Jim began his first major project in 1968, fresh out of school where he studied visual anthropology with Gregory Bateson. He then met The Gardners, a welfare family with nine children in Marin County, California. He pooled his savings to budget two full years to photograph the family. Jim rented a house nearby and spent almost every day taking the older kids backpacking, dumpster diving, following toddlers around and interviewing the parents, Lew and Flo Gardener. Jim won second place in the Time/Life magazine essay competition but publication was canceled due to global events. Since then, the photographs have stayed in their box and have been viewed by few.