We were lucky to catch up with Estée Ochoa recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Estée, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Self love is my greatest defense. Then there is genetics; my parents and the ancestors who survived before me. Also pain and hardship. Pain can often turn into immense strength. No one gets out of life without experiencing pain and loss. We are never alone in this regard. There are so many humans living through horrendous realities.
I had a rough childhood with lots of beauty as well, but the rough is what made me tough early on. The bad circumstances gave me something to push against. I knew at a young age, the dysfunction I did not want to recreate or entertain, and could imagine the life I wanted to create for myself. The hardships helped to define my goals and boundaries. Setting boundaries for yourself and others is the most practical tool for nurturing resilience. I know a person is healthy when they are clear about their boundaries.
Finally, just recognizing the nature of success and how it comes with haters. It’s a package deal. You just are not going to win them all, especially in today’s culture with our online personas. Find resilience in knowing that mean people are unhappy people. I stopped taking everything personally and accepted that I have no idea what is going on in someone’s head or the circumstances they are living through in their own life. I find resilience in not assuming someone’s bad energy is about me. Compassion is a form of healthy resilience.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a photographer based in Joshua Tree, California. I founded Open Air Foto in 2020, a photography service studio, when we left LA and moved to the high desert. I still have family roots in the city, and I moonlight in Los Angeles and the beach cities when the right opportunities arise. Portraiture, documentary and film set stills have been my bread and butter, but I also enjoy exhibiting my artwork. I recently began to participate in the HWY 62 Studio Art Tours. It is a big exhibition that happens annually in October, where artists open their studios to the general public.
Joshua Tree National Park receives over 3 million visitors per year. I initially started Open Air Foto to capture the tourist clientele in our desert backdrop but I immediately grew another arm in my skill set and began shooting homes for interior designers and builders.
We love the desert and our quality of life, but realized quickly that there were not many enrichments for our child here. So I began teaching art and art history to kids. Teaching has been so rewarding and reignited my interest in art therapy. Witnessing the meditative powers of art and the joy it sparks in the soul pushed me to go back to school to get licensed as a therapist and offer the power of art therapy healing to the broader community.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Curiosity has worked well for me. I was open to the journey and was eager to learn and earn. I once heard someone describe getting old as just losing their curiosity, and I think it’s true. Curiosity can keep people inspired, motivated and forever young.
After college, I wanted to be a fashion stylist and decided to up and move to NYC to investigate the industry. I had never been there, and made a conscious choice to not project too many expectations on the move (or the city) but to just take a chance. I was open and not afraid to ask questions, meet people and take on opportunities that could teach and lead me to where I wanted to be. Once those opportunities presented themselves, I worked hard, kept my word and was consistent in being reliable.
My first promotion (in my twenties), from a magazine receptionist to fashion assistant, came when there was a problem and I handled it without being asked to. I am a self starter that goes the extra mile. There is no secret wisdom to having a good work ethic, the second quality that mattered most. Hard work does pay off and good service is great.
The third quality is my comfort with evolution, which goes hand-in-hand with curiosity. People grow, things change, and we should evolve with those changes. It is natural and healthy. When the times changed and culture went from print and film to online and digital I jumped right in and evolved. Many colleagues my age are burned out and uninspired while I am going back to school to learn more.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
By far the biggest area of growth has been my deeper understanding of perspective and that everyone’s is different – shaped by their own experiences and values. This has really empowered my ability to communicate my boundaries while not fearing tough conversations in both business and my personal life. Accepting the reality of perspective nurtures the compassion to communicate assertively with grace – otherwise known as empathy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.openairfoto.com
- Instagram: @openairfoto
Image Credits
Photos by ©Estée Ochoa
