Halyna Hutchins was a bright and enthusiastic cinematographer who seemed to be having a great time working as director of photography on Alec Baldwin’s next cowboy film.
She’s been posting images from the film’s harsh set in the New Mexico foothills on her Instagram feed for the past three weeks. They included vibrant sunsets and a cast and crew photo with Hutchins and Baldwin standing next to a log cabin as the backdrop.
Hutchins, wearing a grey scarf and a wide-brimmed hat, is also seen riding a horse with coworkers in a brief video clip made on Wednesday. “Riding horses on your day off is one of the pleasures of shooting a western,” she wrote.
Hutchins’ trip from the Soviet Union to Hollywood seemed implausible. He was born in Ukraine in 1979, while the nation was still part of the Soviet Union. She grew up in the Arctic Circle, surrounded by reindeer and nuclear submarines on a military installation. She became interested in film as an “army brat” since “there wasn’t that much to do outside.”
Hutchins began her career as a reporter after graduating from Kyiv National University with a degree in international media. She worked as a cinematographer on various British film productions in Eastern Europe, traveling to isolated locales.
“I was enthralled by true-to-life storytelling,” she explained. Hutchins, a self-described adrenaline junkie, documented her adventures in extreme activities such as parachuting and cave exploration. She relocated to California about a decade ago to focus solely on filmmaking. Hutchins, according to American Cinematographer, did whatever production jobs she could get her hands on. She also experimented in fashion photography to have a better understanding of the “aesthetics of lighting – how you create the mood, the vibe,” as she put it.
Hutchins attended the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles from 2013 to 2015. “It forced me to reconsider who I was as an artist and how I wanted to work,” she explained. She noted that the experience taught her the value of having “your own vision” as well as working with a director and a team. Then came professional achievement. She worked on a number of narrative films before being named one of American Cinematographers’ rising stars in 2019. Archenemy, directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer and starring Joe Manganiello, is one of her next superhero action films.
