Behind the Scenes: "Afflicted" | salt lake city utah conceptual portrait photographer

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"Afflicted"

Model: Alicia Marie Emerson

Makeup & Styling: Alicia Marie Emerson

Photography: Wendy Hurst
Location: Murray City Park, Murray, Utah

Where I come from the word "winter" is associated with the word "snow". Utah in winter is cold, snowy and invites skiers from around the world. Being not a skier I associate it with different qualities: hibernating trees, leafless bushes, flowerless stems and the like. Some might think of these as something to ignore until spring when everything blooms back into life; but taking up conceptual photography has changed that dreary landscape into a great source of inspiration.

That doesn't mean I expected to find this kind of beauty. I had a basic idea in mind with a red cloak I made but hadn't taken adequate pictures of yet. I recruited a model and planned a photographer mentoring session for a Saturday morning. When my mentoree backed out I moved the location somewhere more neutral for the model and myself: Murray Park. If you Google the location you'll find recent history of extensive flooding from the small river that runs through it, but under normal conditions the park is beautiful--especially this winter.

Oh. My. Goodness. The trees, the pond, the pathways... It was heaven in hibernation. Alicia's Victorian era gown easily out-shined the cloak, so I packed it up the Renaissance and took inspiration from her gown in our environment instead.

I wonder whom in Murray City could grant me a permit to wade into that murky, sticky, beautiful pond next time...

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