WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

Here's the short of it: I'm officially uninvited from seasonal yard work--specifically pruning. For some reason whenever I see branches cut away from the trunk of a tree my instinct is to connect them to something artistically. Could they be arms? A bed of leaves? What color could they become? This year I just went for it and recruited the help of the one who cut down the branches in the first place: my husband. Self portraits are more fun with help. And, as it turns out, an unintentionally sneaky way to avoid future yard work. (I'll still help anyway.) "Pruning Day", Self Portrait Wendy Hurst Portrait

"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...

"The Spill" Self Portrait Have you ever felt like you're forgetting something but it just won't come back to you? Or had the sudden sensation you were falling as you're trying to sleep? Our brains can be mean sometimes; why not go with it once in awhile? Indulge your strange thinking. Forget what others will say. Let your creativity spill out, even if you think it's crazy. Who knows what you could learn about yourself! Behind the Scenes For some this may go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: this is a composite. In total, this final image is made up of six different images.  The first image I staged was the one in the painting. Easy.  Next I tilted my bridal portrait against the wall, also easy. I could have worn my wedding dress and kept the actual image in the frame, but I couldn't do this for two reasons: one, my pre-pregnancy pants still don't fit yet so I figured my wedding gown wouldn't either; and two, I don't ow...

Every few months I reevaluate my goals, branding, etc. and today I was motivated to put together a portfolio video by fine art photographer Brooke Shaden . The music always takes me the longest...!

"Forward",  Self Portrait Survival is a basic instinct. When hard times come it’s a natural response to fight back against the opposing force, at least for awhile. My encouragement for you this week is to keep moving forward. Let the turmoil happen around you and don’t look back. Let it inspire you! You have places to go, things to see, art to create!  What will your mind see today?

It was an elegant evening with music and dancing, paper lanterns and flowered centerpieces. Laughter and movement filled the sugary air as lemon squares, cream puffs and other assortments of delectable desserts decorated plates and palates. And in the end it was the flower pedals that suffered. Risking health and cleanliness I boldly reached into the trash can and scooped up these beauties into an empty punch cup and poured them into my camera bag. Such was the end of my brother-in-law's wedding and the beginning of this self portrait. Can't wait to see what else these pedals can do...

"Seeking", Self Portrait Sometimes the fantasy is what you don't see.

Do you remember being a kid and getting ideas in your head that just wouldn't go away? Me too. I went through phases. Dolphin trainer, astronaut, football player, famous actress and singer, a scientist... Being a ballerina when I grew up was another one that, obviously, I didn't pursue. I never even took a class. I didn't feel coordinated enough, skinny enough, pretty enough. It didn't seem like me. But  it was always fun to dream. I was thinking about that last night as I was putting on my pajamas, and the more I thought about it the less tired I felt. My hair was already done from earlier in the day...so at 11 PM it began. I rummaged through my fabric stash, found a silky pink wrap, cleaned out a corner in a room and set up my camera.  It might surprise you that the fabric is not actually flowy. I composited a few images of shaking it around to make one beautiful spinning dress and posed my arms and feet separately. I left the door and air intake vent in...

Andantino by Liona Boyd on Grooveshark It started with a plan. I had a model planned, the wardrobe was coordinated and I was on location when it became clear: the model thought the photo shoot was a different day. It was...defeating. Away from home but with all the supplies, I used my fallback: a self portrait. The only place I've ever done self portraits so far is at home, so trudging out to a stick-covered clearing while wrapped in fabric and carrying all my own supplies in my arms was...well, probably entertaining to those who passed by. It's okay, strangers! I brought water to douse that flame.

VISUAL THOUGHT Do you ever wonder what people would see if they could view your thoughts as you see them? Would they see pictures or words? Would they swirl and twirl and change in a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes? And if they could find something tangible, would they even be able to interpret what they saw? Perhaps not. Unless they could break the code.  Taken with my iPhone 5. Natural light. See behind the scenes here. Code Breaker by Tunng on Grooveshark What would your thoughts look like? Let's talk about it on my Facebook page . :)

The Force, a power described in Star Wars as always around us that can physically move objects and share thoughts and feelings, always provoked in me the same thought: what if ...? What would I move? How would my life be different? If it's real, and I believe it enough, will it work for me? As a kid I remember staring intently at objects, believing that if I thought about it hard enough, I could make it move. For real. Obviously it never worked but that didn't keep me from dreaming about it.  This image explores that experience. I figure if I could move objects with my mind, by now it would be business as usual. An isolating experience, even. Sometimes thoughts feel lighter and more powerful than words; even those in books. What will you create today? Come share on my facebook page . :) Self portrait, shot with my Sony A850, 4.5 at 1/30 second. Window light.

color series: yellow Before I did any research, I started in my closet. On a shelf in my sewing room closet I pulled out any fabric I could find with bold colors that stood out to me. Blue, yellow, red. I threw them in the air, shook them in my hands, stretched them as far as they would go. Then I went to my sketch book (aka, the "Paper" app on my trusty iPad 2). I wasn't going to sketch what the fabric looked like. I wanted to draw how each made me feel . With each color I associated a few words to describe what that color meant to me and used stick figures to roughly illustrate them. After research, I grasped unexpected insight into my personality and current state of mind that, as I prepared these final images, became very personal. To share one: I chose the richest yellow-gold fabric I could find in my stash. According to this website I found about color psychology, "yellow is the color of the mind and the intellect", while "gold is the color of succes...

I've always had an affinity for stories about spies. When I was a kid, whenever my dad would watch a movie called Where Eagles Dare late at night, I would sneak from my room to the landing on the stairs to watch my favorite scene where the protagonist collects the upper hand by stabbing a pickaxe into the thing of the antagonist atop a tram. I loved the thrill of not only the impact of the scene, but also the excitement that came from watching secretly from upstairs. While shopping for my Halloween costume this year I found this fantastic over-sized rain coat with glossy buttons and exaggerated collar. It reminded me of everything I loved about those classic spy movies from the 60s and since it matched my costume (it's still a secret!) I paid the $10 it cost and immediately started brainstorming how to incorporate it into a shoot. I wanted the light to feel almost like a spotlight, as if caught in the act of something but unconcerned to be discovered. My flash is six or seven ...

Do you ever feel like the one confusing your thoughts the most is the voice inside your head? What do you do when your inner voice is looking to you for guidance? I take a deep breath and eat a pumpkin spice flavored Oreo. At least that's what I did today. As I pondered what to wear this morning I spied a black dress I bought for a costume last year and forgot about. My next stop, at the bathroom counter, I spied my makeup kit at the back of a closet nearby. I don't usually wear black and I don't wear makeup. Why not, I thought. It's Wednesday. So I put on the dress and caked my eyes with liner. Silly me, I forgot to check where my makeup remover was beforehand... After shooting I couldn't get all the makeup off my eyes, so if you saw me and wondered why my eyes appeared more tired and yet more defined than normal, this is why. Maybe I'll try some light soap in the morning. Creating a Composite Obviously there is only one of me, as my kids can attest. Creating ...