Conversations with Christopher Oshana

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Oshana.

Hi Christopher, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well, here is my story of me, I am a father of five, a widow, a US Navy Veteran (1984-2004), and a photographer. My greatest inspiration is life and what it has to offer. I started taking photos when I enlisted in the U. S. Navy, but I was never able to truly pursue my passion because of my time in the service.

After I retired from service in our country, I picked up the camera again, and it was a photo of one of my twin daughters, in 2006 that reignited my passion. I used my GI Bill benefits to go to college to pursue my photography degree and as I was sitting in my Art Marketing class, in 2013, an amazing opportunity to put in for a grant at the monOrchid, which was a coworking/studio space, came up in class, so I did. I was awarded the grant!

The grant had to be a project “for the good”, I needed to give back and challenge myself with a project, I was participating in a lot of events in the Veteran community, and it was suggested that I photograph wounded warriors. I thought long and hard and it came to me that they had a spotlight on them at the time and the public knew what a wounded warrior looked like. But it was the warriors, that are visually in one piece but are really fighting for their lives daily.

Those are the ones with PTSD. PTSD plays havoc on the warrior, whether they are having nightmares, anger issues, depression, or other issues relating to it. These warriors have seen something that they cannot shake. I have been now working on that same project “PTSD, The Invisible Scar” for ten years, having a one-on-one, private interview and taking photos as we talk about their feeling, issues, and my list could go on.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been far from smooth, along with photographing the Veterans I had to learn lighting and the effects that studio lighting would play on the final product as well as pulling out the emotions in the photo because I had only used studio lighting a few times in college. One of the biggest pieces was ensuring the Veterans trusted me and that I was not out to do this project for myself and that I had their interest in mind. So, the rapport-building process was a key factor.

The good thing about the rapport building is that I had a common attribute with them, I am a veteran myself. I next had to learn how to pitch and promote the project. I started writing notes from time to time and finally put them all together. I edited it, let it stew, edited it, and let it stew and edited it again. I finally got something I could work with and needed veterans to volunteer. Which met getting the info to the people, I looked to Craigslist, FB, Google+, as well as other social media and Veteran groups.

The actual duration of the installation was another factor that I had no idea of that process, so I asked Justin Germain (the curator of the monOrchid Gallery at the time) what I needed to do. The advice was to print about 30 5X7 prints and lay them out to see what I wanted to view to see, i.e., the emotions of the condition.

My next step was to raise money for the printing and mounting of 10 prints, so I called on the public and did a Kick starter campaign, I was successful in raising $1200. And before I even photographed the first participant I was scared as “ALL HELL”, there had been so many horror stories about PTSD, and I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

The first Veteran answered my Craigslist ad, he came into the studio to find out about the project and to see if he was going to be able to help. About 30 minutes into the interview, I noticed him getting a little fidgety, so I asked if he was alright, he said I feel like someone is running right at me with a fixed bayonet ready to kill me. I thought to myself OMG and thought do I really need someone here as an assistant or a doctor or anything else?

A few minutes more went by, and he said that he would be ok. And yes as the years have progressed and the gaining of experience came into play it did get easier until COVID and Cancer at the same time, not me being diagnosed with but my wife of 22 years being diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer, that put a total halt on everything in my life except for trying to make sure she was comfortable, was at her appointments, and all the way up to the point of her passing on 26 December 2021. So no, the road has not been smooth, but I continue to push the project and my art.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Photography is my passion, but I am a Department of Defense employee and work at the US Army Recruiting Headquarters here in Phoenix for the last 13 years. When I am out photographing though I specialize in landscape and historical little out-of-the-way places such as Christmas, Winkleman, Bouse, Globe, and another little town in Arizona. I am most proud of a trip and photo I took in Greer, AZ, I went to interview and photograph a longtime friend of my late wife, Suzi for the PTSD project.

After we finished her session, we went out and about on her quad, we came across a herd of wild horses, I had the camera and took the shot. I had been invited to participate in one of Phoenix’s most prestigious shows, Chaos Theory which one of the producers of The Downtown Chamber Series was attending and asked to have my piece as their announcement photo. I think what sets me apart from others is the honesty in my photos, I ensure that the photo is ready in camera prior to taking and only edit to enhance not to detract from what I was intending.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
The best thing that I have ever done for me in the last couple of years was joining a group called Merging Vets and Players, it is a community of Brothers and Sister that share each other strengths, and experiences and supports each other whether we are male or female, combats veteran or professional athlete, we have each other’s back.

I look forward to our weekly workout at Liberty Performance Training and our huddle after, sometimes we need to hear what other are pressing through in order to keep our minds on the good thing that life has to offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ptsdtheinvisiblescar.myportfolio.com/ptsd-the-invisible-scar
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopheroshana/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.b.oshana/
• Other: https://oshanadigitalproductions.smugmug.com

Image Credits
Chuck, Ace, George, Zue, and JJ