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 tutaj.

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

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

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

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

Fotografia

Nagrody i wyróżnienia

Moje zdjęcia i projekty znalazły się wśród zwycięzców międzynarodowych konkursów fotografii przyrodniczej, między innymi:

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

I nagroda w kategorii „Student” oraz I nagroda w kategorii „Wildlife”

Muzyka

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.