All photos courtesy of Christopher Boats Oshana
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Christopher Boats Oshana; I am US Navy Veteran, a full time employee of the DOD (Department of Defense) and photographer/owner of Oshana Digital Productions. I quality control enlistment contract during the day and in the afternoon I do commercial and fine art photography.
How did you get your start?
I started to take photos on my first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea back in 1985, but had to stop because someone stole my camera. In 2006 I picked it one up again and took a photo of one of my 2 year old twins around Christmas playing with the tree. A friend of mine Carol Ray told me to send it into a photo contest, I did and it was published.
What inspires you?
I think it is life that inspires me, I want everyone to see what I see. As a person we can only see what is in front of us and not see what others see, so I want to really make sure people appreciate what they are missing, life through my eyes.
What do you like about AZ?
I love being able to go from the desert to the mountains and back, there is so much history whether we are in Sedona soaking up the beautiful red rocks, in the White Tank Mountains seeing the petroglyphs or on the lake up in Parker soaking up the wonderful water.
Where can we see you(r) work?
At this time you can see my work on one of four Facebook Pages: Christopher BOATS Oshana; PTSD, The Invisible Scar; Oshana Digital Productions; and Stories of Their Sacrifices: PTSD. As soon as I am able to design a website I will have one.
What would you like to accomplish before you die?
One of my greatest accomplishments I would like to have done is raise my kids to be kind and descent people, but when it comes to my work I would like to be able to help spread enough awareness for PTSD to help Veterans secure the help they need and possibly prevent a senseless death by suicide.
What is your mantra?
You could say that my mantra is Honor, Courage and Commitment. I honor those that are close to me as well as those around me, I have the courage to keep refining my craft and to make the right choices in life and I am committed to be a person with high morals and standards that I learned in the military.
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