 My name is Alex Koloskov. I am 36 years old, born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine and live in Atlanta, GA now.I grew up in Kiev, Ukraine where I later attended college and received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Needless to say, I’ve never put my degree to work in its specialty. It was a time of economical collapse after the fall of the Soviet Union, where the entire country was in chaos. This was when my “official” education ended. Since graduating I’ve never had any other formal education, all of my skills have been self-taught. I’m a mix of technicality, innovation and out of the box thinking. I love taking on technical challenges in anything I do, including photography. As a photographer, I am completely self taught. I don’t know the rules, nor do I care about them. I don’t follow the herd, I do it my way. That’s turned out to be invaluable in what I do. It has allowed me to experiment, see outside the borders, challenge the authorities and create a stunning photography style that is crisp, sharp and crystal clear. I’m inspired by progress and movement. I’m incredibly persistent and never take “less than perfect” for an answer. If I don’t have the right tools, I’ll build them myself. I like to make stuff happen. I love power and speed, I love fast cars. I like to play with new gadgets and to create stuff with my own hands. I have a programming background, working for industry leading IT companies in the US. Photography was a serious hobby of mine until my wife and I founded AKEL studio. That’s when we took the hobby and began providing professional photography services. Photography is a very big part of my life. Having tried almost everything from portraiture, architecture and stock photography. I soon realized that my true passion is technically challenging studio projects. I prefer to work in my studio, where I can control everything. I am a father of cute twin girls Sonia and Lilia, happy husband and a co-owner of our family business – commercial photography AKELstudio. On a AKELstudioBlog I want to share technical details of the photography I do, my experience, challenges I deal with and how I solve them. I’ll be adding more articles here on this blog to explain how we did every photo-shoot, what gear was used and why. My goal on this blog is to show you practical, useful things that you won’t be able to find in any college or photography book. The real-world, everyday experience of successful commercial photographer is what I share here. We also have a photo-editor’s blog, which is supported by my wife, Genia Larionova: The Perfect Photo Blog. She is our digital artist, photo editor and retoucher, and she’ll show you how we make our images look so perfectly clear and bright.
To learn some personal stuff about me, please read personal facts and my interview with myself below. |
The Interview With Myself:
(This interview is inspired by Lana Kravtsova from Daring Clarity. You can read her original interview here and join the list of bloggers who did it.) If there was one word that would define everything you do, strive for and resonate with, what would that be:
Intelligence and power.
What is (are) the core feeling(S) that drive(s) everything you do?
Freedom to be who I am and interest to explore the world
What are the things you are most proud of from what you’ve accomplished or did so far in life?
Built the relationship of my dreams (with my wife), constantly strive to make myself a better person, our business.
What is your genius, what are your talents?
Intelligent and logical thinking, fast-acting, can learn new things easily (when interested), creativity
If you were to start your career/business all over again, what would you do differently?
I’d create a plan first (in writing) and follow it more closely. I’d start to build my network earlier, learn to manage business money better.
What do you crave?
Complete self-control: from what I do to what I think and feel.
What do you want less of in your life?
Fear, laziness.
What annoys you the most?
Low consciousness. Small talk. When people do not analyze what they do and what they feel. Closed and self-restricted minds.
If there was one thing you could revolutionize, what would that be?
Education system. I’d change the way people are taught. I believe we need to learn ourselves as deep as we are learning the world we are living in.
What are the best realizations you had that changed your life?
1. Each person lives in his own universe which usually is quite different from mine.
2. Human behavior up to 90% (if not more) is driven by animal instincts.
3. The world changes when I change myself.
What do you love?
Interesting people, meaningful conversations . Driving powerful car. When complicated task gets done.
What is the best material gift one can give you and why?
Not really connected to anything material. May be a nice rare sport car, but such gift will expire in 3 years:-)
What advice would you give to your 18 year old Self:
Drop all your mental pullbacks, do not fear anything. People do not care what you wear or what you do. So, be strong, know what you want and move on!
What are you most proud of in your country/people?
Country – long history, gorgeous nature and architecture
People – smart and stylish (I was born and raised in Ukraine)
Did you have a job that you hated in the past and if yes, why?
I did not really hate anything, and most my past jobs was quite nice places to work. I had quite different jobs: waiter, casino security guard, sales manager in publishing company, small business owner, web-designer, programmer… (None of them were related to what I was studying in college:-)
The only time when I loved what I was doing was when I owned a business. Despite non business-friendly environment in post Soviet Ukraine (talking about crime), lack of knowledge, enormous inflation and economic recession I was enjoying every day doing my job. Why? Because it was MINE, I was a decision maker! I was CEO, CFO, delivery man, accountant and more, all in one:-)
Some fact about me:
- I am vegetarian
- I am pacifist
- I don’t believe in religion
- Interested in how and why things work
- It’s hard for me to function well in regimented, structured environments
- Learn best “hands-on”
- Action-oriented
- Focused on living in the present.
- Love variety and new experiences
- Highly practical and realistic
- Excellent “trouble-shooter”
- Results-oriented
- Independent and determined
- Do not like to judge people, nor being judged
- Like to spend time alone, enjoy meditation
To be updated..
Loading ...
Popular Posts