A little about me

My photography journey started when I decided I wanted to get a telescope.

My story begins in 2018 when I visited the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, TX. This museum had many levels and one of those levels was a space one. I found myself wandering around it and came upon a Hubble image of the Mystic Mountain located in the Carina Nebula. I was stuck on this image and couldn’t look away so I snapped a picture of it on my phone so I wouldn’t forget it. This piqued my curiosity. So I decided in 2019 a yearish later that I wanted to buy a telescope.

I didn’t know where to begin. So I reached out on Facebook to my friends and family to see if anybody had any knowledge on this matter. A family member reached out and told me that I could rent a telescope from the library to try it out and get an idea so that was the route I took.

The telescope that was rented was an Orion StarBlast Reflector Telescope. I took it to a friend’s house and we aimed for the bright moon. It took us a bit to find it but when we did, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop looking at it. So when I had to give the telescope back to the library, I researched what I could on beginner telescopes and eventually purchased a 2nd hand Orion SkyQuest XT6 and just stared at the moon.

When the pandemic hit, that’s all I did. I began to try to take photos of the moon with my phone but I found that it was a bit difficult. I dabbled with the idea of making a big purchase and buying a DSLR camera to try to connect it to my telescope in hopes that it would be easier. I finally settled on a Nikon D5600 DSLR and took photography classes so I could know everything about my camera. While I was doing this though I found that I could take photos of the Milky Way with just my camera, a tripod, and a remote, so I decided to try that since I had never seen it.

After much research and asking a lot of questions, I felt confident enough to try it. My sister, her boyfriend, my cousin, and I went to the Bonneville Salt Flats here in Utah and I attempted to take a photo. To my surprise, I did things right and was able to snap some great photos of it and from there I was hooked on not only visually viewing space but also taking photos of it.

From there, I mustered up the courage to create an Instagram account for my photos and started to build connections and met some great friends along the way. I was asked to join an all-female astrophotography group called S.T.E.L.A and I did! I’ve met some lifelong friends in this hobby and through a lot of hard work, I’ve gained confidence in what I’m doing. I know there’s still a lot to learn and I’m ready for it.

Thanks for hearing me out and I hope you enjoy viewing space as much as I do.

Clear Skies,

Lydia Chacon