Roots workshop recap
| Posted by Tyler Wirken on July 31st, 2008
A couple of weeks ago I had the extreme pleasure of being asked by my good friend Emilie Sommer to be a mentor at the Roots workshop in Cape Cod. I have been involved in another similar workshop, the Foundation workshop, for years. If you check out the blog archives you can read about my Foundation experience.
Well in a nut shell this was a photojournalism workshop for wedding photojournalists that have no journalism experience. I was honored to work with some of the best in the business as staff including my good friends Greg Gibson, a two-time Pulitzer prize winner, Em, Jennifer Domenick, and my newfound friend-Arnold Miller of Newsday and Vince DeWitt of the Cape Cod Times.
What a great week it was and what an amazing job Em did at putting this together. First of all she chose the BEST location. Cape Cod in July is just beautiful. She wanted this to have a campy feel so she put us all up in this amazing house built in the 1800’s with a tree swing, outdoor shower and the water just 10 feet away. Amazingly fun.
In the past I have tried to fully explain through use of my weak writing skills the purpose and results of these incredible workshops on both the students and the instructors like myself. Well this time I have decided to let others who are way more articulate than I explain it to you.
Megan + John | Engagement
| Posted by Pam on July 29th, 2008Was it their love of trampolines or hammocks that brought these two together?
The answer might be below..one may never know!
What we do know is that Tyler was lucky enough to get to know Megan through her daytime job as one of the two owners of Soiree Event Designs and a good friend of Becca’s.
We knew that Megan was going to be a pleasure to work with from the start and John is just as great. Tyler had the best time doing some fun stuff on their engagement session, and this just proved that their upcoming October wedding is going to be even better! Enjoy.
Megan and John walked into the studio the day of the session and when asked what ideas they had Megan says- ” I know where a trampoline is”. This was going to be fun. So Tyler and the adventurous couple made their way over to said trampoline, knocked on the door and asked to use the classic staple of childhood and viola! Great images and great fun! With the enlisted help of some local kids a wicked game of crack the egg ensued.
This is a perfect example of what we love to do with engagement sessios. Totally telling the story of who each individual couple is. Crazy and fun are what we would describe Megan and John as.
So our clients never cease to impress us. This was their favorite image and is slated to be a 20×30 canvas in their house if they can find room for it! Making us proud.
Jeni & Kurt Wedding | 06.21.08
| Posted by Becca on July 28th, 2008- Ceremony: St. John’s United Methodist Church
- Reception: Westin Crown Center
The Lang’s are dear friends of my parents, and it has been so neat getting to know Jeni, Kurt, and the whole family better over the past many months. I love the way Jeni and Kurt look at each other. I had a sense through out the wedding day that they find so much comfort in each other. Both Kurt and Jeni are surrounded with friends that love them and know them well. The day was equally saturated with reverence and celebration. Tears and mouth wide open laughter. Take a look at some favorites…
The crowning moment…I love the moment when the veil goes on and you see that glint in the brides eyes, like “this is really it!” 
It’s always fun to work media into a wedding story- in 20 years it will bring perspective of the times
Jennifer & Jason | Engagement
| Posted by Becca on July 21st, 2008Jennifer and Jason wanted engagement pictures including two ingredients that contrast so wonderfully: the city, and their beloved dog. Jason’s tattoos made it even more spicy!It was fun guys! 
…There is more! See the rest of this post
Zach’s First Haircut
| Posted by Pam on July 21st, 2008Okay - so this kid is only 8 months old and already in desperate need of a haircut. Tyler and I decided this was the
weekend and took him. I was really afraid how he would do, since big brother Alex never liked it. As you can see our mellow 2nd child did not care at all. I mean…AT ALL! Enjoy!
Renee & Dan | 06.14.08
| Posted by Becca on July 18th, 2008- Ceremony: Old Mission United Methodist Church
- Reception : Drexel Hall
- Custom Bridesmaid’s Jewelry: Scarlett Garnet
Renee brought her mom (who she describes as a best friend) and Dan’s sister to our first meeting, and I knew immediately that family was central to Renee and Dan’s lives. For their engagement session, we went to a neighborhood bar where Dan and Renee first met through mutual friends. I loved seeing how they complimented each other whenever we were together. Every time I talked with Renee she was just returning home from business trips to glamourous places like Paris, sporting a chic new bag at each meeting. So when we took Dan’s best friend, his golden lab, to the park to take pictures, I asked them to lay on the ground with the dog and Renee’s mom busted out laughing, saying she had never seen Renee lay on the ground before. 
But they bring out the best in one another, and I can see that they adore one another’s differences. The couple just recently moved to Del Rio waaay down in South TX. I wish you guys the best! Thank you for inviting me into your lives this year! Special thanks to Nicole and Brandon Parigo for contributing your wonderful work that day!
Blair & Chris | 05.31.08
| Posted by Becca on July 14th, 2008- Ceremony: Unity Village Courtyard
- Event Planners: Soiree Event Design
- Flowers: Branches and Twigs
- Reception: The Madrid Theatre
- Band: Atlantic Express
Blair and Chris found me through one of my wonderful couples from last year, Anya and Chris, and since we have grown to know one another over the year, we found out that we have mutual close friends (including Megan and Danielle of Soiree event design). At our engagement session, I learned that they are both madly intelligent and seriously goofy. They don’t take themselves too seriously and they are so much fun to be around. They wanted their wedding to be a really fun party for all of their friends and family- and it was. Take a look at some of my favorite frames from the day… 
…There is more! See the rest of this post
Alex’s Senior Shoot
| Posted by Pam on July 14th, 2008This was a fun session for Tyler. He had already worked with Alex a few months back when her and her siblings came in for their annual holiday portrait. That turned out so well that we were not at all worried about how this days shoot would go. Tyler had a great time with Alex and her Mom that day. She is a beautiful young lady, confident and outgoing. A real pleasure to shoot. We hope you enjoy.
Hannah & Tyler Engagement
| Posted by Tyler Wirken on July 13th, 2008Hannah and Tyler are a couple that compliment each other so well. Hannah is super outgoing and willing to try anything for this shoot, and Tyler is a bit more subdued. This balance makes for a wonderful pairing. Although a great relationship, it kind of made an interesting challenge for me (”the other Tyler”) - and interesting can bring about great things. This couple loved color so that made for great finds among the KC “urban jungle”. Hope that you enjoy and stay tuned for their upcoming August 16th wedding.
Emily and Jeremy Engagement
| Posted by Becca on July 10th, 2008Emily has a degree in photojournalism. What a privilege to shoot for her! We had a stormy evening, and it got dark about an hour and a half early, but it ended up lending itself to some great dusky images with the city lights. They were so fun and open to anything, which always leads to something new.
