Wirken Photography Blog

My brother-in-law plays the banjo. His preferred musical instrument comes from his life long love of history, in particular the Civil War era. At almost any family gathering he regales us with performances of period music, including but not limited to a lot of Stephen C Foster.

In addition to immersing himself in the mid 19th century, Eric served in the United States Army. In the summer of 2010, right after he got back from 15 months in Afghanistan, Eric out of the blue asked if we could shoot a video for the song “Hard Times Come Again No More”. A few days later, we had a video made. It was a bit rough around the edges, since we literally just got up early the next morning with no plan and shot it. This year, Eric suggested shooting another video. We made an effort to organize it a bit more, and even roped some of the other Wirken team into helping. Big thanks to Jewel and Brady for their hard work.

Here is our most recent effort. A music video of “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”. This might just end up being an annual tradition.

If you are curious about our first video, here it is:

Finally I’d like to share something I had no hand in creating. A video of Eric and a couple of his buddies (Kyle Shaw, and Chris Gore) playing “Hard Times Come Again No More” during a bit of downtime at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wilson in Afghanistan, back in April of 2010. There is something extremely poignant and inspiring about three soldiers a world away from home, playing a song about hard times written 156 years ago.

If you’re looking for a charity to support this holiday season, IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) could use your support. Donate today.