HOW WE WORK
Engaging with a wide variety of subjects is one of the things we love most about our job. Every production is different, and we enjoy the technical craft, careful attention to detail, and creative visualization that our work demands.
As a media production company, creative storytelling is our only focus. Many of our clients already have a thorough understanding of their marketing needs and publishing avenues and are looking for quality, consistency, and style. We provide scalable production to carry out their vision across still and moving imagery.
As freelancers, we get to work with larger teams and contribute our skills - always learning and growing with our community. Sometimes we work as a team bringing our collective experience into other productions. Other times we work independently which allows us to learn and grow in our own specialties.
LOCATION INDEPENDENCE
ALA is designed to be location independent, meaning we are capable of working anywhere in the world.
Not being permanently tied to a single market allows us to find the most parallel clients and search for the most inspiring subjects.
We embrace all that we can learn from the people we are fortunate enough to work with along the way, and we bring these lessons with us to each new job.
CREATIVE PROCESS
As friends and business partners we share a lot in common - but we are each experienced artists with our own unique backgrounds, specialties, and styles. The images we deliver are a totally unique and complementary combination of our two different perspectives.
Sometimes we work on different projects, and sometimes we collaborate on the same thing every step of the way. What unites us is a mutual fascination for the process of making images, the ability to find inspiration in just about any subject, and the desire to be always growing and building upon our shared vision.
MIKE JACOBS
Before starting ALA, Mike had been learning and working in academia for over 10 years, and for him this trip is something between a graduation and a great escape. In that time, he became a technical writer, photographer, sound recordist, lighting technician, and film producer. He managed the media equipment Rental House and production studios at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont with many incredible work study students. There he found a passion for organizational development and systems design. He has produced several indie films, most notably Hidden Blueprints with Director Jeremy Lee MacKenzie. As a photographer, he has been focusing on food since working with Chef Sandi Earle to make the images for her cookbook My Thirty Year Love Affair with Food in Vermont. While on his way to a photograph a pilgrimage through Egypt and Ethiopia, Michael met Matt in Istanbul where they shared a common vision and new goals. A little over a year later, they left behind their old lives to find a deeper growth - to own their time, and to seek those things which are unspeakably beautiful.
MATT EDGAR
Matt is a photographer, filmmaker, and seeker. In 2014 he left his career as a geologist in the oil industry in search of a more meaningful purpose and lifestyle. During this multi-year sabbatical across SE Asia and Eastern Europe, he found a passion for photography and storytelling. Through self-education and several great mentors, he advanced into the professional realm of media production and started his own architectural photography company. In 2018 he teamed up with Michael Jacobs to establish A Life Authentik Media Production Company.
ALA ORIGINS
A Life Authentik was born from a dream to combine nomadic exploration and professional media production. In 2018 we embarked on what would end up being an epic but only half-completed road trip from Alaska to Patagonia. The Pandemic ultimately pulled us back to our home state of Wisconsin, and since then we have transformed ourselves into ALA Pictures. We are a little less nomadic now but still searching for inspiring people, beautiful places, and exciting stories to share.
Although completing the Pan-American road trip is no longer our current goal, our dedication to growth, exploration, and creativity remains core to who we are. So if you're curious about our creative background together, we invite you to enjoy some of the sights and sounds from the top half of the longest road in the world.