[en] In gauge theories of strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions, the fine-structure constant (α) is a lower bound on the strength of weak and strong couplings. This opens the possibility of physical systems wherein all fundamental couplings are large, and α is a low-energy phenomenon of the system (essentially a collective property of the strong interactions). We construct such a model. At present experimental energies, it agrees with standard (hadron-modified) electrodynamics, while revealing a strongly coupled photon in the extreme asymptotic region