Raised in small-town-Texas, Kat Swansey is drawn to the forgotten corners of the Lone Star State. From shuttered beer joints to national parks, Kat captures the essence of rural Texas leaving no question about its diverse landscape and natural wonders.

Kat is an Americana photographer based in Austin, Texas. She is the author of Texas Textures, a 144 page photo-book with over two hundred photos, and Way Out West. She picked up her first camera at the age of 13 and has been in love with photography ever since. Kat’s photographs are taken with a wide variety of film — from grocery store emulsions to professional grade stocks — creating vibrant images that leave no question about the beauty in Texas’ vast blue skies and rugged exterior.

Kat was born and raised in a small town in Central Texas and has dedicated her work to photographing abandoned structures, ghost towns, and rural communities that line the backroads of Texas. Her work has been compared to photographers such as Walker Evans, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, and those famous for the New Topographics moment — high praise for a gal from the country! Kat was featured on NPR’s Texas Standard and her work has been highlighted in Alcalde Magazine, Pellicola Magazine, Revolog’s film stock book, All Through a Lens, Narcity.com, Fstoppers, and numerous online publications. 

When Kat isn’t on the road, she can be found rooting for her beloved San Antonio Spurs, enjoying a glass of tequila, shootin’ the sh*t at her local honky tonk, or sitting on the porch with her grandfather and a Lone Star Beer in her hometown of Brenham, Texas.

Photograph taken by Natalie Barrett Photo