When we were casting for the shoot, Tess’s name immediately grabbed me. I thought of Tess D’Ubervilles, the Thomas Hardy novel I read growing up. I remember not fully understanding the historical context of the novel or that the novel was a pointed critique of Victorian era values. But that Tess was a fully realized character and  knowable, not an enigma. And Tess Hellfeuer (her nickname is Tess) our subject also remained Tess no matter how we tried to transfigure her from 1970’s big hair to 1980’s club kid – she remained her own person throughout.