We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Krebs and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Alex, what principle do you value most?
In photography, I value honesty and being true to myself. In the era of Ai generation, honesty is going to become harder and harder to come by in photography. I do often think about picking up film photography again in an effort to reclaim some of that honesty in photos, at least for myself. Maybe one day I will do that. I also think it is important to be true to your style as a photographer. In times when I have felt style-less, I felt lost. It took me a long time to develop a style and I am still working on it.
In life, empathy and empiricism are both incredibly important to me. I believe that these values support each other in a number of ways as well. For example, it is easier to have empathy towards those whom I do not agree with when I understand the science behind why they feel differently about a subject or moral belief. I think these are two basic principles that if more widely adopted, would make the world a better place.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My brain leans more heavily on the logical side. When I was majoring in Art in college I had to pass all of these drawing classes and other media formats that quite honestly I am just terrible at. Practice does not always make perfect. I eventually switched my major because of that. My brain works best with concepts, rules and math. Film photography gave me my artistic outlet because at that time, you had to really know how to use a camera to get good results. Proper exposure, depth of field, using a flash, focus. Not getting those things correct meant expensive film exposures and lost opportunities. There was no instant gratification and the learning curve was much steeper.
Now I feel like I am in a sweet spot, where I can come at photography with that extra set of knowledge from the analogue days, yet leverage the newer technology for a unique end product. Anyone can take properly exposed, in focus pictures now. Watching out for mergers, being fast on your feet, capturing the moment, lighting, those are tough. I love working in my studio and working with light. I also love working with sports, adventure and action shots because those are fast and challenging moments to capture.
I want to make people happy. I want to offer photography services to those who want pictures that capture their memories as they see them. I want to emotionally connect people with the photos I take. I want to make them cry, to help them get in touch with their feelings through the art of photography.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am in a very rural part of Colorado and we have experienced a lot of hot-spotting through the power of the internet in recent years. Trailheads that used to never even have another car parked at them are now often impossible to find parking spaces in. I have a permit for photographing clients on our National Forest and a list of great places to take people to depending on the time of year and the seasonal landscape offerings.
As far as the local food, drink and business scene goes, I am happy to spill the beans! Mancos has a great brewery, especially their darker beers. Our local art galleries are all worth checking out and of course, the Mancos Farmer’s Market is a must for Thursday afternoons. Our agricultural community is made up of some of the absolute best people I have ever met.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I may have been reading too much about determinism lately to answer this question purely outside of a metaphysical context. When I take a step back, I see a long list of individuals who supported and encouraged me throughout my process of self discovery through photography.
In my best attempt at distillation; it started with my Mother. She helped me fight compulsion and save birthday money received as a child, but then supported my decision to burn it all on a modern 35mm film Canon with a basic kit lens back around 2002. After a summer of learning the camera, she got me to apply for a photojournalism internship for our local paper. It was a program focused around getting teens involved with journalism through the Winston-Salem Journal, in my home state of North Carolina. My Mother saved all of my articles in a scrapbook that I still have to this day.
Years later, I would meet my wife, new hobbies, new career goals and new lands. I put the camera down in college to pursue other interests. Time went by with smart phone photos filling in where a real camera once flourished. Then people started dying, people I was close to, old people, young people. Every time it happened I would look back through my old SLR photos, exploring my memories through what would become an important step in my grieving process. There was always at least one photo that would capture not just a memory, but the person behind it. All of this made me realize just how important photography is in my life. Beyond my enjoyment of taking photos, I wanted to be able to look at them later, when people were gone and memories faded. I wanted to start taking photos again and more seriously. I wanted to share my ability to capture personality and emotion with the lens.
This brings me to the unending support of my friends and especially my wife. Having my wife’s support while trying to build my photography sideline has been critical to my successes so far. She believes in me, she believes in my work, and she pushes me to try harder when I no longer want to. My friends too have been massively supportive. They are my models, my first clients, and get me connected with publications like the Durango Telegraph and Shoutout!
Website: www.alexkrebsphotography.com
Instagram: @alexkrebsphotography
Other: My wife and I are also local beekeepers. We have a couple of smaller apiaries and try to keep between 15 and 20 hives. Check us out at @hideawayhoneyco