Raised in small-town Texas, Kat Swansey has always been drawn to the overlooked and forgotten corners of the Lone Star State. From shuttered beer joints to wide-open parks, her work highlights the full range of rural Texas—its quiet beauty, its worn edges, and those blink-and-you-miss-it moments of wonder.

Kat is an Americana photographer based in Austin and the author of Texas Textures, Volumes One and Two—books dedicated to documenting the forgotten corners of Texas. She picked up her first camera at thirteen and has been chasing light, stories, and backroads ever since. Whether she’s shooting on consumer film or professional stock, her images lean into the color, grit, and character of Texas’s big skies and rough-around-the-edges landscapes.

Her Central Texas upbringing still shape the way she sees the world: abandoned buildings, ghost towns, and the communities scattered along backroads aren’t just subjects—they’re part of a way of life she’s intent on documenting before it disappears. Her work has drawn comparisons to Walker Evans, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, and other New Topographics photographers—high praise for a small town gal!

Kat has a studio at Hangar Art Gallery, where she held a solo exhibition in February 2025 and has since been part of numerous group shows. Her work has also been featured on NPR’s Texas Standard, in Texas in Texas Highways Magazine, Alcalde Magazine, Pellicola Magazine, Revolog’s film stock book, All Through a Lens, Fstoppers, Narcity and other publications.

When she’s not on the road, you can find her cheering on the San Antonio Spurs, sipping tequila and swapping tales at a local honky tonk, or sitting under the Live Oaks with her grandfather and a Lone Star Beer in her hometown of Brenham.

Photograph taken by Natalie Barrett Photo