Putting the best frame on her dream life

Longtime photographer Heidi Hunt was just a college student working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in general art and photography at SUNY New Paltz in 1992. She was developing her photos in the darkroom for one of her photography classes when she figured out what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She described this as her “a-ha” moment and she has lived her dream ever since.

“The light bulb went on and that was it,” Hunt said. “That was when the passion started and it just kept going. I still it feel it every day.”

Hunt, 45, has been a professional photographer for over 20 years, but her “creative spirit” came from her childhood passion — art. Her college curriculum allowed her to combine both mediums and she’s made a career out of it. She landed her first job in 1995 as a photo developer with the federal government at the White House and the Pentagon for the Clinton administration in Washington, D.C.

Hunt’s early work hours with the federal government gave her the chance to create her artwork in her spare time. She would go on to showcase her art and photography at several galleries across the country such as the Washington Center for Photography, Chicago Center for Book Arts, the Center for Photography at Woodstock, and the Agora Gallery.

Hunt landed her dream job as a photographer with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 1998. She said she got to work with the most creative people and she enjoyed Stewart who she considered to be a perfectionist just like her. At this time, she was also a part of the transition from traditional photography to digital photography.

“It was all kind of happening at once, which was exciting because I was young and I was seeing results,” Hunt said. “Life has its ebbs and flows but my success kept rising.”

She admitted that she was a little scared of her early success because she didn’t think she could sustain that level of consistency. As she mentioned before, her life and career kept moving in the right direction.

Hunt married her husband Bill, who she met at SUNY New Paltz, in 1997 and they moved to Sea Cliff a few years later. Originally from Albany, her husband’s former college roommate suggested that Sea Cliff would be the perfect place for them, thanks to its artistic background and close-knit community. The house they purchased came with a small cottage, which she transformed into her personal art studio.

“It just had this good energy and it had the right feel to it,” Hunt said. “I just knew that it was meant to be.”

Once she gave birth to her children Katherine and William, she decided to raise them and take a step back from her career. Hunt explained that it was an “obvious choice” to choose her family over her career.

“This was when everything seismically shifted,” she said. “I changed my identity because I wanted to be there for my family.”

During her time off, Hunt became very involved in the community. She is the vice president of the Sea Cliff Arts Council and a board member of the Sea Cliff Civic Association. Her involvement led to the inception of her own business when she began real estate photography a few years ago.

“Everything had come full circle,” she added. “I went back to being a photographer but now, it’s on my own terms. I can make choices for myself.”

Hunt also hosts several family events throughout the year. She said she is “blessed” to live in a community where they openly embrace art, music, and theatre.

“It is the best feeling in the world to be around likeminded people, creative people, and sometimes even eclectic people,” she said. “Because this is such an accepting, open, and creative place, this furthers us as people.”

Hunt’s most recent works revolves around architectural photography, which covers “linear” aspects such as light and dark colors as well as shapes and patterns. She can find artistic value in any place at any time.

“It’s so great to be able to take that aspect of it and turn it into art,” Hunt said. “I can frame that, make that a visual piece of art.”

Through her new photographic endeavors, she also explained that nature has a way of organizing itself.

“We organize as humans, we build things and we like to keep things aligned,” Hunt said. “Nature does the same thing and we do not realize it half the time.”

Hunt said that art and photography have empowered her and gave her the confidence to expand her career. She wants to continue her role in the community but she would also like to see her business grow and one day showcase her work across the country again.

“It has made me a really, really strong person,” Hunt said. “It has given me a sense of power and control over my abilities. All of the dreams that I have accomplished have made me believe that I can accomplish another dream.”

Hunt and her family do not plan on leaving Sea Cliff anytime soon. Her connection to the community and its residents has made this the best place to continue her career.

“I have no desire to move because the energy here is the right energy for us,” Hunt said. “Art is the soul of who you are and we have a place where we can express our souls.”