Stockland Martel Blog

“A good photograph can smuggle something truthful and lasting out of a world that everyone can sense is about to change,” says Alexei Hay, a fashion and portrait photographer who has brought his distinct sensibility to clients ranging from Gucci, Celine, Kate Spade, and Max Mara to Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Interview, and The New York Times.

Among Alexei’s favorite assignments was accompanying Uma Thurman to Africa on a mission to bring visibility to the tragedy of rhino poaching. It was a celebrity photo shoot that required the nimble problem-solving of a seasoned documentary photographer, complete with significant logistical and safety issues and lots of on-the-fly decision-making. And through all of it, he had to coordinate a wide cast of characters, “starting with Uma and her team and running the gamut from wildlife trackers to rhino handlers, helicopter pilots, writers, stylists, and photo assistants, who all had to get along at close quarters,” says Alexei of the shoot, which was published as a cover story in Town & Country. “This was an extremely challenging enterprise but one that was completely rewarding in that everyone was dedicated in some way to saving the planet.”

Alexei earned his stripes the old-fashioned way, working as an assistant for a variety of commercial and fine-art photographers, including Philip-Lorca diCorcia. The range of assignments he was exposed to was vast. “I still remember working for a rap photographer on a night shoot near Port Authority and going straight to a still life shoot for Scientific American in the morning,” he says. “I worked on weddings, fashion shoots, travel shoots, still life, car shoots, music portraits, etc.”

In the process, he learned what it takes to succeed in what has become an increasingly competitive business. “I observed that the real practitioners, the real sorcerers of the trade, were also extremely generous people,” says Alexei. “The photographers who had been blessed with long careers were always the ones who had the nicest way with people.”

To see Alexei’s work, visit stocklandmartel.com/hay or alexeihay.com.