Alex Koloskov's photostream

My name is Alex Koloskov. I am 36 years old, born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine and live in Atlanta, GA now.

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 AKELstudio Blog 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 on my 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.
Can you combine edge and innovation in photography? I truly believe you can! That’s what sets us apart when our clients hire us and that’s what we want to teach others.

Innovative and edgy photography is what we are doing at AKELstudio. I know I'll be one of the best commercial photographers in the world, and we'll have best photographers, designers, stylists and retouchers working with us in AKELstudio. Just a little more time is what we need now. Stay tuned, subscribe to our RSS feed andyou'll see everything by yourself.

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.
Please help me by commenting on my articles and photos that you find interesting. Your feedback and suggestions are very welcome and highly valued.


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