We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I don’t think it’s anything original or cutting-edge when I say that risk taking is intrinsic to any kind of success, it was largely down to taking risks that got me to where I am today, if we want to call that success. The risks that I took came in the form of deliberate situational changes into the unknown – there are a number of instances in my life at this point where I have dropped everything, moved to a new country or city to start afresh with no real plan except to reshuffle my hand and see what the outcome might be. The first example of this was some years ago, I had left school at 18, being from a small coastal town in South East England without many prospects I started work with the only opportunity presented to me; local factories. I spent around 5 years in those factories until breaking point, I knew I had to do something drastic to change my situation otherwise I would end up like the folk around me, working those same repetitive tasks for the next 40 years of my life. This was the first time I decided to roll the dice – I found a way to get a working visa in Canada, sold most of my belongings, packed my life into a backpack and left everything behind. I arrived in Canada with no plan, no work or place to live, it was a deliberate act of sink or swim and I needed to make it work. It was here that I first discovered my passion for the outdoors and photography and so began to catalyse how my life would proceed. The risk paid off. Since that first move I have rolled the dice in a similar way many more times and each roll has calibrated my direction, defined my purpose a little more. You could say that risk was the key factor in everything.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
First and foremost I am a landscape photographer, I fell in love with landscapes during my time living in the Canadian Rockies, those who have visited know the outstanding beauty of the wilderness that can be found there. Coming from a small, fairly run down town in England, it made a strong impression on me upon moving to the mountains, I wanted to capture and keep the scenery for myself so photography became my way to do that. It is my life’s mission to capture the feeling I have when I stand in those stunning locations. As my career progressed my photography adapted, I began working in the Peruvian Andes with local communities, there I started finding interest in photographing the people I met, then when I shifted into work in the polar regions it was the wildlife that began to take centre place, now the photography I love encompasses a variety of areas.

My career in photography moved forward in quite an organic or even chance manner, for the first part I never once considered it to be any kind of career path at all, it was simply a hobby. I never would have called myself a ‘photographer’ I was just someone who liked taking pictures, and that is all I did – I travelled and took photos, pursued my passion simply for passion’s sake. I worked whatever jobs I would find to allow me to go out and travel to take pictures. I spent months backpacking, hitchhiking camping out just to take me to places I could photograph. Eventually through some chance encounters whilst travelling I was offered my first job in photography – something I had never even considered. I began guiding and teaching and even then still didn’t consider myself to be a ‘photographer’. Gradually I realised that this was something I could build a life around and since then have bit by bit calibrated my vision and honed in on a career path that suits my passion.

To paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson:
“beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life.”

It would be an arrogant thing to boast that I have achieved my perfect way of life or have something that will suit me forever, situations always change and I recognise that this is always an ongoing process, I will continue to adapt and recalibrate according to whatever happens. I think this is one of the most important things to realise when it comes to career and success – fixed rigid goals can be dangerous, not to say that an individual should never set goals but keeping that vision adaptable and flexible according to circumstance is crucial.

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?
To those who not only dreamed, but got out and did something about it. To my brother Laurence who always gives me a space to sleep and always puts up with me coming and going in between gallivanting around the world. To Jimmy and Gina who picked me up, put me back on my feet and became a family to me when I was in need. To every inspiring person I have met around the world that helped cement the idea that there was a better way to live.

Website: alexjwphoto.com

Instagram: @alxxvisuals

Facebook: facebook.com/alxx.visuals

Image Credits
All images photographed by me.

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