The short story –
22 years old. 7+ years photography experience, 3 in the wedding industry. Always learning and growing. Self taught photographer. Travel junkie. Enneagram 7, Wing 8. Self proclaimed artist at the age of 4. Animal lover. Full of dreams and the ambition to chase them. Aspiring author. Business degree. House Slytherin. A scatterbrained over organized mess. Busy bee, always. Cozy clothes enthusiast. Collector of vintage cameras. Lover of iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso, a good book, and Italian food. Down for a good time, all the time.
The long story –
Hi. My name is Macee Michele, but I go by Mace (yes, exactly like the pepper spray. That’s actually a nickname my cousin gave me – Pepper Spray). I was born and raised in Western Nebraska, and I still call the Great Plains home. While that is true, I have a deep calling for travel – I want to go everywhere and experience everything – I dream of someday living a nomadic lifestyle. Everywhere I go, I find a new home and I feel like a piece of my soul comes alive for the first time.
When I am deep in the mountains surrounded by pine and wildflowers, my lungs seem to inhale for the first time, I can feel my skin dancing with the breeze sifting through the branches surrounding me, and an intense calm fills my entire being.
When I am wading in the salty Pacific with sand in my hair, I feel my entire body sync up with the beat of the waves until my breathing, heartbeat, the pumping of the blood in my veins – everything – is one with the water.
When I am one of thousands on the same street, a constant buzzing in my ears and I am under the lights that never sleep – a vibrant, lively energy overtakes me. I can feel the static build under my skin until it almost erupts.
Everywhere I travel to, this happens. A new piece of me wakes up, proclaims its new home, and I leave it there when I go. All these new places, people and experiences that I encounter puts everything I know into a new perspective – almost like I’m looking at the world through a new lens. Something about being in a completely new and unknown environment makes me feel the same way.
Fresh. Unknown. A blank slate.
Its intoxicating.
Okay, I got off track – that happens a lot. I’ll dive all the way into traveling and why it is the ultimate high in a later post, but for now, I’ll get back to introducing myself. This is a photography blog, so let’s jump into that.
I’ve been behind the camera since 2016. I’ve evolved from a high school yearbook journalist, a newspaper stringer, a sports photographer, a hobbyist portrait and landscape photographer, to where I am now – a professional wedding, lifestyle and portrait photographer. I’m entirely self taught, and I am constantly looking for more ways to learn and grow. With every image I take, I take with the intention of creating art that will be passed down for generations. This business of mine is only starting – I have dreams for MMP and they are BIG.
While photography is my true love, its definitely not my only gig. I’ve always wanted to make a difference, to leave a mark on the world, and I have found two ways to accomplish that goal that makes my heart soar. In one half of my life, I get to capture singular moments that are as fleeting as the birds in the sky for my clients to keep forever. In the other half I get to care for and provide dignity in life to the residents I work with as a certified nursing assistant at my local nursing home.
Outside of my life in photography and healthcare, I am so much more. I’m a daughter to an extremely successful entrepreneur, a volunteer firefighter and EMT, a kind and humble man (my father), and a former paraprofessional, now activities assistant for the same nursing home I work at, a crafter, a dutiful and compassionate woman (my mother). I’m the sister to a United States Marine Scout Sniper, the funniest person I know, an adventurer, a brave and extremely smart young man (my baby bother). I’m the mom to three house cats (Patches, Luka, Willow) and two barn cats (Sailor, Meeko). I am an avid reader (I’ve read over 80 books in the past year alone), and an aspiring author (I am currently writing my debut novel and working on other concepts as well). A traveler (I have so many places under my belt and I am currently planning over 15 major trips for the next three years), a tattoo lover (I have five currently), a dreamer (the plans I have – for this business of mine, books I want to write, places I want to go – are absolutely endless), a collector of vintage cameras (the current count is 62), an absolute foodie (Mexican and Italian food ALWAYS), a caffeine addict (I blame the three years I worked as a barista). I am a college graduate, and hold a degree in Associates of Applied Science in Business. I love to ice fish in the winter and kayak in the summer – and I am always incredibly impatient for both (I have my gear ready to go at the first freeze of the year and my kayak in the water the second the ice starts to melt). I am an Enneagram Type 7, Wing 8 (career driven, open minded, free-spirited), House Slytherin (ambitious, determined, desire success), a Cancer sun (loving, intuitive, protective), Aquarius moon (curious, independent, self-reliant), Taurus rising (creative, hardworking, matter-of-fact). I am a big believer in what is meant to happen, will. The idea that one day when I am old and grey, I might look back on my life and realize I didn’t live the life I dreamed of as a little girl, absolutely terrifies me. If I have a dream or a goal, I chase it with everything in me. I hate regrets and do everything in my power to avoid having them.
Okay, wow, if you read all that, you officially know me better than anyone else. So for now, I’ll leave it at that. Welcome to my blog, my home on the internet, a place to put all my thoughts. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you want to come back soon.
All my love,
M.
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