WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

Stormtroopers at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 COVID-19 made me wonder something. If the Star Wars universe really did reach into galaxies and planets far, far away, and people/creatures/whatever traveled freely all over the place, did that mean microbes and sicknesses traveled too? And since the uniforms and armor the stormtroopers wore didn't protect against blasters--a primary weapon of their galaxy--could THAT have been the purpose for wearing facemasks at all?? #showerthoughts May the fourth be with you with these Star Wars character highlights I photographed at Comicon in 2019 before that lovely idea. ;) And if you're curious, ALL the portraits I captured in the convention hallway can still be found at my online gallery, here:  https://wendyhurstportrait.pixieset.com/fanxsaltlakecomicconvention2019/ Jedi Knight Lady at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Mandolorianesque Warrior at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Star Wars Stormtroopers at FanX SLC Comicon 2019. They spoke through a radio and everything...

WEST JORDAN, UTAH | "We take wood that would be wasted, someone's time that would be wasted, and make a little toy so a child's mind won't be wasted." Founder Alton Thacker, 85, keeps a special wooden pointer at the desk to share his favorite memories on the wall. Then he introduces me to the workshop. "And if you stand here," Alton declares with a twinkle in his eye, "you might see a car fly by." The two volunteers seated at the shuffling band sanders grin as I take a cautious step forward. It's the last leg in the factory tour of Tiny Tim's Foundation for Kids toy shop, where Alton and dedicated volunteers carefully craft scrap wood from a local cabinet shop into toy cars for children all over the world.  Scrap wood donated by a local cabinet shop keeps overhead costs down. Qualified and willing volunteers run the machines that cut, sand, and router the wood into shape. It's dusty in the workshop. Woodworking tools hum constantly ...

The Mad Hatter of Evermore at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Two words: MAD HATTER. He clicked his fingers and the lantern lit. I didn't ask how to light the candles. Fully in character, voice and all, when he left I knew he couldn't really be the Mad Hatter...right?  If I told you these were photographed in the dark hallway of a convention center and not in a proper studio, would you know? Such is the magic of good lighting, strategic cropping, and people who love playing dress-up as much as I do! (Not all images were cropped this way and I kind of liked it.) These are some Disney character highlights I captured during FanX SLC Comicon 2019. The whole gallery of characters can be found in my online gallery, here:  https://wendyhurstportrait.pixieset.com/fanxsaltlakecomicconvention2019/ Happy Halloween! Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella Princesses at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Cinderella at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Belle of Beauty and the Beast at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 A different take of ...

#STUDIOANYWHERE, UTAH, USA | There's no audience here. No crowds or ticket sales. These performers perform because performance itself is the goal. The act of creating, even if nobody is watching, is the prize. Maybe nobody will see these photographs. Maybe the whole project will simply live anonymous and forgotten on the internet until the end of time without a single "like" to its name. Whether it does or it doesn't, the creative process has taken on new meaning for me. I've accepted that sometimes it's enough to simply...exist. I encourage you to use that existence to make yourself, and others, better.  Welcome to the circus. The circus has so much to see, yet leaves so much unseen. Talented performers spend years practicing and perfecting their crafts. What we observe in an hour took commitment, time and unseen repeated failure to achieve. If there were nobody to perform for, would they still do that thing? If photography was my performance, I would. ...

BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, UTAH, USA | SUMMER 2019 The Salt Flats are a crusted landscape that yields the most beautiful cotton candy sunset I've seen in my life. Bringing mermaids to the shallow depths of an otherwise lifeless scene fulfilled both my irresistible sense of juxtaposition and two  major items on my photography bucket list, mermaids and visiting the Salt Flats . I've lived in Utah almost my whole life and never once made the trip.  A trip like this was a big deal. Have you ever carried a wearable mermaid tail? Heavy. Plus it's a couple of hours driving each way. To justify bringing a crew along I really wanted to make the theme and styling count.  Terryn (& Husband) Jax Hernandez (wearing the dress I made from a thrifted curtain) WARDROBE I fished through my fabric stash for every mermaid object I could find--seashells, beads, pearls, ribbons, nets, even sand--but the real gem for me turned out to be an old mesh curtain I thrifted years ago hoping to use it...