WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

Salt Lake City, Utah | "We're not really 'together'," explains a Falcon cosplayer, motioning to the cosplayer-Ant-Man next to him. "We just met here 15 years ago and keep finding each other."  FanX is a crowd-shifting feast of colors and creative craftsmanship. Imagination comes to life as everyday cosplayers emerge from their creative spaces as pop culture characters and celebrities. Collectors collect. People-watchers watch. And photographers...photograph.  I'd be remiss not to celebrate with them.  More portraits are at my website, wendyhurstportrait.com

Zachary Lee / Los Angeles, CA / 2021 / Photo: Wendy Hurst Photographing @zacharyleeportrait, a photographer and mountain climber in California, was like watching a sculpture come to life. Every pose was like a new cast—which perfectly matched the transformative experience of a stellar photographer workshop hosted by @aaronjayyoung and @jonnycreative. I’m eager to use everything learned here in future sessions!

Laura is a fierce social worker who also hosts a podcast called @smallandgutsy , where she interviews smaller, less known nonprofits and social impact organizations that don’t always get the attention they deserve. She’s extraordinarily kind and has a delightful voice to match her smile. Maybe give her a listen sometime? 

Aaron Jay Young / Los Angeles, CA / 2021 / Photo: Wendy Hurst Aaron Jay Young / Los Angeles, CA / 2021 Aaron has a powerfully quiet presence that stands out in a world of so many people who shout to be heard, but his photographs speak loud and clear without any words at all. Three photo projects inspired me to connect more deeply with my creative community. One was a beautifully honest series captured at DragCon. Another was a collection of photographs featuring Adam Rippon, the Olympic skater. (It wasn’t celebrating community, per se, but I was deeply inspired by the incredible lighting on location.) And last was a series of photographs capturing an immigrant caravan in Mexico in 2019. It wasn’t until the third when I realized all three were created by the same photographer, and that photographer was Aaron. So imagine my overwhelming awe and enthusiasm to now, years later, walk into his studio for a life-changing photographer workshop. Further, how honored I felt to find myself standi...

Heidi is a spark of energy that lights many fires.  Modeling? Yes. Writer? Yep. (Her book, Frogman's Response , gets released in September!) MMA Fighter? Also yes. Badass? The pattern continues. She came over to help me test out the new suede backdrop I plan to bring to my local Comiccon (FanX Salt Lake) in the fall. Her high kick in a green jumpsuit was all the extra convincing I needed.

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 ...