WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

Salt Lake City, Utah |  FanX is a space of raw reality. Cosplayers emerge from their everyday self to an elevated version of self--or, someone/something else entirely. Artists become shapeshifters, inhabiting a character through what they're wearing, or what they hold, or what they say. Craftspeople from all walks of life swarm the halls with colorful excitement. It doesn't matter who you are, or where you came from, or where you're going. FanX is for everyone, like a moving, shifting, swirling, ever-changing exhibit of living art. I just bring my camera. :)  All the portraits I captured during the event can be found at my website, wendyhurstportrait.com .

Photographers like me love canvas material. We love painted backdrops made of canvas, canvas photo prints, painter’s canvas to paint the canvas backdrops on… Also, canvas tents.  Vintage canvas has a velvety texture and often tends to smell like a mixture of rain, dirt, and sun-baked cotton baked.  And I only know that because of events like this, hosted for free on the Fourth of July purely for the education and enjoyment of people like me who weren’t around during the first two world wars and are ever curious to learn about it. The full gallery is linked at my website, here: wendyhurstportrait.com !

 “Photography?” reenactor George Washington exclaimed. “What’s that??” After five minutes of me stumbling through some sort of explanation about lighting in a box later, a portrait emerged. The Colonial Heritage Festival in Utah is my favorite annual Fourth of July tradition for all the reasons. The reenactors are exceptionally knowledgeable about the lives they portray and the fashion they’re wearing.  Blue coats, red coats, petticoats, brass buttons, leather boots, wigs, and tricorn hats flounce everywhere.  I met a John Adams and Betsy Ross—whom sewed her own gown, especially those complex, curving pleats! You can learn more about colonial history and this group who hosts this annual event at  festival.colonialheritage.org/ You can find the whole gallery at wendyhurstportrait.com .

There's a magical place where hairbrushes are tucked into every back pocket, where pipes and cigars are more common than cigarettes, where grown men purchase stacks of soaps and oils out of necessity, and everyday people wearing old western style clothing is totally normal.  It's called a beard competition, and it’s all for charity !  The whole gallery can be found at my website, here: wendyhurstportrait.com

Salt Lake City, Utah | "We're not really 'together'," explains a Falcon cosplayer, motioning to the cosplayer-Ant-Man next to him. "We just met here 15 years ago and keep finding each other."  FanX is a crowd-shifting feast of colors and creative craftsmanship. Imagination comes to life as everyday cosplayers emerge from their creative spaces as pop culture characters and celebrities. Collectors collect. People-watchers watch. And photographers...photograph.  I'd be remiss not to celebrate with them.  More portraits are at my website, wendyhurstportrait.com

Zachary Lee / Los Angeles, CA / 2021 / Photo: Wendy Hurst Photographing @zacharyleeportrait, a photographer and mountain climber in California, was like watching a sculpture come to life. Every pose was like a new cast—which perfectly matched the transformative experience of a stellar photographer workshop hosted by @aaronjayyoung and @jonnycreative. I’m eager to use everything learned here in future sessions!