Empowerment Through Photography
By Sophie Lange, Features Editor
Wendy Halperin is very involved in the Adams County community. In addition to having over 30 years of experience in social work and being the Executive Director of Waldo’s & Company in downtown Gettysburg, Halperin’s latest initiative involves using her passion for natural portrait photography to empower youth and young adults of Adams County who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Titled “Embrace & Empower: LGBTQ+ Youth in Adams County,” the project provides those who choose to participate with individual and group photoshoots and digital portraits in a safe and inclusive space.
Halperin’s interest in natural portrait photography began in her senior year of college when a professor introduced her to Garry Winogrand, a street photographer who worked primarily in black-and-white.
When asked what drew her to street photography specifically, Halperin explained, “It’s kind of like photojournalism in a way, but you’re not capturing a specific news story or something like that. You’re capturing a moment in time.”
“Women are Beautiful,” Winogrand’s series published in 1975, acted as an inspiration for Haperin’s future work. She explained that these photos captured women while they were going about their everyday lives, oftentimes not noticing the camera, which allowed Winogrand to truly capture their emotions in those moments. This is something she has taken with herself throughout her work as a photographer.
“I went to graduate school in social work, and I got a master’s degree in social work. That’s 32 years that I’ve been a social worker. I have kind of taken this being able to understand people and to understand people’s emotions in my work as a social worker and a therapist, and I’ve been able to sort of combine that with my photography, sort of being able to understand people’s emotions without really talking to them and capturing their stories,” Halperin said.
Throughout the years, she decided to move toward natural portrait photography in an effort to capture images where the subject feels beautiful and seen. For Halperin, the best feeling is when someone tells her they feel that her photos have captured who they are in the way that they would like to be represented. This led her away from street photography, though she still enjoys capturing photos at outdoor festivals such as Pride or Civil War reenactments.
The idea of providing a way for individuals identifying as LGBTQ+ with a safe space for self-expression came to Halperin several years ago in the aftermath of several teen suicides in Adams County, some of whom were facing isolation on account of being members of the queer community. The project initially began as a way to provide local high school students who identify as LGBTQ+ with senior portraits at no cost. Originally, it was not meant to be for a grant-funded exhibit but rather just a way to give participants the opportunity to feel beautiful and recognized without having to ask a parent or guardian to pay for it.
“The most important piece is giving high school students pictures of themselves, for the seniors to come back to when they grow up,” Halperin said of the project. “They can get the digital images and keep them for themselves, and keep them private, and be able to look back later on and when they’re brought up and say, ‘Wow, this is who I really was back then,’ and feel proud of it.”
As the project evolved into its current state thanks to funding from the Adams County Arts Council Nan Hatzes Memorial Grant, Halperin hopes to aid in the efforts to make Adams County more inclusive with a greater focus on belonging. For the most part, she has been focusing on natural light portraits with scheduled appointment times for participants. Additionally, Halperin has already collaborated with organizations such as the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) at the college, Gettysburg Pride and Waldo’s & Company, and all proceeds from the project benefit local nonprofits dedicated to supporting and empowering LGBTQ+ youth, such as the Gettysburg Community Theater.
Those who decide to participate in the project can choose the level of involvement they are most comfortable with, including the possibility of having their portrait featured in a series of three exhibits. The first exhibit is on May 30 at Waldo’s & Company, taking place directly before their annual Pride Dance Party, and it will serve as the art opening and fundraiser. The second exhibit takes place during June for Pride Month at Waldo’s & Company and Gettysburg Community Theater as part of Gettysburg Pride Festival Weekend. The final exhibit will be in October at the Adams County Arts Council. During this time, the portrait auction will take place. However, participation in these exhibits is optional. Regardless of their decision, all participants will receive free digital images.
Halperin expressed that the most rewarding part of this project has been the way the pictures have been turning out: “It’s really just taking pictures of these kiddos that are just out of high school or just about to graduate, having photoshoots, how amazing these pictures have been coming out and how happy they are to have them. I’m doing multiple photo shoots with some of these kids so that they can have pictures. I took some in the spring and some in the fall, and then I’m planning on doing more in the spring of the same people. So they can have multiple pictures of themselves to show how they’ve evolved over the years, kind of like historical pictures.”
That being said, Halperin also hopes for more young adult participants, particularly students from Gettysburg College. She explained that several students, both individually and in groups, have participated in the project so far, and she has enjoyed the end product of those photoshoots as well.
Interested students can view her portfolio and contact her about the “Embrace & Empower” project via her website.
This article originally appeared on page 3 and 4 of the No. 1 February 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine.
