Hey y’all! I’m Shae!

Why photography?

Since I was a little girl, with the world staring back at me with wild wonder, I knew I wanted to serve others. I wasn’t quite sure how I could do that with my skillset until I had my daughter Emma in 2016. Seeing the world anew again, through her eyes, I wanted to cherish every moment. I was gifted my first camera that year, and the rest… well, it’s a beautiful story of growth and a whole host of people cheering me on as I have refined my artistic eye behind the lens. What a journey it is to be able to say I live my life the way I do because people hire ME to photograph and preserve their most treasured memories and moments. It is an honor and I will never regret time spent serving others.

What inspires my art?

I am drawn to the natural colors of the panhandle plains. The tones from our rich, red Texas dirt, hues of golden yellow wildflowers in early to late spring, all through late fall, as they spread across gentle rolling hills. I am obsessed with the muted shades of green lining our quaint creeks, in tones of sage and olive, a beautiful contrast against wild, flowering bushes. I am SO inspired by the dramatic tones of that famous Amarillo sky at sunset, painted blush pink and mauve, against a backdrop of dusty blue and fiery orange. I cherish the rust-colored bands across wind-blown landscapes covering the canyon floor of our great Palo Duro Canyon.

Some say the panhandle plains are just that — plain. But I have proof that our home is anything but. It’s easy to take beautiful photos against a mountainous backdrop, or by the sea at sunrise— let me show you the magic nestled here in the texas panhandle.

Random facts about me

• I am the mother to a beautiful little girl named Emma Faye

• I have a whole farm- 36 animals and counting, ranging from dogs, cats, a few donkeys, goats and horses.

• I've been with the love of my life since 2003~ #highschoolsweethearts

• I’m a believer. #AMEN

• Coffee + Fresh air = life.

• I have a hearty appreciation for sass and all things art.

• I dig most types of music, but have a soft spot for worship music.

• I am a closet introvert, but I pretend I’m extroverted! #mustrecharge #homebody

• I once studied abroad in London, England. The subject? William Shakespeare. #bardolater #speakpoetrytome

• Besides my focus behind the lens, I'm also a practicing painter and DIY-crafter— Hobby Lobby, anyone?

• I will never turn down a Harry Potter marathon.

• Candles. There is something so inspiring about a candle's first flame. It fires me up to be productive and creative!

I can’t wait to learn more about you. <3

These roots run deep

I now call the plains of the Texas Panhandle home, but I was born and raised in Farmington, NM, an interesting place tucked underneath the Colorado Rockies, right smack in the midst of a desert where wildflowers are miraculously abundant.

My love affair with all things wild started here, in the Land of Enchantment, while rock-collecting and flower-picking. I’d bring my sweet momma a bundle of wildflowers in one hand, and the most pretty little treasures of time-worn + tumbled gemstones I could find on any given afternoon of my childhood. She kept her very favorites, now held captive by her china cabinet. ;)

In adulthood, I wandered through various degree plans before deciding upon a BA in English Literature. I graduated from WTAMU with honors. I sought to teach. But as you might guess, that didn’t happen. I found myself seeking more. And after my daughter was born, the need to document her in every instance turned into a passion I couldn’t easily shake—photography.

I was born a natural storyteller, weaving the most elaborate tales for anyone who’d listen.

So when I was awakened by the power behind the every day, that magic captured in the emotive stillness of an image taken long ago, I’d reached my fever point. There was no denying that God made me to be a keeper of stories—and now I had a powerful tool to immortalize these tales for others, by capturing love as it unfolds, the journey of marriage, families in every season, and the unawareness of childhood we call innocence. My innate ability to nurture and bless those around me, met my yearning to produce art— through photography.