Shepherdstown resident Pang Tubhirun stands in front of her new business, Skull City Studio, which is located at 105 South Princess Street. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Looking back to when she first moved to Shepherdstown, Pang Tubhirun remembered it feeling like the perfect place for a professional wedding photographer like her to live, due to the town’s vibrant, artistic atmosphere. But over the past few years, as Tubhirun and her husband, Shane, began expanding their family, she became increasingly aware that the town’s unique spirit was dying away — a fact she was not willing to take lying down.

And so, in 2024, Tubhirun began making plans to bring back the community-minded, artistic atmosphere to Shepherdstown.

“There was a time in Shepherdstown, in my 20s, where it was very vibrant,” Tubhirun, who is a graduate of Salt Institute for Documentary Photography, said. “We would have art shows in each other’s apartment and at the Blue Moon Cafe, and there was music everywhere! At some point, the art scene has become a little sleepy, but it’s still there! There’s stuff under the rumblings.

“I felt like we did need a space, to help revitalize that — bring the art scene back to life again and bring individual artists out of their individual places and together,” Tubhirun said.

This past December, she opened up a studio pace to serve that purpose. Skull City Studio is located at 105 South Princess Street, in the former home of The Gallery at 105, an art gallery that permanently closed in Aug. 2024.

Shepherdstown resident Pang Tubhirun, right, takes a tintype of Charles Town residents Olivia Loy and Alden Roth in Skull City Studio on Feb. 8. Tabitha Johnston

“This will be an art and community space,” Tubhirun said, mentioning she is currently renting the location. “We’re hoping to host gallery shows, art swap nights, clothes swap nights and workshops. This is the space where we’re hoping to bring community, to learn art, and to build camaraderie and bring the vibrant art scene back to Shepherdstown.”

She noted that a portion of this “third place” — a location that facilitates social interaction outside of work or home — will also serve as a permanent studio space for her analogue photography.

“During the pandemic, a lot of us stopped working. I wanted to slow down a bit, myself, because this wedding world is very fast!” Tubhirun said, mentioning that she spent some of this time developing new artistic skills, along with caring for her daughter. “I learned this analogue photography style from a local artist, who lives in Paw Paw. I loved it so much, that I continued to do it even after the pandemic ended, on the side of wedding photography. Now, I do both! I do pop-ups and private sessions for tintypes, as well as digital photography.”

All of this — her documentary-style digital photography for weddings, her tintype photography and her third place — will be managed under the umbrella of her business, Pangtography. More information about her business can be found at https://pangtography.com/.

“We’ll have a lot of stuff on the weekend and during specific weekdays and specific timeframes, but we won’t be open all of the time, because I do still have my own business and a five-year-old daughter to care for,” Tubhirun said.