We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandy Herren. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandy below.

Hi Brandy, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

Over the past two decades I have honed my skills, added to my portfolio in multiple ways depending on where we were posted as a foreign service family, and increased confidence in my craft to the point that I finally was comfortable calling myself a professional photographer. I had success selling prints of Belgian sights to our colleagues and peers in Brussels. I started taking portrait clients and eventually became more comfortable doing those sessions. During a posting in northern Virginia, I took a job as a preschool photographer and continued doing portrait sessions with high school and college seniors referred to me by friends. My husband took a two year assignment in Iraq, and I was looking forward to going home and starting my photography business in earnest in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had leads for high school senior portrait sessions. I was planning to beg the town’s best wedding photographer to let me shadow her and work as an unpaid apprentice. I had plans to build up my print portfolio with local scenes and sights that would sell in this very artsy tourist town. I even started to think about creating a photography tour of this historic Ozark mountain town, modelled after tours I took in other countries. But in 2019, the clumsiness I had always experienced from childhood progressed. I was falling more and not catching myself. Descending stairs became tricky and downright dangerous. In spring of 2020, just before we left Virginia, I did a family portrait session for our friends. As I brought the camera to my eye, my balance wobbled. My husband had to place his hands on my back to help me steady myself. And this just increased with every photography outing. By the time I got to my house in Arkansas, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to ramble all over this mountain region to capture the photos I had in mind. Over the first year I was home, my abilities diminished to the point that I needed a walker to get around. Carrying anything while walking or standing was just out of the question. During my husband’s visits home, we would drive around and I began to get some shots from the car. Meanwhile. my doctors were at a loss and couldn’t diagnose my condition. At one point it was thought that I had stiff man syndrome and was prescribed clonazepam. A few months later, I started losing my ability to speak. I had no idea that the medication was a likely culprit until last year when I finally tapered off of it. The neurologist I consulted referred me to neurologists in Colorado for diagnosis, and I began to see doctors there. In 2023 I finally had an appointment with a neurologist at UC Health who diagnosed me with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia with Ataxia. There is no cure, and no real treatment to speak of – only physical and occupational therapy, along with speech therapy. I do what I can to stay active and slow progression. Meanwhile, my husband has been fantastic at helping me find ways to continue shooting. We take road trips and I tag along on work trips, taking shots of what I can from the car. He is now adept at maneuvering our vehicles into position so that I can get certain shots. We found a used power wheelchair for sale, and in cases where I would need to walk longer than my body can take, we opt to take the chair instead of the walker. Recently I have discovered that as long as the accessibility is there, I can use the chair to capture urban photography scenes, albeit from a new angle. That is a work in progress as I try to adjust my perspective and perfect driving the chair around. My husband came up with a project idea that we call “Photos From the Passenger Seat.” What form that project will take has yet to be determined, but it could be anything from an exhibition to a photo book. I’ve begun to make connections online with disabled photographers of all types and skill levels online. This has shown me that my photography days are not yet done. I’m finally starting to get ideas on how to expand and improve my work. I’m even beginning to think of new ways to do portrait photography again in a more intentional way. Oh, and I have a backlog of 20+ years of photos to edit and cull! When I’m stuck at home, I try to go back through the old files and rediscover what I thought was not “good enough” at the time. It’s amazing what time and a fresh look will turn up! This journey to find a diagnosis and the deterioration of my abilities has taken me on quite the emotional rollercoaster. I have been through most of the stages of grief over the loss of what I thought my career would look like after following my spouse around the world. I’m not sure I’ve reached acceptance, but I do know that I’m not dead yet! I will continue to explore and photograph the world around me as long as I am able, and I will continue to search for ways to keep doing what I love and share it with others.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am originally from Osage County, Oklahoma but graduated high school in Tulsa and ultimately graduated from the University of Tulsa. I am a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation, headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, but I look more Scots-Irish and German unlike my brother and cousins. I was a single mom when I met my husband in college. After we married and I decided that I could live in Oklahoma for the rest of my life, we got word that he had passed the Foreign Service Exam and was offered an appointment as a Foreign Service Officer (diplomat) with the US Department of State (DOS). His career has taken us to Haiti, Oman, Mongolia, Zambia, New Zealand, Belgium, The Bahamas, and northern Virginia. Beyond these, we are fortunate to have been able to visit many countries and meet so many incredible people from around the globe.
