Photographer: Katherine Amy Vega

Photographer, Musician, Dancer
Since 2003, I have been photographing live music. I started with automatic cameras at local Arizona shows, capturing moments purely for the joy and sentimentality of it. Over time, my insatiable appetite for concerts, relentless dedication to documenting experiences, and pursuit of artistic excellence led me to embrace photography professionally. But my history with cameras stretches much further back.
My maternal grandfather was always behind a camera, documenting our time together long before I was in grade school. My elder sister, Nicole, delighted in using her Polaroid camera to take candid shots of unsuspecting family members. My parents encouraged our creativity, arming my sisters and me with disposable cameras on vacations and introducing us to the magic of panoramic photography. I carried my camera everywhere—capturing my friends during recess and snapping shots of animals at the zoo on field trips.
Our love for storytelling extended into video, too. My father bought a camcorder, and my sisters and I spent hours creating one-shot music videos and skits. Naturally, I took it upon myself to document our vacations.
Music has always been my lifeblood. It runs through my family just as deeply as photography. We had a piano in the house—my mother and big sister played, and I eagerly followed, taking lessons from my school’s music teacher. Nicole sang in the school chorus, a path I couldn’t wait to follow, and I fell in love with the alto saxophone in band class. Meanwhile, my father was the lead singer of a rock band, and our home was filled with instruments, sound equipment, and his vast vinyl collection, which I explored endlessly. To this day, few things soothe me like the sound of a piano or an acoustic guitar.
Nicole took gymnastics, my younger sister Heather took ballet, and after mastering swimming and diving, I joined her as a ballerina. Later, I trained in many other forms of dance. Heather was also by my side for many of my earliest concert experiences, a tradition that further intertwined my love for music and movement.

I was fortunate to have an incredible photography professor in college—an admirably strict yet kind German woman—who allowed me to use high-ISO film for my assignments so I could capture concerts. She introduced me to my first SLR camera and taught me how to develop film and prints by hand. Her lessons instilled in me the foundational principles that continue to define my work today.
One of my primary media arts teachers – a charismatic, loud, constantly storytelling lesbian from Wisconsin – taught me to use Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe Creative Suite in many ways, and she gave me more valuable tools and knowledge than I ever could have anticipated while majoring in web design. The diverse skill set I was gifted with, along with the editing standards ingrained in me through her legendary teaching, have truly given me an arsenal against my competition.
Another influential mentor, my primary Media Arts professor, was a charismatic, storytelling powerhouse—an animated and expressive lesbian from Wisconsin. She taught me to use Photoshop and the Adobe Creative Suite in ways I never could have anticipated while majoring in Web Design. Thanks to her legendary teaching, I developed an expansive skill set that transcends individual disciplines—allowing me to integrate expertise from multiple fields and set my work apart from the competition.
To me, there is almost no subject unworthy of being captured through a lens. I thrive on the challenge of making even the mundane feel alive. Photography has opened my eyes and heart to so many things I might never have explored otherwise.
Naturally, I am compelled to shoot performing arts and all things artistic, and I would love to have the opportunity to photograph more travel and animals. I have an affinity for the unique and interesting, which draws me to capture fashion shows and alternative-style weddings in addition to traditional subjects like traditional weddings and graduations. I am also happy to be a LGBTQ+ wedding photographer, celebrating love in all its forms and capturing brides in dresses that defy tradition.

I run a media, design, and branding business named Kataklizmic Design, an independent online publication called Burning Hot Events, and I manage a wonderful community of photographers and journalists that contribute to that webzine — Team Kataklizmic. I have more than a decade-long web design and development career behind me that goes back to 2007. I also do freelance production gigs on the side, playing the roles of Production Assistant, Camera Assistant, and Photographer for things like tv shows, ad campaigns, corporate videos, and films.
I run Kataklizmic Design, a media, design, and branding business, as well as Burning Hot Events, an independent online publication covering the music scene and arts. Alongside my incredible team of photographers and journalists—Team Kataklizmic—I strive to amplify the voices of artists through compelling imagery and storytelling. My background includes web design and development experience dating back to 1998, with professional work starting in 2007. Additionally, I take on freelance production gigs as a Production Assistant, Camera Assistant, and Photographer for television shows, ad campaigns, corporate videos, and films.
At my core, I am a passionate observer of aesthetics, dedicated to creating eye-catching images that help others see the world through my eyes. Photography, to me, is almost altruistic—a way to remind people of the beauty that surrounds them, even when they’ve forgotten to look.
If you are looking for a photographer with both heart and professionalism, contact me.
~ Katherine Amy Vega ~
