About - Mateusz Piesiak Photography

My name is Mateusz Piesiak and I am a wildlife photographer and filmmaker from Poland.

Through my work, I want to show the beauty of nature and to tell the stories of those
who live all around us but cannot speak for themselves – the animals.

How it all began

Ever since I was little, I felt drawn to nature. Instead of playing football with my friends (I like sport now too!), I would rather just go at the lake, check on the family of swans, watch where the ants go and just listen to birds.

I loved all the animals however for some reason birds were the most interesting to me. I had a checklist and where I would mark all the species I observed. I had so much fun learning about birds their behaviour. I knew everything about birds – how to tell which species of woodpeckers hits the tree based on the frequency of hits, how to tell whether it’s a chiffchaff singing or just a starling imitating a chiffchaff.

When I was 13, I got my first camera, and that’s when my journey with wildlife photography began. At first, I was just documenting every animal I encountered, but over the years, my approach evolved. I started to think more intentionally about each shot, trying to capture specific species and building hides where I would sit for hours waiting for the animals to come.

When I was 14, I used to wake up at 4am, catch the first bus out of the city and head off to photograph wildlife – then go straight back to school.

One day, I went to photograph little ringed plovers in a muddy field. As I tried to get closer, I suddenly sank so deep that both my boots got completely stuck. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pull them out. In the end, I had to walk back to school barefoot, completely covered in mud. But it was worth it – I got a photo of a plover!

While studying Automatics and Robotics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, I continued to photograph nature whenever I could. Along the way, I started sharing behind-the-scenes videos on social media, which gained traction and made me consider pursuing wildlife photography full-time.

Over the years, my accounts grew to nearly 2 million followers across platforms and I’m incredibly grateful for the support and for everyone following my journey! After graduating, I decided to follow my heart and dedicate myself to wildlife photography and filmmaking full-time.

What I do now

I’ve been fortunate to travel across the world, exploring remote locations and working with biggest brands, like BBC, Canon, NVidia, to create unique content. See recent collaborations here.

I lead wildlife photography workshops and guide trips worldwide. Check out the upcoming events here.

I’m the author of How to Photograph Wildlife: The Complete Guide — a comprehensive resource for photographers of all levels. It’s available here.

I also share my adventures and the stories behind my photographs at various festivals and events. To stay updated, subscribe to my newsletter here and follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

And if you want to bring some nature home – check out my webshop here, where I offer my favorite photographs as high-quality prints in various sizes, calendars and more.

Photography

Awards & recognitions

My photographs and projects have been featured amongst the winners of world’s top nature photography competitions including:

Wildlife Photographer of the Year
– Rising Star Portfolio Award – 2022
– First Prize u17 – 2013
– Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year – 2011

European Wildlife Photographer of the Year
– Fritz Pölking Junior Prize – 2018

Memorial Maria Luisa – 1st prize (u21) – 2015

Siena International Photo Awards, 2x First Prize – 2015

Oasis Photo Contest, Grand Prix – 2014

Check out all awards

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022

Rising Star Portfolio Award

Siena international Photography Awards

1st prize in "Student" and 1st prize in "Wildlife" category

Music

Outside of photography, I have a deep love for music. I’ve been playing piano since I was little. Couple of years ago I came up with an idea to connect music and photography and I’ve created a unique project that combines both passions called “Capture the elusive”.

During these performances, I play live piano compositions while showcasing immersive diaporamas: photo sequences paired with sound and motion that bring the wild moments to life on screen. It’s an emotional, atmospheric way of experiencing nature — one I love sharing with audiences.