We were lucky to catch up with Kara Marcus recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned how to do what I do with deep space astrophotography simply because I posed the question of how to image space to my husband. He and I fell down the rabbit hole of the “how to’s” of deep space imaging together, and are still falling today. Make no mistake, this passion we share is purely hobby, but the technical aspects of it is certainly the most professional level of anything I’ve ever taken on before.

Honestly, the only thing that can help speed up the learning process of this hobby is budgeting and finance because the more upgrades in telescope equipment you get, the more there is to learn about it. We started with a small tripod and camera lens, then went to a small equitorial tracking mount, added a telescope, added an electronic focuser, kept adding and adding, and now we have two observatories in our backyard; one that houses a scope for my husband’s gear, and one that houses my scope and gear too!

I think the skills that were most essential for this hobby were a foundation of photography for both my husband and I. My husband was a photography enthusiast in high school and prior to taking on deep space imaging, I was a general photographer myself. I photographed anything from theater press photos, to landscapes and airshows, and for fun I photographed lightning and water droplets. It was when I began shooting the Milky Way that I started wondering how to get an even closer look into the universe, and the rest (as they say) is history. I do think that a good foundation of photography and camera work helped big time in getting both my husband and I started on this “stellar” journey.

I think the main obstacles that stand in the way of learning more will continue as we go. The critical one is the light pollution we face in the city. This issue is not only going to stay an issue, but it will only continue to get worse as the population grows. We need to protect our night skies so that we don’t lose our beautiful view of the past written in the stars. Another obstacle of shooting within in the city is obstacles themselves. While we have a fairly open view of the sky from our backyard, there are houses and trees around that we just have to live with until we can hopefully have a more rural property to set up the observatories on.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into deep space imaging for so many reasons it’s hard to narrow down. I think that it started as a “wonder if I can even do it” question. What it gave back to me is what I never saw coming. I found purpose in it and it grounded me and my thinking. It showed me my place in this vast universe, and how special that place is.

I provide images of the celestial heavens such as nebulae and galaxies.

I think I’m most proud of my outcomes. The more you shoot space, the clearer your images of space become. It’s one thing to see a space image from NASA, it’s another thing to see it through your own images. I feel as though I am literally reaching for the stars in many ways.

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

I’ve had my fair share…

7 jaw surgeries, two divorces, and a bipolar diagnosis are just the bullet points of some of the difficulties I’ve faced on this journey. It wasn’t until I got my bipolar diagnosis and proper medication that my clouded thinking cleared up and I started experiencing life in a new and genuine way. That was 9 years ago, but I feel as though the bipolar journey, and navigating my way through, has been the thing that saved my life in a lot of ways. It’s hard to explain, almost like sobering up from an addiction. I was one way, and now I’m another, and the lessons that have come with navigating mental illness have molded me in ways I can’t explain. I have always considered myself a woman of strength as opposed to a strong woman because it is in the journey where I have become strong. I know that if I hadn’t gone through the intense pain of those 7 jaw surgeries, that I might have very well not survived my bipolar diagnosis. Perspective is everything, and I think that’s why I’m also very drawn to imaging the universe. Witnessing your connection to greatness is a perspective like no other, and that is exactly what gazing up at the stars and imaging celestial phenomena reminds of us; our connection to the stars.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Honestly, my only goal or mission with regards to imaging space is to share beauty with an ugly world, to try and remind humanity of the bigger picture and how special and unique our place in space is, both as a species, but as individuals as well. Bipolar disorder has an extremely high rate of suicide attached to it, and as an advocate for mental wellness, I feel as though I have somewhat of a responsibility to help share with others the beauty of the universe in an effort to remind people that they are part of an extraordinary design, and can never be a waste of space.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkms_spaceshots/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kara.marcus.9
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bekindtoyourmind143