-4%20-%20Edited%20for%20web.jpg)
Here we see Alexander in his natural habitat: the boutique coffee shop—probably pondering how long to wait before ordering another espresso without seeming too coffee-crazed.
(this is funnier if read in a David Attenborough impression)
Hi!
My name's Alexander Behne.
Looking at the world through a camera just makes sense to me.
​
I bought my first Nikon when I was 16, and through the tried-and-true method of taking a huge number of awful photos, I eventually figured out how to take some good ones.
​
​
After high school, I decided that what I wanted more than anything in the world was to work in television. And I didn't want just any old job in TV—I wanted to be the next Peter Mansbridge. So, I applied to the prestigious Bachelor of Journalism program at Carleton University.
I actually got to meet Peter Mansbridge in my second year when he came to speak at Carleton—just as he was about to retire from hosting The National. When he did hang up his news anchor spurs, it became painfully clear that there would be no next Peter Mansbridge, and on top of that, broadcast journalism wasn’t exactly a growth industry. That dream got shelved.
Filming on location at Laws of Motion gymnastics studio in Ottawa, ON.
Capturing organ player Don Cummings talking through the quirks of his vintage Hammond organ. The resulting documentary—entitled "The Jazzmen"—was featured on CBC's Absolutely Ottawa.
Nonetheless, the media world was still calling my name. Throughout university, I’d been doing some freelance photography and video work, and I really enjoyed it. I got to meet all sorts of incredible people, see all kinds of places I wouldn’t normally have been allowed into, and generally got to have more fun at work than should be allowed. So, I figured I’d stick with it.
​
Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, CBC’s Rick Mercer, and countless others.
I’ve worked on video projects for 4-H Canada, CN Rail, the Canadian Science Policy Centre, the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation, Invest Ottawa, University4Entrepreneurs, and volunteered at Rogers Cable 22, helping produce Daytime Ottawa, Talk Ottawa, and Ottawa 67s hockey.
​
My photos have appeared in the Globe and Mail and on the Twitter accounts of several MPs, who I’m sure will someday get around to looking up the word “attribution.”
​
I continue to live and work in my hometown of Ottawa, ON, and I'm constantly on the lookout for those great snippets of life that are worth immortalizing and those great ideas that need a little help becoming a reality.
The day I got to meet one of my heroes. I was filming the first ever Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival, and it turned out that at the same time Rick Mercer and his crew were there filming a segment for what turned out to be the penultimate season of the Rick Mercer Report.
I love what I do, and I look forward to helping you bring your creative visions to life.
