Tim Wheeler

Tim Wheeler knew he was going to be a photographer when he was 7 years old. As he stared at an old Sports Illustrated poster above his bed, he realized he could be the one taking those pictures. Coming from an artistic family, he knew his creativity would be best expressed on film. He spent his high school years shooting memories for the school yearbook. He was even accepted to the Center for Creative Youth at Wesslyan University, a prestigious summer camp where only 500 kids from around the world were accepted.

In 1995, Tim was accepted to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Here he majored in photojournalism and earned a degree in Science of Photography. Making the move to South Florida gave Tim the chance at fulfilling his dream of becoming a sports photographer. During his sophomore year, he received an internship with The Miami Herald, and soon after began his career of becoming a sports photographer.

He began shooting for sporting events around the city, including; high school baseball and basketball and Little League Baseball. It was his work in the sports pages of The Miami Herald that earned him the chance to become a freelance photographer for major league sports. He began shooting the NFL, NBA, MLB and Major League Soccer regularly. It was because of his love of sports and passion for photography that he was able to be published in newspapers across the country.

In 1999, Tim needed a change and set his sites on Cleveland, Ohio. Here he began freelancing for The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Soon he landed a job as a staff photographer for The Cleveland Free Times. This gave Tim the chance to really stretch his wings as a photographer. Here he began to shoot everything from the the horrors of Frankenfoods to exposes on the city’s homeless. It also allowed him to discover another passion in concert photography. Here Tim began shooting for The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the Gund Arena. He was able to shoot everything from Erykah Badu to Dave Matthews Band.

In 2002, Tim returned to his hometown of Danbury, Ct. He received a position as a staff photographer for the Danbury News Times. Here he received recognition winning An Excellence in Journalism Award for his photograph of a child inspecting his new silver medal. It was here Tim was given the chance of a lifetime. Because of his proximity to New York City, he was able to cover some of the aftermath of the tragedy of 9/11.

Using his connections in the art world, Tim was able to have a breakfast with the firefighters, police officers and ground zero workers at St Paul’s Cathedral. Because of this, Tim became the only professional photographer to shoot inside the Cathedral.

In 2004, Tim returned to South Florida and began assisting to long time friend and mentor, Michael Theonnis. Assisting on commercial accounts including Traveler’s Insurance and American Airlines.

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