We recently connected with Zach Gunty and have shared our conversation below.

Zach, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

It was late April of 2023 and my wife (Andi) and I had just finished spending the past week in the PNW (Pacific NorthWest). We traversed Olympic National Park, the HoH Rainforest, the Puget Sound and many of the gorgeous and nearly untouched beaches of the coast just outside of the rainforest.

Sitting in a small port town in a hotel room scrolling through my recent photos from the trip It hit me like a ton of bricks, the thing I had been looking for my whole life – a passion, something to put all of my previous life experiences energy into and it just so happened to be that I was gaining confidence in the world of photography.

Growing up I had a couple of uncles who prided themselves in this field, one with a portrait studio and the other as a hobby who traveled the African savannah in search of wildlife to add to his repertoire of beautiful photos. This had always lived calmly in the deepest parts of my brain but was never brought to the forefront until that very trip out to the PNW – Thanks uncle Mike and Tom!

It was then that I told my wife this is what I wanted to do, and just like that she thwarted herself into my own passion by backing me with 100% confidence on the spot. I went from running a team of life-saving international logistics experts to taking pictures for a living overnight.

Taking this kind of risk is extremely stressful, challenging, confusing and most importantly – rewarding.

In the first 6 months (and counting) I have managed to immerse myself in this industry by obtaining a permanent residency in a local Raleigh, NC gallery as well as many competitive gallery exhibitions in the triangle area. Most recently having won the “People’s Choice Award” in the Durham Art Guild’s 69th Annual Juried Exhibition locally in Durham, NC with a piece from the very same trip “Brewing by the Ocean.”

Beyond those great accomplishments I’ve managed to do not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of dollars in local sales via local vendor market places, galleries sales, competitions and online sales. Never in my wildlest dreams did I think I would sell 1 picture, let alone where I stand in my first 6 months of photography, but here I am!

I am a fully self-taught, color-blind photographer and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, IL but have called North Carolina home for nearly a decade now and couldn’t be happier.

Take the risk, make the leap and pursue a passion no matter the cost.

Zach, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Growing up in Chicago, I was always facinated with nature and wildlife as we would often take trips out to Colorado to visit one of my great Uncles (Lenny) and the vast difference between that part of the country and the midwest was just mind-boggling for me.

I focus mostly on wildlife, landscape and cityscape photography with particular interests in shooting older cars and local birds when I get the chance to hang out with the elderly on their morning walks around the lakes (I’m 31 by the way….).

I think what sets me apart is that I come from a very humble beginning and have no technical training, beyond that being color-blind has had it’s challenges but also helps me focus on the details more than just the color palette that I am working with in any situation.

My goal in my photography is to really invoke a particular set of emotions or past memories that someone has had and to showcase places and things that others would typically walk right past or not pay much attention to. This could be something with great history like the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, NC or it could just be a random alley way on my way back from a good dinner.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Local vendors and marketplaces have been my home for the past 6 months. I can not stress enough how important it is to not only shop local but to support local. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in quite a few market places in the triangle which has definitely helped to launch my business in more ways than one. By doing this I’m able to connect with my local audience while still supporting the marketplace and the folks running that business which makes me super happy!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that’s something that really comes through harder than any other lesson in the art industry. My first thoughts were much harsher on my own work and I found myself critiquing myself in more ways than I could imagine.

I’d often take 500 pictures in a session and only post 1 of the pictures, overtime you learn that your audience is often times more captivated by the items you may not be as interested in and that’s because every art installation, picture or drawing might mean something completely different to one individual than the next and that is extremely important to keep in mind as you progress.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prettyaveragephotography.com
• Instagram: @PrettyAveragePhotography
• Facebook: Pretty Average Photography
• Other: https://linktr.ee/prettyaveragephotography

Image Credits
Zach Gunty (Pretty Average Photography LLC)