WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

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...

Model: Cheryl Bunnell | Photo: Wendy Hurst (Her white wig matching the clouds was a total coincidence, I swear.) The exhibit spoke to me. Interactive art installations flow from one environment to the next. An ordinary old room with a fireplace slowly leads to a hallway of giant raindrops, a fluorescent-lit ball pit to a hall of mirrors, each exhibit designed with upcycled materials intended for touch and a wandering mind. In short, it's equal parts immersive for the imagination and incredibly difficult to get good light. I say "get" because off-camera flash isn't exactly designed into the flow of things. We weren't alone and many spaces didn't even have room for adequate modifiers to do the setup justice. So instead of going into the situation with visions of taking the best photographs ever, I took the natural challenge of just doing the best with whatever was available. Honestly that turned out to be half the fun. Model: Elyssa A...

Morgan Rae Cowley @cowleyrae, Model // Photo: Wendy Hurst Production @hello_wayfinder I'll post about this in more detail later this month or next, but I'll mention it now. Photography isn't just a hobby or side job to me. Photographing feelings  is a significant way I thrive . Depression is a foe of many faces for me, and the past few weeks of winter have woken it from a deep slumber. Over the weekend I photographed this particular image of model Morgan Cowley at a group photo shoot I cohosted over the weekend. Then tonight while sorting through the collection of photographs I discovered this capture, stopped scrolling through, and stared through teary eyes. Maybe you don't feel anything when you see this image; that's okay. Maybe you don't even like it. That's okay too. To me, today, right now, this photograph represents a fleeting moment of wonder and hope from inside an empty room. Something wonderful and unexpected on the other side of the glass...

Dylynn Beckstead, Danika Ott, Stephanie Crenshaw, Mikelle Pace, Taylor Anne Johnson (models) Photo: Wendy Hurst // Production @hello_wayfinder Wayfinder Photographer Collective is this thing I do on the side with friend and colleague Ashley Gardner. Once a month we bring together a group of models of varying experience and crowdfund our shoot by inviting other photographers to join. For our last shoot of 2018 we opted for a more casual meet-up rather than a proper styled shoot, where we decorated some casual spaces with everyday glamour instead of incorporating complex props and sets. And by "casual" I mean CASUAL, like back rooms and spare office spaces and under stairways--wherever Eleve Event Center could graciously fit us. We're adaptable peeps. Fun fact: tulle fabric--that netted fabric stuff--and electricity don't like each other. Lighting the Scene The group shots were all photographed with the other photographers in the room--a small office space w...