05/31/2026
Who am I? Like who am I really.
Iโve been going back and forth with that question for months now. There will be time I see all these editorial photographers or photographers that are so much more trendier and cooler than me and I will really ponder am I not good enough? Do I need to be cooler? But then today someone reminded me of something important.
that I have come from a long line of artists.
You ask who I am? Iโm Pansy, Iโve loved photography and documenting the things around me since I was a little girl, it was not just something that fell in my lap and I startedโฆitโs something that I have truly been passionate about since I was born. It was a right of passage almost, my grandmother and grandfather while I only got them for less than 12 years of my life they shared their passions not only with the people around them but they shared them together. You would always see my grandma or grandpa with a Kodak gold in their hands and if they werenโt doing that they would paint together and I have many of their paintings in my home.
They were always pretty progressive in how they felt about certain issues and really enjoyed to document the world around them either in photo or video. It was their form of art, they both saw art things in different places and things. So when they had my dad, while he was artistic in the fact that he can play the piano and guitar very well the one thing that they instilled in him was to not let that passion for art ever fade. Even in his 80โs he still plays the piano and guitar just to enjoy the melodies that play.
So when I was 12 years old, I got my first camera a little blue Samsung digital point and shoot that by todayโs standards kind of sucks but is making an oddly satisfying comeback. Whether I was taking the photo or the subject of the shoot there was always a camera in my hand, I have ALWAYS been documenting the world around me! From embarrassingly posting photos on Flickr ๐คฃ of random buildings around me or the sky or better yet I always tell the story of how I would have photo shoots for my Barbieโs doing weddings and would make them do couple photos.
As I got older, I got my first DSLR thanks to a boyfriend whose family had a stupid amount of money to waste on a teenager ๐
I got it on one of my trips to Colorado as a gift, from there I went over drive and checked out books at the library and when I came back to Geary I did my first photo shoots for my my best friend Chelsea and a friend named Kelli, something in me sparked and I felt the love for art and there I started my photography journey first as PMK photography then to Pansy Kesler Photography (Garrison too) to then eventually choosing Blossom & Co.
Meanwhile, a town over my husband would be living his life with his friends and family not knowing that one day he would also find a passion for documenting in a different form.
We would end up getting married and during that time I did some shots for fun here and there but thatโs about it. After we had our daughter though I would take pictures of her and all the frills and pink! A little after we had our second child little Frank I did family shots with the intention of doing photography on the side, then the ultimate tragedy struck our family and our son passed away. It devastated me to a core that I canโt really comprehend to tell.
Then about 1 year later after his death, I picked up my camera again. Then in 2020, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. Someone wanted to
Me to do their wedding, I charged them $500 for a full day coverage if they would just give me a chance, that couples name was Lilith and Colton! They let me experience a dream come trueโฆ.then to my surprise more couples wanted me to document their day, I remember it like yesterday Morgan and Josh, both a young sweet couple who took a chance on me and Frank! Then came elopements, my first Benji and Nicole, who were in the military and wanted to elope in an intimate manner! Then came my first two bigger weddings The Stangls and Kyle & Emily! They were my first bigger weddings. Then came The Lawrences, Connor & Natasha and mini sessions with Madelyn and Dani, Tricia, Victoria! Many different names and people, I always like to joke that Iโm forgetful, but I have remembered EVERY client I have photographed. I may forget your name and call you Casey when your name is Payton ๐ but I will always remember your day.
So in the year of 2025-to present I had an identity crisis, because who was I? Iโm not cool enough to be editorial and high end luxury girly because letโs be honest Iโm a dork who enjoys playing the sims 3 in my spare time and sleeping with a lava lamp on because I hate the dark ๐
and I get excited about the sailor moon, my husband, road trips where we have two dollars to our name and buy fry bread on the side of some reservation in the middle of nowhere Arizona. I write fantasy stories on the side sometimes because I love literature and Iโm obsessed with all things Tudor history and current royal historyโฆso no I am not a cool girl with cool tattoos, piercings, a huge fancy house or a gaggle of friends who look like models ๐ I live like every other average person in this economy right now.
My point being, there are days that I have made mistakes, weddings that clients havenโt loved, technical issues, personal issues and times where the clients and I havenโt vibed well. However after 150+ weddings, I can tell you with certainty that I always take that to heart, I take it hard when I make mistakes because I am that passionate about what I do. Art in photography is more in my veins than you know, itโs my way of speaking to the world the words that sometimes I canโt speak but I can show and others can see, but something I need people to remember, I am humanโฆwe are now in the era of photography where things are meant to be fast, luxury, aesthetic and everything is suppose to be perfect, but the truth is photography should be authentic to the people, worked on by someone who truly truly wants people to see the love letter that they see and appreciate REAL human connection.
When you choose me, youโre choosing a little girl who wanted nothing more than to show off her art to the world and moving forward, I want to show the same thing to my daughters.
Thank you for coming to me Ted talk ๐ฉท
