Eventually, the couple settled down at the Fort Sam Houston Army post in San Antonio, Texas. A year into their marriage, Tom and Christine found they were pregnant; nine months later, Christine gave birth to the first of three children—a boy they named Oliver. Two more children followed in rapid procession: Alice and Wendy. By this point, Christine was overwhelmed with raising three children while Tom rose in the Army ranks, and their marriage soured right when Tom and his family were moved to El Paso.
Over the years, the Clarkes moved from base to base. Wendy considered San Antonio her home, considering she was born and spent the first few years of her life there, but she found herself loving each new city they lived in. El Paso was fine, even if it was a little boring. Passaic, New Jersey, was certainly a change of pace from the Texas mentality. Seattle was enjoyable, primarily because Wendy was a little older and more capable of enjoying what the city had to offer. But the place she loved most—the place she has fond memories of—was Germany. Her older siblings were close to finishing high school, but Wendy was just getting started when they found themselves in Heidelberg. She was surrounded by other military children, a foreign country and experiences she knew she'd never forget.
At 16, Wendy was well aware of her parents' deteriorating relationship. It was impossible to ignore the yelling that came from their bedroom every morning and evening, and all three Clarke children had grown tired of the fighting, insults and undermining from both Tom and Christine. Oliver turned to sports when things at home grew tense. Alice preferred the library and her studies. Wendy picked up a camera and found that everything looked better and clearer through a lens. It was easier to pretend her home life wasn't all sunshine and roses when she was behind a camera. Wendy photographed everything from the city of Heidelberg to her group of friends to her meals, and people soon grew accustomed to the equipment around her neck when she ventured outside.
When Tom and Christine finally called it quits, Oliver, Alice and Wendy were more relieved than they were sad. They'd endured years of muffled screaming matches and uncomfortable family dinners, so the dissolution of the Clarke family came as a warm welcome. It meant things would be a little more peaceful around the house, even if Christine's absence also meant Oliver's as he returned to the States with their mother. Alice soon followed for college in the U.S., leaving Wendy to spend her remaining high school years in Germany with her father.
It took a while for Tom and Wendy to get used to just each other's company, but the pair became thick as thieves. Tom was Wendy's confidante, her rock, her biggest cheerleader in everything she did, and they found commonalities they were previously unaware of now that it was just the two of them. He taught her how to cook and he encouraged her to pursue photography when she was preparing her college applications, and Wendy tried (in vain) to teach her father how to take a decent picture. Her time with Tom was fun and bittersweet, especially when an acceptance letter to NYU came in the mail and she shipped off to New York the summer after she turned 18.
College was a new experience for Wendy, but she was prepared for the change in pace and scenery from her lifetime of moving from base to base. Besides, the Tisch School of the Arts offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hone her skills as a photographer, and even though that meant being separated from her father by thousands of miles and a body of water, Tom encouraged her to make the most of her collegiate career. She took her classes seriously. She made friends easily. She enjoyed life fully. On her breaks, Wendy flew back to Germany to spend holidays with her father—and occasionally returned to Seattle, where her mother and brother now lived, or to Boston to visit her sister—but much of her free time was dedicated to improving her portfolio and trying to finish school in four years.
Of course, life happened, as it always did. When she was in her first year at NYU, her mother remarried. In her second year, Oliver was diagnosed with cancer and Tom returned to the States to be closer to his family. Her third year brought her father's second engagement and subsequent marriage—a shock to Wendy, who didn't realize Tom had been lonely and looking when the nest was finally empty. Fortunately, her final year at NYU was remarkably lacking in drama, aside from the usual stress of trying to graduate by the end of the spring semester with good grades, a solid portfolio and a few paying jobs as a freelance photographer.
Gigs came and went, but Wendy never lost sight of what she wanted to do. She worked in real estate, shooting homes and apartments for sale, which eventually led to a position at Leicht New York, photographing kitchens for very little money. But the truth was that Wendy enjoyed working in the kitchen with her camera; it brought back fond memories of shooting her father as he prepped and cooked their meals, and although the jobs she worked on were plain and empty, she didn't mind the work. It was a paycheck in her bank account and more material for her portfolio, and she assumed she was setting herself up for a less-than-lucrative career as a residential photographer.
Instagram changed the game.
Wendy already had the eye for making a great shot, even if she didn't have the career that proved it. While her friends and family had imagined she'd go on to take portraits of the rich and famous, or travel the world photographing mountaintops and valleys, life was mainly boring where her full-time job was concerned. Outside of work, though, Wendy flourished. She found a solid group of friends who made her forget that she wasn't pursuing her dream job (whatever that was), who bonded over happy hours and Sunday brunch. Wendy's smart phone went everywhere she did, snapping pictures of mimosas and omelettes and bowls of fruit. Instagram photos of her friends were few and far in between, but pictures of her breakfasts, lunches and dinners were a common occurrence.
She didn't think photographing her food would ever amount to anything other than a silly hobby and a unique way to share her life with her friends on social media, but her pictures got better (as did the platform, thankfully). Wendy played with color theory, with textures, with styling—even though that often meant being the butt of her friends' jokes when she took half an hour to start eating because she was busy playing with her food. But people seemed to enjoy her photos of her food, and Wendy amassed a following that surprises her to this day.
It's been a few years, and Wendy finally quit her job at Leicht to photograph food full-time. Her work has landed her in magazines and on websites like BuzzFeed, The Kitchn, Saveur, Vanity Fair, Martha Stewart and Oprah. Now, Wendy lives in Clinton Hill with her rescue cat, Cornelius (who goes by Corndog for brevity and humor), and balances her time between shooting for clients in the food industry, consulting on projects as a food stylist and teaching workshops on food styling, photography and editing. It's a hell of a lot better than taking pictures of kitchen cabinets, and even though it took a few years to get there, Wendy can't imagine her life any other way.
