We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Isaac Gautschi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Isaac below.

Isaac, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success. People can have different versions of what this can mean. In my own experience, I have seen people who are the most successful are the ones that aren’t afraid of failing. When they do fail, they get back up and figure out what went wrong and try again and again until they get it right. Personally, I am pretty obsessive and love to problem solve. So much of life is just solving problems. This can help a lot in business. To me, success means providing for my family, have the time to be present with them and live life to the fullest. To be able to do the things I love, with the people I love. My career started out as a hobby, people started asking me what I charged and it snowballed from there. The opportunity to make a good living doing what I am passionate is unreal. Grateful would be an understatement.

Isaac, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Isaac Gautschi and I am a photographer and videographer.

On April 27th, 2013 I picked up a camera and fell in love.

My story began after I graduated high school in 2011. I moved to Seattle to go to college and study computer science. I was working a couple jobs near Seattle, to put away money for school. After two years of saving for college, I was ready to enroll. Without any warning, everything I had worked for was taken away from me. On April 18th 2013, I was involved in a motorcycle accident. I was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where I was rushed into surgery. After gaining consciousness the doctor informed me I had multiple broken bones in both hands and my leg was seriously injured as well. This left me unable to use my hands or walk easily. I had to leave Seattle and move back into my parents house because I was unable to work let alone take care of myself. The only mobility in my hands was my right index finger. Before my accident my joy and passion in life was playing guitar. Not only did I lose my job, my apartment and any progress I had made in Seattle, I lost my ability to play guitar. I was extremely depressed and felt like the life that I was working for, was ending. On top of this, I had no health insurance so my medical bills were stacking up. That was possibly the lowest point of my life. In attempt to cheer me up my mom gave me her old digital camera to help take my mind off of things. She suggested I take it out and try to take pictures. I resisted at first but soon after decided to give it a shot. I discovered how to balance the camera on my cast and shoot with my index finger. Before I knew it, I could not stop taking pictures, it had become a part of me. I took that camera everywhere. Three months after that day, I started my business taking photographs and you would not believe the places it has taken me.

I want to share my story because I now know so much good can come out of horrible situations. At the time of my accident I felt my life I had envisioned for myself was over. I also believe that everyone has a certain gift they are meant to pursue but not everybody takes the risk of exploring the possibilities. I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement through my whole recovery and journey through photography. Without all of you I would not have the opportunity to reach my full potential. I can’t express how much I have been blessed by everyone I have gotten to know, places I have gotten to see, and opportunities I have seized.

The most proud moments I’ve had are when I get to photograph/film people in nature. That is where I feel the most from my work. There have been a few of my photos that have gone viral where celebrities and big magazines share them, which is a cool feeling. I am proud to be running a bussiness for a decade now.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Right before Covid hit, my main gigs were weddings, advertisement and real estate photography. Then boom. Everything was shut down and all my weddings that year were postponed. It was a mess with organizing all the different plant ticket credits etc. During that time, I knew a lot of wedding photographers that really struggled because of all the shutdowns and their lack of income. This taught me the importance of diversification. While, nearly all my weddings weren’t a thing that year, real estate was booming. People didn’t want to tour houses so realtors were willing to spend big money for videos tours. That was a great year for my business and I have a lot more free weekends in the summer.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The opportunity to express myself through the way I see the world. I love sharing my work with others and telling a story with visuals. If I can make someone feel emotion through my work, it’s very fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.isaacgautschi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaacgautschi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsaacGautschiPhotographer
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/CYahGuN-MHA?si=Veg5H7CR0ozWm1Rs
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/isaac-gautschi-photography-sequim
• Other: https://500px.com/p/IsaacGautschiPhotography