Once in awhile I like to take shelter from uncontrollable factors outdoors and pay more attention to the creative process. The last three months have been creatively frustrating for me, like writer's bock. But instead of lack of inspiration, it was doubt of ability. Sure I could take adequate pictures, but that wasn't good enough for me anymore. Where I wanted to go and where I was going were two different destinations and I was frustrated.
Frustrating as it was, irritating as it felt, the last time I felt this creatively perplexed was in September 2014 when I accidentally discovered a photographer named Brooke Shaden--a breakthrough that completely changed my artistic life forever. Trusting a breakthrough was on the horizon, I pushed theory aside and used my eyes instead of logic.
And guys...it worked. The moment I took this photograph (left) felt like a giant wave lifted me up and I could see beyond the horizon for the first time--and the weather out there is BEAUTIFUL.
2025 - Mona, Utah | Bringing a photo studio to the Utah Renaissance Festival felt a little like smuggling a spaceship into the Middle Ages. My backdrop went up between fairy wings and falconers, and my lights hummed next to a booth selling turkey legs the size of a toddler. No one seemed confused. The studio worked like a magnet. People in velvet gowns, plastic armor, and fairy wings wandered over, curious why a fashion shoot was happening in the middle of jousts and kettle corn. One by one, they stepped in. It was fast, chaotic, and a little theatrical — corsets and capes catching the light like it was a red-carpet event, except the carpet was hay and the soundtrack was bagpipes. Some came for dramatic portraits. Others just wanted to see what fairy wings looked like under studio lighting (spoiler: excellent). Everyone left with the same surprise: they looked like they’d been photographed for a magazine, even if their prop of choice was a foam sword. It's fun drag...
Have you ever been stuck trying think of an idea, and then all of a sudden a tiny, fragile glimpse of something appears? In those moments I just want to grab it and hold on so it can't get away, but if you don't let it breathe, that poor little idea gets squished. I wanted this photo shoot with Kollene Snow to illustrate that idea. Like a lonely flower that blooms, sometimes unexpected ideas lead the way to the next one. Model: Kollene Snow Makeup: Kollene Snow Photography: Wendy Hurst Portrait
Orem, Utah | Portraits from the Colonial Heritage Festival 2025. It’s not cosplay. It’s commitment. I brought my portrait studio to a place where no one owns a phone—but somehow they all know how to churn butter. Or at least, where the demonstration tent is located. No one broke character. Not even when I Vogue’d them. I didn’t mean to make it look like a 1776 fashion editorial. Well, just a little. I tracked them down from camp to camp and asked for a photograph in the shade. One reenactor offered me their “smoldering ye olde stare.” Another adjusted their bonnet like they were being interviewed for the cover of “Wool Weekly.” (I’d read it.) Their colonial confidence gave me colonial confidence. And don’t we all need more of that in our lives? Dressed as Colonial British officer's wife. The Studio My “studio” is portable, in a wagon—yep—with a backdrop stand held up by a bag of cornmeal. (JK, it's just playground-grade sand.) I carried around one light that many calle...
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