Today we’d like to introduce you to Celeste Croteaux.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I began pursuing photography during the COVID-19 pandemic, while I was taking my university courses online. I was halfway through my degree, studying painting. I was dealing with a chronic illness and navigating that with the threat of a new virus nobody knew much about was difficult. Since I could not risk going to stores, bars, or any of the other normal things I would be doing before the pandemic hit, I went to very remote places and took photos instead. I was among the first group of the general public to get vaccinated, and once I was fully vaccinated I started traveling around New Mexico, where I live, and began visiting historic sites with my camera. I ended up taking photography more seriously after graduating and began getting selected for juried exhibitions across the country.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

I had a difficult time adjusting to completely turning around my artistic practice during the lockdown period. I went from having a support system of friends in Albuquerque to spending most of my time alone until getting vaccinated. I went from working in a big studio space at the university I was attending while collaborating with a lot of other artists to working completely by myself. Although this was difficult at first, I prefer to work alone now and have gotten used to taking long road trips alone. Shooting photography by myself has worked out well for me, because I only have to work around my own schedule which actually has allowed me to produce more work in a shorter time frame.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I’m a photographer capturing images of the American West, primarily New Mexico and West Texas, but I have branched out into Oklahoma as well. I focus on very small towns and uninhabited areas. My goal is to preserve these places before they vanish completely. I utilize a unique style of landscape photography using a wide, far point of focus and editing the photos so they appear to be in a dream-like state. Over the last six months, I have started sharing my artwork online through TikTok and Instagram under the username, “yeehawfaerie.” This has led to me connecting with residents from the areas I photograph.

What matters most to you? Why?

Getting to experiment with the images I take and turning the places in my photographs into an altered reality. It has been fantastic hearing back from the residents and former residents of the places I visit and hearing about how excited they are that their hometown was noticed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: yeehawfaerie