Interview with Maciej Duczynski
by Marcin Stawiarz
translated by Marcin Zabielowicz |
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| #1 Please introduce
yourself: |
My name is
Maciej Duczynski, I'm Polish and currently live in Katowice, Poland |
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| #2 How did you start
your adventure in photography? |
From the time
I was sixteen, I've always carried a camera in my bag during my travels. For my first trip
to the mountains I borrowed a Russian Zenit TTL camera from my friend. I put my heart in
those pictures, only to discover upon my return that the shutter was broken... Not a
single picture could be salvaged. |
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| #3 Is your education
related to photography? |
No, by
education I'm an electrical engineer, and I work doing technical testing on passenger
trains. Photography is "only" my hobby and great passion. |
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| #4 The technique
you're using to create pictures has been masterfully developed. Could you please tell us
something about the process you use? |
Unfortunately
I'm still far from mastery of photography (smiles)! For about the last two years I've been
closely associated with HDR technique, even though I don't use it that much - at the
moment about 30% of my pictures are done this way. One of the bigger problems in landscape
photography is the very limited dynamic range of today's digital SLR cameras. I manage
this problem using either the HDR technique (combining several shots at differing exposure
of the same scene) or ND grad filters. In my opinion theory of HDR is good, but real-life
results are far from perfect so I use it as a last option - only when I'm using a lens
without front thread. |
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| #5 In your portfolio
you have pictures from many parts of Europe, but the Scandinavia presented in your
photography emanate a very unique climate. How long did it take you to complete such large
collection of work? |
My very first
picture from Norway was made back in August 2005, so about three years ago. Since 2005 I
went to Norway four times, for about 7 - 14 days and I took one fourteen day trip to
Iceland. I actually was living in Sweden for 3 years so naturally I have a lot of
photographs from that country. |
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| #6 Most of your
pictures show mountain ranges. What else inspires and fascinates you in photography? |
I have to
admit that mountain photography is my biggest passion. It's probably a result of the fact
that I used to spend every free moment in the mountains and they are closest to my heart.
For me, the ideal combination is landscape where you can find both mountains and water
together, hence my affinity for Scandinavia. |
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| #7
Do you have any hints to help our readers achieve such spectacular results in photography?
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| Well, like
in every other discipline it requires great passion, sacrifice, a lot of work etc etc.
Nowadays it is very important to develop oneself in two parallel areas: photography as
such, and working with photo editing software. Preserving adequate proportions of each, of
course. |
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| #8 I
know, that Grand Prize of one of the contests you took part in was publication of a photo
album of your work. Could you please give us some details on the content and when we can
expect its premier? |
| The album is
entitled 'The Most beautiful Parts of Scandinavia' and it should be released in the fall
of this year. