We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Olivas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am and astrophotographer and I learned simply by doing. I earned a minor in photography from University but honestly didn’t really learn that much about the craft or making a living out of it. Photography is one of those things that you have to experiment a lot with, and fail a lot with. I often have visions in my head of what I want to create and sometimes I can produce those and sometimes not. It’s a very trial and error craft. I shoot astrophotography and when I was first learning I only had the opportunity to shoot during the night. I had limited time away from my family, I would head out once everyone is asleep so I was literally always shooting in the dark. Had I spent more time scouting in the daytime and playing with my gear with light I would have learned faster. However, the lessons I learned stick with me longer and allow me to empathize better with people who want to learn astrophotography.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an astrophotographer and educator. I went to University to learn biology and I minored in photography. I always played around with photography and videography on the side but began a career as a teacher right after college. Conveniently, the content I taught in science was related to the science of light as well as astronomy. This became a no brainer so I started to dive into astrophotography. First, to bring some excitement to my classrooms. Learning what amazing photos you can take of the night sky with simple cameras really blew my students minds and mine as well. I then had a baby and suddenly I had virtually no time to myself during the day. This meant that my only me time would be a night, so I started taking off in the middle of the night to start shooting stars. I was hooked and soon all my free weekends revolved around shooting the night sky in far off places. I’ve come full circle and have been able to incorporate much of my astrophotography into my class and lessons as well as small group workshops with adults. I combine my skills as an educator on how to build community, have patience, and share the excitement/empowerment of learning with anyone who wants to tag along on a night time adventure. I really love to support people who want to get into astrophotography by provide them a safe, fun, and communal experience in my workshops. It’s pretty scary for most people to head out to far off remote places to shoot the stars(which is where you want to be if you want to avoid light pollution) so I try my best to use my experience and accelerate their learning. Doing anything new in the dark it tough so helping people in workshops allows them to lear quickly and experiment freely,. M<any people don’t know the potential of their gear or they’re afraid to push its limits. My workshops make space for that and we have a lot of fun in the process.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think continuously being creative and pushing yourself past your boundaries is always a challenge. It also means having the experience to be able think on your feet in unexpected situations. A big part of my astrophotography is lining up incredible shots with the sun, moon and stars. I spend a lot of time planning out and mapping locations where I can get interesting alignments. During the incredible comet NEOWISE I was able to meticulously plan a shot with two rock climbers perfectly silhouetted by the comet on a huge rock formation in Joshua Tree National Park. Everything I have planned for lined up perfectly. I was very proud of this shot but it got little recognition. Another instance I had planned a similar shot but with a lunar eclipse this time. The forecast was dire, clouds were supposed to be in the area all the way until the last minute. My team tried anyways, got into our positions, and prayed that the skies would clear and my calculations were correct. They were indeed correct and the clouds parted. I was able to capture my proudest photograph of rock climbers perfectly silhouetted by the rising blood moon. This photo ended up winning a few photo contests and was shortlisted in the most prestigious astrophotography contests in the world. I knew even before shooting it that I was going to have a blast wether we got the shot or whether it got recognition or not. My resilience simple came from my desire to continue to be creative and trust in my skills and vision.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the ability to share it with others. As an educator I’m constantly thinking of ways to incorporate my passions into learning. This goes for when I’m educating young students in the classroom as well as adults during workshops in the field. There is not greater feeling that sharing something you love with someone and seeing their spark also begin. That how community is built and I absolutely love that. This also happens a bit by sharing photos online and inspiring people. I am always inspired when I see peers take a new perspective on photography, shoot something unreal, or really push their creative limits.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cholivas.com
• Instagram: cholivas
• Facebook: Chris Olivas Photography & Video
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thesetup2803

Image Credits
All images are mine, Chris Olivas