TRAVERSE CITY - Alex Marek, a junior at Traverse City West, has turned a photography hobby he started last year into a successful business that documents the athletic achievements of his classmates. Marek, an athlete himself, has become a regular fixture at school sporting events, capturing thousands of moments across different sports.
The business began when Marek used an old family camera to take pictures of his friends. Since then, he has upgraded his equipment and launched a personal website to sell his photography.
Before dedicating his time to photography, Marek was a football player at Traverse City West. He eventually swapped his pads for a camera, though he remains an athlete who competes in pole vault and runs for the track team.
Marek’s commitment to his business involves a high volume of work and long hours. During the school’s Patriot game, he took approximately 4,000 shots and worked through the night to process the images.
Marek prioritizes quality over speed for every image he produces. “I definitely take my time on each one to make sure it looks right,” Marek said. “The most I’ve taken for shots is like 4,000 at the Patriot game. And, I was up, I started by 9:00 pm, and I was at my buddy’s house, and I stayed up to three in the morning.”
While Marek sells his work on his website and through various organizational partnerships, he said his motivation extends beyond financial profit. He noted that the reactions from the student-athletes he captures are a primary driver for his work.
“I love doing it, and I don’t do it, you know, just for the money, profit or anything,” Marek said. “I love seeing players’ reactions, to get the photos and everything like that.”
Marek also reflected on the technical improvement he has seen in his work since he began the hobby one year ago. He described the progress as a result of focusing on minor details that he previously overlooked. “It’s crazy how much I’ve grown over the small little things that you think wouldn’t matter as much, over that time,” Marek said. “But from there to now, it’s it’s been a huge improvement.”
Marek plans to continue his photography business for the remainder of his time in high school. Once his time at Traverse City West concludes, he intends to pursue a career as a pilot rather than continuing photography professionally.
To find more of Alex’s work and to purchase pictures, click here.