We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek Culver and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derek, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m originally from Issaquah, Washington- not a great state weather wise, to be interested in the night sky, however growing up next to the forest on a mountain in Issaquah allowed me and the neighbor kids plenty of room to run around and hit each other with sticks, build forts, and do outdoorsy shit. Being a millennial, I’m 29 now, we were probably the last generation that had a healthy balance of nature and technology. Not only did we get awesome Halo LAN parties carrying TV’s and Xboxes to a central house in the neighborhood, but we also played backyard sports and threw dog p**p at each other for fun. That kind of childhood uniquely prepared me to be pretty tech savvy but also enjoy time out in nature, a hard balance to strike. My Father, worked his butt off in finance and real estate to make a prosperous life for our family, but also was extremely bright and interested in STEM. He was a voracious learner, and I luckily benefited from him regurgitating, in simpler forms, all the interesting physics, science, and technology topics he would read in his weekly Scientific America articles and online. Plus he, or Santa (I’m 99% sure it was him but that’s off topic), bought me a Biblical proportion of Star Wars movies, games, and legos for me to play with as a kid which I believe subconsciously made me more interested in stars, space, and all the technological potential that lays above us!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One thing that sets me apart as an artist, is something I used to be ashamed of: My emotional issues from pain I used to carry as a child, and the toxic relationships I suffered from as a child that made it hard for me to make friends, connect with others, and carry healthy relationships as an adult. Without getting bogged down in specifics, I used astrophotography as a creative outlet to help process a lot of pain and emotion I carried with me into adulthood from my childhood. Obviously being a little out of whack emotionally, isn’t great in a professional setting… However for art, it was one of the greatest driving energies that led me to my success today. The emotional turmoil I felt inside gave me the courage to leave a comfy 9-5 job behind, pursue a great adventure to figuring myself out through my night photography, and to yearn for healthy connection with other people. I spent years pouring that energy into my night photography- it was a therapy for me! And boy, did I need a lot of therapy. Eventually if you do something enough, you get good at it. In hindsight looking back of the years I spent, mostly alone, living in my car on the road driving out to dark sanctuaries where I could create art and reflect, was one of the biggest blessing in my life. Astrophotography involves a lot of driving out to the middle of nowhere, away from people and city lights, and sitting under the cosmos- a very conducive environment for introspection. I’m really grateful that astrophotography helped me figure my shit out emotionally, and you can see in many of my images the unique human connection and scale I put into my work as I craved and worked internally to find equilibrium and peace within myself, and the universe.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fill up the gas tank, cooler, and drive off into the remote backcountry of Canyonlands, Grand Stair-case Escalante, or the Rocky Mountains. We would 4×4/overland into a remote place and camp for several nights under the stars, exploring hidden arches, petroglyphs, and beautiful views out away from people and light pollution. National Parks are also a great candidate if my friend was new to doing outdoorsy adventures, and would take them to any of the big 5 parks in Utah or the Grand Canyon to get their feet wet. There’s nothing like being alone in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by immense natural beauty, under the night sky.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Dad! He worked his butt off and sacrificed his own passions to make sure I had the best education, opportunities, and life available to explore my interests. His hard work allowed me the luxury to pursue my passions, his work ethic bestowed upon me as sense of confidence that I could succeed at whatever I put my mind to, and he supported me in every way imaginable that a Father could support a son. I tried out a cornucopia of hobbies (I had a lot of failed 1 night stands with different passions, even Archery and climbing), failed down a lot of avenues, and my Dad gave me the space and support to figure things out. My Dad’s love of reading, learning, and creative problem solving; he had to creatively solve a lot of tough situations as a young man; definitely helped form me into the curious and creative type. Although he helped pay for my bow and arrow and a few other hobbies, his curiosity, creativity, toughness, and work ethic were the most valuable thing he could of ever equipped me with!

Website: www.blazingheavens.com

Instagram: clanger_mcbanger

Other: TikTok: clanger_mcbanger

Image Credits
All my photos.

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