Check Out Ruth Chapa’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Chapa.

Hi Ruth, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Texas, my family moved around quite a bit, always looking for the next best thing. We spent most of our years coming back and forward between Texas and Mexico. This was difficult at times, there were years when we were extremely poor. Looking back at it, being exposed to so many different types of people and environments has been incredibly beneficial to me.

As an introvert who spent her time mostly daydreaming, art was the thing that helped me release some energy. My grades were terrible, so it was nice having something I was good at. It has been an amazing tool that’s helped me connect with others, it seems to be the only constant in my life. After my parent’s divorce I landed in Georgia, they had a lot of art programs available in my new school, and I was thrilled. I took every single class I could, I couldn’t get enough. In 2006, I graduated from HS. With terrible grades and no money, college didn’t seem like it was an option for me. I worked at restaurants and warehouses, and I was miserable.

I met a boy on the internet, put all my shit in trash bags, and left Georgia to live in Nashville with him. I continued working at a warehouse, and after a few years there, I moved to the 3rd shift. 3rd shift meant I had four days off; I now had to fill my depression and boredom somehow. I would bake cakes, draw, paint, any little hobby I could find to fill the time, always jumping from one thing to another. I had a 35mm camera, and no access to the darkroom once I graduated, so photography took a backseat until I decided to buy myself a digital camera with my warehouse bonus! A canon T2i, I was beyond excited.

After getting this digital camera, photography was my new obsession. I started taking pictures of friends kids and landscapes. I then found a website called Model Mayhem and found models to work with. This really set me on a new path. That developed into working with model agencies, bands, and other artists in Nashville. Over the years, my new skills developed into my own style, and I started to make some money. Everything I learned was from YouTube, Google, and lots of trial and error, so the fact that people were paying me made me feel like I hit the lottery.

After a few years of trying to network, sharpening my skills as a photographer, getting published in magazines here and there, I started to get more curious about video work. In 2018, I landed 4 music videos, I felt on top of the world! Here was something new and exciting, that would help me expand as an artist. While those videos weren’t perfect, I felt very proud of them. I felt very proud of my career up to this point and was really looking forward to where life was headed.

Early 2019, that boy got sick. He was diagnosed with a very rare cancer, spindle cell sarcoma, stage 4. I had the 4th music video in the works, which I decided to finish through but I did not take on any more projects. Now, my only focus was to take care of him. We spent the rest of 2019 in and out of the hospital. January 2020, Nicholas passed. I was exhausted and completely broken. I wished the world to stop, and it did. Covid hit the US. I didn’t care, I planned on sleeping for the next few months anyway.

Late 2020, new to grief, I didn’t really know how to deal so I started therapy. I was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Learning about these new things explained a lot of my behavior and life up to this point. I was now fascinated with psychology and neuroscience, and I spent 2021 taking care of myself. Towards the end of that year, I started to feel like I could work again. Reached out to old friends, artists who I really enjoyed working with, to let them know I was back and ready to work with them.

Things have changed a bit for me. I don’t think my work will ever be the same. While I would still call myself a photographer and filmmaker, I would like to push myself to work on things that have a bit more depth. Things that truly bring me joy. I’m back to trial and error, experimenting more with the complexities of the human experience. Looking forward to working with other artists and connecting with others. Looking forward, once again, to where life is headed.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life has not been easy. Being a female of color, poor, with limited opportunities, at times made me feel like some things were just not possible for me.

Life has been filled with pain and struggle and sometimes it’s easy to feel like you’re just unlucky and life will always be this way. I’ve learned to see my past as lessons. Things that made me who I am today. Happy that I got to experience them. Lucky in a way; I wouldn’t be me exactly in this way if I didn’t experience them.

I now know that the world is full of possibilities, that I am strong and capable of handling anything. That while I’m not perfect, I’m eager to grow as a human and as an artist. I am looking forward to pushing myself through challenges and collecting the rewards on the other side.

Trying to be present for all the good things along the way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a photographer, filmmaker, and director. I specialize in conceptual work, working with artists to bring their visions to life.

I’d say, I’m mostly known for my photography work, but I am really proud of some of my video work. The video She Won’t Make Sense Introduction is one I am particularly proud of. It’s a short video intro for The Harmaleighs album, released in 2019.

This was my first video, the concept was sort of vague, we all showed up at the park and had a lot of fun. In the end, it all came together like a lovely giant puzzle. This opened my eyes to what my future work could be, and that was really exciting to me.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The best tool I’ve found has been Instagram. I’ve met a lot of great people there, and if you have social anxiety like me, it’s a lot easier than live events. If there is someone you admire I’d encourage you to message them, most people are happy to talk to you about their process.

Contact Info:

• Email: ruth.chapa@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.ruthchapa.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthchapa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuthChapaPhotography
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ruth_Chapa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChv8a-UHk6rYRoiL8uzAxw
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-140820530