About

LISA MAST

Storyteller | Educator | Entrepreneur

Hi, I’m Lisa. Welcome!

For me, photography, music, and travel are all about stories. I capture them, tell them, create them, teach them, and sometimes I’m even in them! I’m here to help you with your stories – whether it’s organizing, preserving, sharing, publicizing, or improving your skills to tell them.

As you can see, I’ve had a camera in my hands for quite a while! The story goes that I had been “playing photographer” with an empty film box (remember those long boxes with multiple rolls?), so my grandma decided to gift me her old camera for Easter in 1983. I guess some personal characteristics are established early, like curly hair, wearing big sunglasses, enjoying a good laugh, and keeping a camera nearby.

I’m so glad you’re here and I’m excited to help you enjoy your photos and tell your stories! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for a glimpse behind the scenes, tips, a few stories, and a bit of travel.

Lisa Mast
Owner, Scissortail Digital

p.s. Not quite sure what you need or how this works? Explore the site to learn more and CONNECT WITH ME.

ten things

Scissortail Digital is all about JOY and STORIES and how those intersect through photos and other forms of media. It’s my goal to help you eliminate the stress of feeling overwhelmed by all your photos, to feel empowered to build your skills and experience, and for you to focus on the joy in capturing, preserving, and telling your stories.

FYI: The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma.

I got my first passport at age two and one of my earliest memories is feeding a kangaroo in Australia. Returning to Australia with my whole family was definitely a major highlight of 2019 and those memories, photos, and videos are a regular source of joy – especially given how the world changed in 2020.

I’m an Enneagram 1w2 and Myers-Briggs ENFJ, so I guess some of my organization and planning skills come with my personality.

I firmly believe the best camera is the one in your hand AND that all cameras are simply tools that require knowledge, skill, and expertise to use them to their full potential. You can have the most expensive camera in the world, but the photos won’t be great if you don’t know how to use it. I also believe anyone with the knowledge, skill, and expertise can create great images with any camera. The camera is really only as good as the photographer who uses it.

What’s my go-to gear? Christopher and I love our WANDRD camera bags, Sony mirrorless cameras (Alpha 1, Alpha 7 R III, Alpha 7C), Insta360, GoPros, and – always and forever – our iPhones.

My biggest travel, cultural, and professional adventure, by far, was living and teaching in Albania. I visit whenever I have a chance and love exploring throughout the Balkans.

Macchiato is often my drink of choice in places that actually know coffee (Notion Espresso is the best in Tulsa), though I often drink tea at home. I do love a good dirty chai latte (chai + espresso), which is sort of the best of both worlds!

I’m also a choral conductor and music educator, which fortunately pairs quite nicely with a passion for travel, cultures, photography, and stories! I absolutely believe that music is for everyone and I’ve taught university students, toddlers, community members, and anyone in between, though my teaching now is usually beyond the traditional four walls and structure of academia. (And has also required many additional hats to be worn, including those for photography, media, design, and lots of technology…)

Yup, my hair is naturally curly and I usually like it.

Confession: I have a bit of a scarf addiction…it’s rather serious. When packing to move to Albania, I weighed them all and had to make some serious decisions. Any guesses of the total? Hint: it was almost twice what some airlines allow for carry-on luggage weight.

A favorite photo/video project: A surprise video for my nephew’s birthday, with footage of him from infancy onward, including Happy Birthday videos from friends and family around the world and a cousin’s engagement announcement no one in our immediate family knew about until they watched the video! I recorded our family’s reactions and included it in the final version of the film.

While I love working on my personal projects, I am so delighted every single time I’m able to help a client with their photos and see the joy they experience from their photos and memories. It’s the best!

It seems there may just be another shutterbug in the family and Aunt Lisa doesn’t mind a bit! He’s a pretty handy assistant and a frequent photo subject when he hasn’t nabbed my gear for his own use.