My love of photography started in high school when I took a photography class. Of course it was all film back then, and very expensive, so I never thought seriously about making it a profession or taking photography courses in college. I chose Political Science instead (insert eye roll here!). I continued to take pictures as an occasional hobby and carried that into my married life. My husband has always been great to make sure I get out with my camera wherever we are, and over the past 20 years, we have been in some pretty cool places around the world. At some point it no longer made sense for me to find jobs within the embassies we were posted to, so I took a refresher course in photography when we were assigned to Wellington, New Zealand and learned to stop relying on the auto setting. When we moved to Brussels, Belgium I was in photographer heaven! I donated a photo to the Community Liaison Office at the US Embassy when they refreshed the office decor and they suggested I set up a booth at their upcoming Information Fair. My goal was to start a photography club, but I ended up selling quite a few prints that day. Eventually I was invited to sell at the embassy store periodically and my print business took off. I made enough selling prints of Belgian sights that I was able to purchase a new camera and cover the costs of my favorite activity. Soon I was asked to do family portrait sessions. I shudder to think of how bad those first jobs were. I started doing senior portrait sessions and absolutely loved that work. Our departure from Belgium ended my lucrative print business. I continued doing some portraiture work in subsequent postings, and my confidence grew in this area. As a trailing spouse who moved every 2-4 years to wildly different countries, I’ve had to reinvent myself over and over, both in general and as a photographer. Available subject matter and cultural sensitivities prompted me to adjust with each and every move. Now that I am disabled, I find, once again, the need to adjust and redefine my work. The biggest challenge over my lifetime is what defines me and what sets me apart as a photographer – adapting to ever changing circumstances and finding new perspectives that are interesting enough to share with the world. I do sell on FineArtAmerica.com and directly when asked. I look forward to continuing to share photos and stories of my adventures before HSP took hold, and to share what comes out of learning to pivot to this new reality I am facing.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As a photographer, the most rewarding aspects of being an artist (and yes I fully believe photographers are artists) is the opportunity to explore the world around me and learn new things about my communities. I love visiting incredible locations and capturing photos that will inspire others to get out and explore or at least give them a sense of being there themselves. I also get to meet amazing, inspiring people whether they are clients, subjects or other creatives. And lastly, I love that photography often forces me out of my normally introverted comfort zone.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

One thing that comes to mind is buying art and decor from an artist and not at big box stores. Supporting local artists helps communities thrive and builds a sense of pride and belonging. When hotels and businesses decorate with art from local artists, it shows they consider themselves part of that community. When institutions and businesses reach out to local artists to commission artwork for their buildings, it not only helps that artist thrive, it shows their patrons aspects of the community or region to take pride in or to appreciate if they are visiting from another area. They are also showing the local talent that they are respected and valued contributors to the community.

On a more general level, society can encourage and prioritize artistic expression at all ages. Not everyone can, or wants, to be an artist. But we can instill in them an appreciation for art of all levels and mediums. For instance, I am not a painter, but I deeply appreciate the work and skill that goes into it. That knowledge was gained by trying my hand at it, studying artists (on a rudimentary level), and viewing artwork (including photography) in museums and galleries. Some basic exposure to art at all levels of study leads to a more understanding public, increased creativity and problem solving skills, and can lead to more sales of quality art and patrons of the arts in adulthood.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arklahomamuse.com
• Instagram: @arklahoma_muse_photography
• Facebook: Arklahoma Muse Photography and Design
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandy-herren-3114917

Image Credits

Picture of me by J. Denver Herren