Local artist captures nature's beauty after much tragedy

The Do you pARTSeries is a new addition to the Longmont Leader. In this series, we will share a local artist's favorite work while sharing a little bit about them. Artists are asked for fill out a questionnaire and send digital photos or videos of their art to [email protected]. All art styles are accepted and will be published at the discretion of the editor.  

Misty Schultz-McCoy is a photographer who captures the beauty of Colorado's landscapes, flowers as well as portraits. 

Schultz McCoy was not always a photographer. She spent several years as a Registered Nurse and in the food service industry before tragedy hit her family.

She and her first husband were is a car accident resulted in his death and severe injuries for her.

Now widowed, Schultz-McCoy was left to raise their three young children on her own while dealing with immense pain. Through the journey, she struggled with a dependency on prescription medication.

"I’ve been completely clean for several years now but I never thought I would be able to live without it. Thankfully, I was wrong," Schultz-McCoy said.

Her journey to get clean led to the hobby of photography. Schultz-McCoy loves to hike and set a goal to hike trails in all 50 states. She began photographing the landscape during her hikes with only her phone and eventually transitioned to a Nikon 5600 DSLR.

"The beauty in nature inspires me to also create beautiful images so that others can experience a small part of what I see on my adventures," she said.

Three years ago, tragedy once again struck her household. While photographing a hike, Schultz-McCoy received a phone call to immediately return home. There she was greeted by two uniformed Marine casualty officers. The officers delivered the news that her son, LCPL Riley Schultz was shot and killed in the early morning hours of March 15, 2019 while on watch duty at Camp Pendleton near San Diego.

Schultz-McCoy said her photography continues to be inspired by her children, her husband and her two dogs — one of which is the most photogenic dog she has seen. However, she has struggled to find motivation to continue all of her hiking and photography pursuits. 

Although her journey has been difficult, she looks back on one of the last phone calls she had with her son. During this call he express how proud of her he was that she was "getting clean and growing my photography skills."