About Me

Hi, my name is Mandy Stadther, I am the founder of Kiwi-doodle-do.com. Thank you for finding your way to my little corner of the world!

I was raised in New Zealand, where time outdoors and close attention to the natural world were part of everyday life. Over the years I have travelled to remote parts of Africa, India and to Antarctica and its subantarctic islands, spending time in places shaped by wildlife and landscape.

Many of the animals and scenes in my work come from what I have seen and experienced along the way. Kiwi-Doodle-Do grew out of homesick days — remembering familiar traditions, animals, and rural life, and finding ways to bring those memories to life. This collection is my little world — built around character, detail, and small, familiar moments.

I now live in Minneapolis, USA where I have owned and run a photography studio for twelve years. Four decades of working with photography — from darkrooms to one-hour labs and beyond — taught me how to work with light, composition, and expression, and those skills carry directly into my artwork.

I use AI openly as part of my creative process, alongside traditional photographic and design tools, and I’m clear about how it’s used. Using AI well still depends on experience, judgement, and a consistent visual approach. It isn’t automatic; each image needs direction, adjustment, and a steady hand to ensure it fits within a larger body of work.

I guide every piece from the beginning, shaping scenes carefully and refining them over time, making many small decisions around mood, colour, character, and detail. Those choices give the work continuity and feeling, and they come from years of working visually. AI is simply another tool in that process, helping me bring ideas together in a way that feels thoughtful, personal, and true to how I see the world.

A selection of my photography from Africa and Antarctica is available on Fine Art America, linked on the banner, and reflects the same skills and way of seeing that informed my work long before AI was part of the process.