It’s powerful to be around a woman of power and raising a woman of power one day…She is a queen in her own right.”
While you are a Civil Rights queen, sometimes, you are just a grandmother.
“He’s done some extremely good work,” said Ms. Lee.
She is a proud grandmother at that. “I’m proud to be the great-grandma of a famous photographer,” said Ms. Lee as she smiled next to Sims.
It was another captured moment that a great-grandson will always remember, too.