WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

Because of human trafficking and domestic violence, many women--and  children-- will never be known as more than a statistic. The Red Dress Dinner is an annual event put on by women for a local charity. This year they selected Sheroes United, an organization established to eliminate human trafficking, domestic violence, and support Women Warriors (first responders to those two specific issues). These issues are how I learned about The Red Dress Dinner, and I was honored to run their red carpet photo booth for the evening. I can't rescue everyone affected by abuse. Maybe nobody can. But we can try-- one dollar, one conversation, maybe even one photo booth at a time.        The Red Dress Dinner       Sheroes United Here are some highlights. (Celeste Gleave (center), founder of Sheroes United) (Elaine Lewis (second from right), Red Dress Dinner VP) (Madison Staszkiewicz (right), Red Dress Dinner President) ...

Sarah Abraham, Model & Activist "Turn the lights out and see what happens. Sometimes it's a gift."  Gregory Heisler is iconic in the photography industry. His manner when designing photographs for 70 different LIFE Magazine covers and many an advertising campaign since the 1980s goes beyond just lighting a photograph. When he works with an individual, he seeks to create an experience that brings context and feeling together into a photograph that invites a viewer to "sink their teeth into it." Of course his advice was specific to lighting a photograph, and it's excellent advice, but it also perfectly described in words what I've been grasping to convince myself: it's time to do what's next. I've been working with a colleague to organize group shoots for other photographers for the last 18 months. My portfolio has grown, my skills have grown, and I've learned a great deal about how to negotiate the obstacles of that world. But in d...

Joker at FanX SLC Comicon 2019. I know he's not a superhero but it's the closest I got to meeting a Batman this year. ;) Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins made me fall in love with superheroes. It was dark, it was haunting, and the character became so compelling I wanted to suspend reality just enough to make the character and story feel real just so I could meet the guy. Here's a peek at some of the superheroes I met at Salt Lake City's FanX event (a local flavor of Comicon)--and a here's a link to see the whole gallery of portraits I captured in the hallway! I wonder if my wagon could wheel in a small rug to really disguise the flooring next time... ;) Scarecrow at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 I know he's not a superhero too, but...Batman. Captain Marvel at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Black Panther (kid version!) at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Green Lantern at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Star Lord at FanX SLC Comicon 2019 Spiderman at FanX SLC Comicon 2019. Tom Holland was a cele...

FanX SLC 2019 Photographing people in elaborate costumes often takes elaborate planning. Book the session, arrange location, the client spends time getting dressed and/or into makeup, travel time--and that's all before the shoot and post-processing even happens. But what if there was a place where people were already dressed up in costumes planned often months in advance, and all you have to do was show up and ask to take their photographs...? Comicon is that place, and it is magical. In Salt Lake City we call it "FanX," short for Fan Experience. Never been? You should go. It's SUPER fun, and fun is good. These are just highlights. You can see all the images at my online gallery, here:  https://wendyhurstportrait.pixieset.com/fanxsaltlakecomicconvention2019/ Harry Potter, World in a Purse  at FanX SLC 2019 FanX SLC 2019 Stranger Things at FanX SLC 2019 Stranger Things  at FanX SLC 2019 A family of Marshmellos at SLC FanX 2019 Hobbits (AWESOME)  at FanX SLC 2019 Re...

I'm not a stranger to shooting outdoors. Counterpoint: Using a backdrop outdoors is definitely strange to me. But if we never got to know strangers, we'd never make new friends. VIEW THE WHOLE GALLERY The Utah Renaissance Faire is a plentiful measure of meager extravagance, an opportunity to escape modern everyday life and appreciate times long past through costume, music and dance. The scent of mutton floats through the air, disturbed only by the swirling of juggling batons and the spinning of aerialists on fine silks. Children laugh, boots scuffle, and ribbons whirl. For a photographer the event is a goldmine of colorful fantasy. For a photographer with a backdrop, though, it poses some obstacles. Shooting indoors eliminates many foes of a photo studio. Wind, rain, direct sunshine, distraction. Outdoors anything can happen. I wanted my studio to fulfill three simple goals: 1) Small enough to fit and relatively blend into a crowd, and 2) 100% mobile on a ...

Blue Mind:   A mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peace, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment.  I feel a connection with calm bodies of water. I often visit them in my mind during meditation and even in my dreams. Its touch, its sound, the gentle ripples as one steps through the strange liquid come together into an ethereal, even spiritual, experience. Photography has taught me to slow down and really study the often unseen details of things. All the things. Especially calm water. Maybe it can do the same for you. Sarah Abraham @livthelovelylife photographed at Palisades Reservoir near Manti, Utah, USA. Hosted by Wayfinder Photographer Collective. All natural light. (I wanted to add a pop of fill flash off camera but logistically it was impossible.)

Model: Cori Gustafson | Photo: Wendy Hurst Besides being a photographer, I'm also a professional seamstress and that means FABRIC. I've acquired yards and yards of different kinds of thrifted fabric over the years and sometimes they just need a breath of fresh air. Lucky for me, Utah is in a persistent monsoon weather pattern and that means wind, fresh air, and the breathtaking potential for movement. I've got footage for a mini film, but my film editing time is also...mini. Lighting the Scenes The outdoor photographs were lit with natural light, sometimes with a little fill flash when that was an option. The indoor photographs were similarly lit, though the darker images required more fill light. Model: Amanda Solt | Photo: Wendy Hurst Model: Sushmita Murthy | Photo: Wendy Hurst MODELS Amanda Solt @sadistikqueen Cori Gustafson @corinne_gus_model Sushmita Murthy @sushi_roll_ VENUE : Utah State Capitol PRODUCTION : @hello...