Alexis Berg: Photography on the Trails

Interview

Alexis Berg: Photography on the Trails

March 3, 2025 | 6 min. read By Brooks Staff

If you’ve ever run on the trails, you’ll know that there’s something special about it. Whether it’s the beauty of the landscape, the changing light, or simply the feeling of freedom and being immersed in nature, trail running offers an experience that’s hard to put into words.

Luckily for us, those feelings of being out on the trails can be perfectly captured through running photography. A single image can capture the grit and emotion of the runner, as well as the beauty of their surroundings. And a skilled photographer can capture the moments that might otherwise be forgotten.

From the challenges to the triumphs, photography can really bring the stories of the trail to life – and few do this as masterfully as Alexis Berg and his trail running photography:

As Victoria Faucher, lead content producer for EMEA says:

"Alexis Berg’s photography is a masterful blend of emotion and authenticity, capturing moments that resonate deeply with his audience. His unique and pure style speaks volumes about his personality, revealing a profound sensitivity to the world around him. Through his lens, he unveils details and emotions that often go unnoticed, transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary. His work is a testament to his ability to connect with his subjects on an intimate level, making him the very definition of authenticity in visual storytelling."

Why Alexis Berg?

When we were looking for a photographer to shoot for us out on the trails, there was really only one choice: Alexis Berg.

Second lead content producer Michelle de Wildt put it this way:

"Both Pier and I were completely in love with Alexis' work before we even contacted him. It also felt like a long shot at first, since Alexis has created a lot of beautiful and great work for other brands.

But under the guise; nothing ventured, nothing gained, I contacted Alexis to ask if he was open to collaborate and create beautiful trail work with us in Corsica. He immediately responded very openly and enthusiastically.

We got to know Alexis as a very talented, down-to-earth person with a very nice energy. We could have complete confidence in his independent way of working. Because one thing is certain, Alexis creates magic! He completely lives and breathes the trail world and knows how to visually capture this great sport in the most authentic way."

Alexis Berg’s Journey

So, who is Alexis Berg? Today he’s a world-renowned photographer specialising in trail running and mountain sports – but born and raised on the west coast of France, neither photography nor the mountains weren’t on his radar for much of his young life.

Alexis actually studied journalism, and was a writer for a long time. It wasn’t until his mid-20s that he started taking photographs for work, as a photojournalist. He received a camera as a birthday gift when he was 20, and although he never had any formal training, he very quickly picked up the skills. As he puts it:

“It was kind of an accident. My older brother gave me a camera when I was 20 years old. Before that, I wasn’t interested in photography. When I had the tools – it sounds cheesy – but the first time I had a camera, I very quickly understood how to use it. I just knew how to use it, I never did any classes. I never opened a book about photography. I never studied, but just the tools work with me.”

The mountains, too, he discovered by accident. His older brother started ultra running, and he decided to go along to an ultra to film and take photos as a way of getting closer to his brother. He fell in love with what he saw, and things progressed very quickly from there. As Alexis says, “Suddenly it became a big part of my life – let’s say it was kind of a love story.”

And the rest – as they say – is history. In the last ten years, he’s worked as a mountain and trail running photographer, but even within this niche, he keeps his projects very diverse, alternating between race photography, commercial shoots and long-term projects including books and films. He’s brought together the essence of his trail-running photography over the last ten years in a book: Grands Trails. The English version will be published this spring by Thames & Hudson.

Alexis Berg in His Own Words

We wanted to get to know Alexis more, to understand his motivation and the inspiration behind the beautiful shots he captured. Here’s what he had to say, in his own words:

What drew you to photography, and why trail running?

Alexis lives in Paris – very different to the world of the mountains he loves to photograph. But for him, it works perfectly, as his photography gives him the opportunity to discover something different.

“When I was 25, I wanted to get closer to my brother so I followed him during an ultra he was running in 2013. It was my first time witnessing a trail running race. I was filming him and doing photography… And it felt like the start of something. I enjoyed being outside for 24 or 48 hours in the unknown, in a terrain I wasn’t familiar with at that time. It was cool, interesting, and creatively appealing.”

“It happened very fast. I published a 300 page book about the sport that I hadn’t even heard of three years ago. I was super happy to have the opportunity to explore mountains like that. It’s very simple. And after 10 years of being a mountain photographer, I keep coming back because it’s never the same day, even in the places that you know really well.”

What inspires you most about capturing moments in nature and trail events?

Alexis loves the mountain landscapes. But for him, there’s another important element to his photographs: the people.

