For over a decade, Heidi’s photographs and personal newspaper columns have been an integral part of Door County Advocate, one of the nation’s largest non-daily newspapers. But don’t let the small town background fool you. The newspaper has been recognized nationally for its dedication to photography.

Her photography has also appeared in daily papers such as the Milwaukee Sentinel and in magazines and trade brochures.

Over the years, Heidi’s work has been recognized at state and national levels, from organizations such as the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, the National Newspaper Association, the Wisconsin News Photographers Association, the Wisconsin Press Women, and the National Federation of Press Women where she was once honored with one of the top awards for all around journalism—an award that recognized her photography, feature writing, news writing and editorial writing.

Notably, she was a finalist for the Nikon Sabbatical Grant, an award that funds a photojournalist’s efforts to document a particular subject for a year.

During her tenure at the Advocate as photo editor, she worked under the tutelage of a Pulitzer-nominated editor, who helped her refine her photo editing skills.

For several years she has been involved in a hand-tinted photography business in conjunction with Jacinda Tessmann. Heidi and Jacinda’s works have been displayed in galleries around the state of Wisconsin.

Heidi Hodges’s interest in photography started in high school where she won first place at the Wisconsin State Fair. The award was tuition for a weeklong photography workshop taught at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay by top photography scholars. Another photo won the top national photography award from the Scholastic Arts Association: The Kodak Medallion of Excellence.

She holds a BA in photography and technical communications.

Clearly photography has been a life-long passion. “Getting inside and getting the feeling of an event is what I love doing,” says Heidi. “It’s my passion.” And she does it unobtrusively and completely, the result of years of professional photojournalism experience.

Moving from full-time journalism work to event photography was a natural progression. “A wedding is an emotional event. It’s so much more than a collection of staged photos.”

“All along, I had been photographing weddings on the side, and found my passion.”

Her approach is a combination of photojournalism, choreographed moments and a few traditional-style images. “I see it as progressive and fashion-forward,” says Heidi. “It’s all about you.”