Nancy Cavender-Garcia began photography in 1984 when she took it up as a hobby. She learned traditional film development and printing at the Southwest School of Art and continued learning photography as a personal pursuit until 1992. In 1992 Cavender-Garcia moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue photography on a more professional level. It was in Albuquerque that her photographic skills grew to a more fine art level. She graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in fine art photography in 1997 and her Master of Fine Arts in a 2001. Cavender-Garcia came home to San Antonio in 2001 where she has taught studio arts and is skilled with both traditional and digital photography. She has extensive experience in non-silver processes, hand coloring photographs and pinhole photography. Cavender-Garcia received The Southwest School of Arts and Craft 2005 Award for Teaching. She has taught a variety of classes at locations such as The Southwest School of Art, The University of the Incarnate Word, Cambridge Elementary School, San Antonio Community College and at The Art Institute of San Antonio. She has worked for many years with the Picture Your World program, a part of the Green Spaces Alliance in San Antonio. Through this program thousands of children have been introduced to photography and the wonders of nature. Cavender-Garcia has been teaching since 1998 and her goal is to help individuals achieve their goals in photography and add creativity to their lives.