“I photograph a lot of long races, like 100 miles. Of course the landscapes are super interesting, but-

you’ll just have people being trashed by the elements and by the race. So there’s a part of trying to capture that

– how people react, and how they are affected by the time and by the race.”

“As a photographer, I always believe that something interesting will happen, something beautiful. I have faith in the next photograph. I always believe that something will happen that I’ve never photographed before, so let’s wait and hope for that.”

What sets you apart from other photographers?

Every photographer is different, with their own unique style. But Alexis believes that the fact that he doesn’t have a background in the outdoors, or in photography, means he can bring in other influences to make his work unique.

“I come from a background that’s so far away. The photography I was looking at was photojournalism – and more than that, it was cinema. My biggest influences are from film, from American movies and science fiction.”

“When I started photography, and was starting to be in the trail running world, I wasn’t a sport photographer who just wants the action and a good light. I had no idea of what the imagery of the sport was like. So my imagery was coming from somewhere else – and that’s why I was a little bit different.”

Photoshoot D-Day with Brooks

Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean sea, is known as “L'île de beauté” (the island of beauty). It’s a mountainous island, with 20 peaks exceeding 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). In other words – the perfect place for a trail running shoot.

When we decided to shoot in Corsica, we knew straight away that we wanted Alexis to be our photographer – and were lucky that he was excited to take part, too. It’s somewhere that’s come onto his radar recently, saying “Strangely enough, I've only had the opportunity to start discovering Corsica very recently. So I was very excited about the idea of photo shooting for Brooks in Corsica.”

But what does a trail photoshoot look like?

Step 1: Preparation

The GR20, which crosses Corsica, has become a holy grail for hikers and ultra-trailers, and is often considered the toughest long-distance hiking trail in Europe. The entirety of the 180km (112 miles) route is jaw-droppingly beautiful. So, how to decide where to shoot? We got some local insights. By speaking to a Corsican mountain guide and runner, we were able to decide where to go to get the best scenery – and the best shots.

Step 2: The trek

On the day of the shoot, we experienced every sort of weather imaginable. Alexis explains:

“Over a distance of around ten kilometres, we experienced everything in one day, from fog and freezing rain to magnificent spring sunshine.

I like these kinds of difficult, changing conditions. It spices things up. And it's just more interesting than a flat sun.

Step 3: Getting the perfect shots

Doing a commercial shoot, Alexis explains, is very different to photographing a race. When you’re shooting a race, you just follow the flow of the race. But when you’re working with a brand, you have to be more creative than ever to get the best shots.

“If I’m just photographing a race, I will just follow the flow of the race. I will always do it the same. If I’m doing a commercial, I know that I’m doing the flow – I’m deciding.

So if I don’t want to be in a routine, I need to add some layers of creativity and photography tricks, like using a lot of different lengths or artefacts. That’s my way to photograph commercials right now – it’s always trying something new. It’s demanding. You have to be focused because it’s still photography so a part of it is instinctive choice but you have to be in the specific mindset of ‘let’s improve this, let’s change, let’s try’ – just constantly innovating photographically.”

Step 4: Post-trail editing

For some photographers, the hardest part is choosing where to shoot. For others, it’s the editing process and deciding which shots to use.

But for Alexis, choosing the best shots is one of the easiest parts of any job – as he just instinctively knows which photos work, and which ones don’t. It’s a mixture of capturing a specific moment, telling a story and technical aspects of the shot – but for Alexis, it’s impossible to explain to anyone else, because it comes so naturally to him:

“I can’t explain it because I just know it. I will know what are the five best photos. I will know what are the ten best. I just know it instantly. Maybe other photographers will tell you a different story, but for me, I have no issue choosing the photos.

I just trust – and that’s my advice for photographers, you just have to trust your own way to make these decisions.”

Memorable Moments and Best Shots

We had a brilliant day on the trails with Alexis and the Brooks athletes. But what was Alexis’ favourite part of the day? It was at the very end of the day, after all the hard work was done:

“We didn't get to see the sunrise, as we were engulfed in mist. But in the evening, we were treated to a beautiful sunset, which turned the already ochre-coloured rocks red. It was a serene, peaceful and magnificent moment. The reward for a long day out.”

Alexis’ favourite shot is always changing. He says:

“What drives me, as a photographer, is the hope of taking my best photo today. It's not a mantra, it's just the reality of my practice: I always have the impression that something is going to happen.”

So while he doesn’t have one all-time favourite shot, he does have some favourite photos from the shoot in Corsica. We’ll leave you with these stunning images, a small snapshot of a wonderful day in the mountains with a talented photographer:

We were expecting spring/summer conditions and it started in the middle of winter... but that's the reality of the outdoors. And that's what these shoes are for.