Interview: Alexis Berg
Interview by Ryan Willms
Photography by Alexis Berg
Alexis Berg is a French photojournalist who has contributed to L'Equipe Magazine, Trail Runner Magazine, Men's Health, Runner's World and National Geographic, to name a few. It was his documentary-style photographs for Salomon that captured my attention with a striking mix of breathtaking landscapes and intimate portraits. Alexis’ eye for capturing sport is unique in the industry, bringing a cinematic perspective that communicates the raw emotions of his subjects. His unique influences and ability to traverse the mountains have proved a powerful combination and below is our correspondence about his background and approach to creating images.
You have a very cinematic style, which we don’t see very much in action sports—have you always been into photography? What photographers inspired your work early on?
I understand why you are talking about a cinematographic dimension. I agree. The reason is quite simple, my visual education has notably gone through the cinema. My photos are aesthetically made by my imagination. My imagination is unconsciously nourished by thousands of cinema images. This is the case for many photographers. But of course, more rarely among outdoor photographers.
The photographers that inspire me are people like Trent Parke, Paolo Pellegrin, Matt Black. It's social, political, mysterious, black and white photography. These are the images of an obscure world, watched with dark eyes. When I started to photograph trail running, I discovered everything, I was faced with the strangeness of a sport and a culture that I completely ignored. Above all, I didn't know the usual images of this sport, I didn't know the other photographers. I didn't know the codes. It was easier to draw my own route. Even though now I know much better trail-running, I kept a form of detachment, a critical distance. My images come from there.
You have a skill for capturing very intimate portraits of people in vulnerable moments, how do you make us, the viewer, feel so close to them?
Paradoxically, because I'm not so close to them, intimately. I don't think I photograph with empathy, but rather with a curiosity for otherness. Or then dialogue with otherness. This does not mean that I am not connected to the emotions that I am trying to capture. But precisely, they interest me for being foreign to me.
Did you grow up in the mountains, how did you learn to navigate this kind of terrain?
I grew up in the West of France, in a fairly flat region. It's quite funny, I had no particular relationship with the mountains for a very long time in my life. It was really when I started photographing trail running, turning 25, that I really discovered mountains and their possibilities.
It seems as you’ve traveled the world to run and photograph, is there a place that is special for you?
Many of my best memories in this profession are in the American West. From California to Colorado, passing through Arizona, Utah, Nevada. Perhaps there is a link with your first question about cinema. This is also where three of my favorite races are located: Hardrock, Western States, Badwater. I often spent a few weeks in these areas, making long road trips between these races.
You photograph the best ultra runners in the world, like Kilian Jornet – how do you keep up with these athletes?
Until recently, I ran quite rarely. I'm a decent hiker, but in any case, with a bag of almost 15 kilos, you don't really run. I move well in the mountains, that's the main thing. But, for photos, I rarely have the opportunity or the need to run.
What is it about trail running specifically that’s captured your attention?
The honest answer is that it's just very easy to photograph trail running. I started by chance, following my brother who was running a race, and yes, I immediately quite easily and naturally managed to make images of this sport. There is undoubtedly a longer answer to this question: who would start by imagining the answers, to the same question, of those who do trail-running.
It must be challenging to be in the mountains or the desert for these long adventures—how do you stay inspired on these trips? Do you draw from the athletes?
There is something fascinating about photography: we are always evolving. And our tastes are changing. Our desires, our look changes. I manage this quite instinctively. When I waste my time, I feel it right away. I rarely go back to the same places. There are only certain very specific races that I photographed two years in a row. Nevertheless, there are great photographers who have fabricated a vast world of images in the strict space of their neighborhood - so there are always photographic explorations to be made, everywhere and in all circumstances.
Is there an emotion that you try to communicate with your work?
I'm not sure I approach photography that way. I don't have a message with photos. I rather feel like I'm building something, like a child making a cabin in his garden. This cabin is first for him. And then for visitors. I take the example of a cabin, because there is the same notion of long-term construction, constant development.
With the ‘cabin’ that you’re building through your photography, is it built from your whole body of work or do you imagine each trip or story as it’s own cabin?
Rather answer one, but a bit of both. I imagine that it is quite natural for a photographer to see his work as a construction. Sometimes we seek harmony, and sometimes we want to make a very different piece, an ephemeral universe, to test something different.
You documented The Barkley Marathons in a short film, what was that experience like compared to other races you’ve been to?
The Barkley is a very unique race. Special to run, special to photograph. Laz, the fascinating organizer, wants to leave a mystery on the experience awaiting competitors outside the camp. What happens out there only concerns the 40 starters. It may sound strange, in the world of images that surround us, but it's the only sporting event where it's not allowed to go on the course to take pictures. The exceptions are minimal, barely 1% of the course. This leaves a lot of room for the imagination, and therefore, as photographer, you have to look for a different and creative way to tell the story.
Would you like to make more films?
In different formats, with more or less means, I believe I have already made 5 or 6 films. One day, perhaps, I would attack this with real ambition. it's not for tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow.
Alexis Berg is a photographer and director based in France, currently working for Salomon and contributing to a number of global publications. Follow his Instagram for his latest work, and watch his short film on The Barkley Marathons.
Tags: Photography, Movement