Photography as an act of Interpretation
There are places on the map of Europe that never stop to fascinate me, and to which I return regularly, mainly for photographic reasons.
I practice what is commonly called street or travel photography on my trips, but I would prefer to call it “photography of interpretation”.
My travel photography is an attempt to understand and interpret a world that is unknown to me.
As much as I am able to, during those few or several days spent in a given place, I absorb it, digest it, and then speak about it through my photographs.
Photography of interpretation is like a conversation with myself conducted alternately in two languages - my own and the local one.
My personal assumptions are overlaid by the reality, and the result - it seems to me - should be a nicely balanced photograph.
It is like a monologue to myself and to my audience.
A kind of stand-up, but not a funny one. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes grotesque, but it’s almost never a comedy.
At some point, I began to avoid traditional landscape, urban, and architectural photography.
As if it contained a false piece of information about the world - one where everything, from light, color to shapes, is perfect, well saturated, carefully framed and edited, where unwanted elements are cloned away in Lightroom.
But when I initially thought that snapping travel photos left and right, seemingly without attention to detail, was a super simple form of photographic expression, one that requires neither craft nor skill, it turned out I’ve been so mistaken.
It not only is difficult when you merely skim the surface of the place only for a brief moment, but it is also very easy to make mistakes and distort reality.
It requires loads of curiosity, intuition, and commitment. Taking and giving.
So, there are countries and regions, that hold a special place in my heart, where I am not afraid to leave that piece of myself.
Probably because I experience them as authentic and not over the top, and when I am there, I can blend into and absorb them, while the frames seem to choose themselves.
Without the need to emphasize, but also without hiding those aspects of reality that, for some reason, might not suit me in my photographs.
Street Photography in France
For me, as someone originally from Poland, France has been associated primarily with Paris and the French Riviera.
But the France I return to regularly is a whole conglomerate of different moods: a vintage vibe of small towns, beautiful coastlines, mountains, hills, picturesque villages, and that distinctive aesthetic where even worn-down elements have their own charm and beauty. And very kind people (in opposite to the stereotypes).
Travel Photography in Portugal
Same here, just add the beautiful southern sun to it, and you have Portugal.
Places where time seems to have stood still, lush vegetation, a stunning coastline, warmth even in winter, incredibly friendly people - all of this makes a strong case for returning to Portugal with a camera at least once a year.
Landscape Photography in Scotland
Scotland is a state of mind. Writing about Scotland in superlatives isn’t easy for just one reason - naively, I’d like to keep it only for myself.
I didn’t expect it to absorb me completely. Beyond its beautiful landscapes, Scotland offers what I love most in photography: still places, where human presence is marked only by the traces left behind.
