Q&A

Q: At what age did you start your journey with wildlife photography and why?

A: I’ve been interested in nature since I can remember. When I was 12, I borrowed my dad’s little camera and quickly felt in love with photography. I just loved that I could capture interesting animals and show them to my family and friends.

When I was 14, I got my first DSL and that’s when I started photographing wildlife more seriously. I used to take the first bus out of the city, take photos and then return to school by 8am

Q: What’s your favorite animal and why?

A: I love great egrets because of their elegance and interesting hunting behavior!

Q: Do you have personal wildlife photography projects at the moment?

A: I have many projects and trips in my mind but sadly they are all on hold until I fully recover from the ACL injury. I also have a lot of videos that I’d love to finally edit and maybe post a longer video on my YouTube channel 😊

Q: Where can we meet you at upcoming events?

1.12.23 – Toruń, Poland – Presentation at Sztuka Natury Festival
8-10.12.23 – Ovar, Portugal – Presentation at Nature Photography Festival
26-28.01.24 – Neuchätel, Switzerland – Exhibition
17.02.24 – Budapest, Hungary – Piano concert & presentation at naturArt Nature Photo Festival
Feb/Mar 2024 – Wrocław, Poland – Piano concert & presentation

Q: Can you give the most important tip for a wildlife photography beginner?
Q: How do you get your backgrounds so blurry? Love these pictures!

A: I always* try to keep my lens as low as possible. Then the background is further away and the foreground is close to my lens = it’s blurry.

*Sometimes I photograph from other angles but l’d say 99% is from the eye level.

Q: What’s one species that you really want to see but haven’t seen yet?

A: Snowy owl

Q: Worst thing about your profession?

A: Let this screenshot be an answer:

Q: What did you major in college?

A: Automation and robotics.

Q: Where do you keep all your files? Do you use NAS or still reply on external drives?

A: have my photos backed up on several external drives but I’m thinking about upgrading to NAS system next year.

Q: Have you ever photographed wolves?

A: Yes! Few years ago I had an amazing encounter with a group of wolves in Poland.

Q: What’s the minimum camera megapixels you’d recommend for wildlife photography?

A: For many years I’ve been shooting with Canon 1d Mark III that only had 10.4 MP and it was enough for me. Then I switched to R5 with 45 MP and I wouldn’t go back!

Only my hard drives cry because of the lack of space 😉

Q: Full frame with a zoom or Apsc with a prime telephoto?

A: Apsc & prime lens. In my opinion, the lens is much more important than the body.

Q: Why do you enjoy wildlife photography?

A: I love to be in nature. I also like the feeling of being hidden and invisible for animals.
Through photography, I have the opportunity to share the stories of animals with others. By experimenting with the light, composition and movement, I try not only to document a species but also to create more artistic images that evoke emotions.

Q: How do you find the animals?

A: I spend a lot of time in the field looking for animals and researching. look for tracks, listen to calls and browse google maps in search of interesting places. When I find animals I then ask myself:

– where exactly are animals in this place?
– where is the best background?
– where’s the sunrise?
– what kind of images I’d like to get?

And based on that I build my hide 2h before the sunrise and wait. Usually I spend 4-8h there.

Q: Do you ever come back without any photo?

A: Sure, many times! Animals are wild and I can’t tell them to be there. Even if I do a lot of research in advance and find a great place it may happen that there will be no animals there the next dav.

Q: If you weren’t a photographer, what would you want to be?

A: Probably something connected to music or graphic design.

Q: Who is your 2nd favorite composer? 1st one is Chopin, I guess?

A: That’s true! I also like Hans Zimmer and Ludovico Einaudi but generally I like to play any genre of music.

Q: Do you earn enough from your photography to make ends meet?

A: Since the beginning of this year – yes! I have few sources of income related to photography:

– photo and video assignments
– collaborations with brands
– workshops & tours (subscribe here to be notified!)
– lectures and talks
– prints and calendar

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited to take pictures?

A: Iceland!

Q: Where was the most challenging journey in your career?

A: Probably Iceland back in 2020, when a hurricane with winds of 240km/h hit, and I had been stuck in the car for few days because all the roads were closed.

Q: What are you doing while you’re waiting for animals?

A: Usually I sleep but it’s tricky because you don’t want to miss the moment when animals come (what happens sometimes hehe).

Q: What has been the most impressive experience you have had doing wildlife photography?

A: I’ve had many great experiences with bison or puffins in Iceland but I think the most special one was around my home, when I witnessed the courtship dance of mute swans just in front of me in the golden light.