Ten years ago, William Orsua put his car up for sale, one thing on a list of to-dos for an impending move from Prince George, B.C. to Vancouver. Falling $500 short of the asking price, a hopeful buyer offered Orsua an alternative payment to make up the difference: a camera. Initially uninterested, Orsua eventually did some research and learned the DSLR was worth considerably more. One man’s creative offer opened a new creative outlet for another.

“After I moved to Vancouver, I played with it and joined a Facebook group,” says Orsua. “I started relentlessly shooting and studying photography through online [courses] and by attending workshops. I’m a big advocate of workshops – I think they’re the fastest way to develop your skills as a photographer.” He even organized workshops of his own and invited photographers from overseas to learn from those who inspired him. “It just grew from there.”

Orsua had moved to accept a job in the Respiratory Therapy Department at Vancouver General Hospital. At first, photography was just a new hobby. He shot mostly landscapes. The more he learned, though, the more he wanted to level up his gear. The only way that would fly at home, he says, would be if the equipment paid for itself. (Orsua and his wife, Vanessa, now have three kids, ages 13, 8 and 6.)

He started taking jobs, first doing portraits and events, then eventually weddings. In 2011, he opened his own professional photography company, Soul Mate Productions. “Photography is my hobby, but it’s also my second job, which is amazing because I get to do something I love and make a little bit [doing it],” says Orsua, who still works for Vancouver General Hospital but no longer practices patient care. “It’s really my passion; I don’t consider it work. It provides a bit of an escape from a busy life.”

While Soul Mate Productions specializes in wedding, event and portrait photography, Orsua continues to shoot landscapes under his own name. He also does tours and teaches landscape photography as a guide. It’s allowed him to travel across the country (the Canadian Rockies being a highlight) and around the world to countries like Norway, Peru and Bolivia.

Two years ago, he travelled to the Philippines for his first exhibit in his home country. He also spoke at the college where he completed his degree. “Even though it was a medical course, it was inspiring that they asked me to be a guest speaker with my accomplishments as a photographer. I had my exhibit in the lobby of the school where I graduated.”

The occasion allowed Orsua to reflect on how far he had come as a photographer.

“When you’re an artist, you’re hard on yourself. You think your work is not good enough,” he says. “When they introduced me, it was the first time that it struck me – I’m being rewarded for all the hard work I’ve done with my photography. It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my photography career.”

It’s safe to say selling his car for some cash and a camera is a deal he’d do all over again.

“Being a tour guide and doing destination shoots has allowed me to meet people and to travel to epic places and capture these beautiful landscapes that I’d only seen on postcards,” he says. “I’m really thankful for photography.”