WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

"The Lonely Flower" | Model/Makeup: Kolene Snow | Published Dec 2014 Now two months into my 52-week photo challenge I'm starting to feel myself changing. Last year I did an informal 52-week challenge where I published enough images throughout the year to count for at least one image per week. Making a formal commitment on a regular schedule, however, has changed how I plan out my images. I get excited when I check my schedule to find out what's coming next. Collections! Gravity! Acrobatics! Nursery Rhymes! Keeping a trove of ideas and sketches I'm excited about keeps my eyes open and my heart honest. This week I suggest to you what I suggest in all my mentoring sessions with other photographers: write down your thoughts . Write down your ideas. Even if they never lead to an actual work of art, getting an idea out of your head and into a place where your mind doesn't have to remember it clears the way for new ideas to enter in. Give it a try and exper...

"Waiting For" Self Portrait I'm not pregnant anymore; that's how long it took to finish this image.   Several revisions and reshoots later, "Waiting For" felt like the best title. I layered several images of foliage together to build the overgrowth and balanced precariously on a tall step-stool while my son clicked the shutter. Tough work for being 8 months pregnant but it sure was fun! What will you mind see today? facebook.com/wendyshootsit

"Stacking Teacups" Self Portrait, Wendy Hurst Portrait (Second in a series) Making order out of chaos is in my nature. Some may call stacking teacups futile. I call it therapy, even if it is in a cold winter landscape. What activities are therapeutic for you? Come tell me on Facebook! What will your mind see today? Facebook.com/wendyshootsit Behind the Scenes Not much to tell on this one. I took a few frames of teacups in different positions around me and composited them into place in Photoshop. The teacups in my hand were built using the same two I actually held in my hand, rotating them slightly to fit inside each other as the curve turned. Unlike "Stacking Apples" from last week, this image captures actual fog (which I like better anyway). Why fake something when you can have the real thing, right? The nature of the weather on that day was dark and gloomy so I kept the mood throughout. Can't wait for next week!

"Stacking Apples" Self Portrait It was going to be a stack of teacups in front of a window. I don't experience personal conflict very often, so when it happens--like it did for my week 6 image--it's hard to know what to do. I designed an image, worked on it for a couple of hours and ended with a viable product. The only problem was...it didn't reflect what I want my style to be. It's a technically good image, creative a bit, and actually looks like I imagined it to look in the end. But as it came together and I saw the final image, I felt...nothing. No emotion, no satisfaction. I felt empty about it but I published it anyway. I wrote a blurb about the concept and the series to which it was going to belong and set it loose into cyberspace. Thirty minutes later I couldn't take the weight off my mind and took it down. When I started taking photography seriously eight years ago I took images like everyone else around me because that's all I knew h...

"Arrival" Self Portrait Photo: Wendy Hurst Portrait Too often I let consistency control my artistic vision and suppress whatever images come to mind that don’t meet that expectation. So today I suspended those expectations and built a scene in my kitchen to composite into an image I took on a foggy day. Creative experiences like letting go of expectations remind me of why I even fell in love with storytelling photography. Perhaps it can liberate you too! Behind the Scenes Sometimes I fake fog, but this time what you see is the real deal. I've been looking for a great image to pair with this photo I took near my house last month and a recent cloak order (I make custom cloaks...it pays for my hobbies) meant I had access to the lusciousness that is red crushed panne velvet! I pulled out a basket, set up a scenario in my kitchen and put the images together. I love how yummy the scene is and I can't wait to play with this idea more... What will your mind see ...