Fascinating Astrophotography with Darya Kawa Mirza
Short profile
Darya Kawa Mirza, born in 1993, is an astrophotographer and runs the successful Instagram channel @daryavaseum with over 750,000 followers. He lives in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Iraq. In this interview, he reveals more about his self-taught development as a photographer, what his first camera was and what inspires him.
6 QUESTIONS TO DARYA KAWA MIRZA
Can you tell us a bit about how you became a photographer? And tell us something about your pictures.
2007 when my dad bought me a digital camera which was a big deal at that time. Day after day I was teaching myself all the basics and important stuff related to the camera and their mechanics, like aperture, iso, shutter speed… Etc. This was a small step for me to begin my thousand miles journey, year after year my knowledge was expanding and having a new camera was crucial for me. Until 2014, finally bought a full-frame DSLR camera following with more equipment soon after. My curiosity for sky was never ending, I was always taking picture of stars and clouds, until I realized that telescopes are a thing that someone can own in their house, so I ordered a small one just to take some pictures of the moon BUT ! I didn’t realize this was the best decision I ever made.
Photo: Darya Kawa Mirza
Please share something about your images. What is your special interest? How do you choose the colors, composition, themes etc.?
Before I take a photograph, I will imagine the picture in my mind and then I try to capture a similar thing in real life, that’s the key features in my work, I used to be interested in landscape and portrait photography now I have a passion for astrophotography, for color I need to check other fellow photographer and choose something new and vivid so people were getting interested in and combine all this with surrounding weather if its cloudy, clean sky, or even hazy mainly I try to photograph something that people not used to see often so I can drive their attention.
Photo: Darya Kawa Mirza
Where does this interest come from?
Since I was a small child, I was obsessed with owning a camera and start shooting everything (sky, landscape, moon, nature).
How do you get inspired? And what inspires you the most? Films, books, or magazines? Or what surrounds you?
It inspired my family, people, and friends the most who encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing right now and always provide the best image possible.
Photo: Darya Kawa Mirza
What was your first camera?
Canon PowerShot SD750
What else should we know about you?
My name is Darya Kawa Mirza the owner of @daryavaseum Instagram channel, I’m an astrophotographer living in Erbil - Capital city of Kurdistan region in Iraq. I was born on 9th of august 1993. I’m an employee work with one of the government ministry and currently studying Master degree in soil science.
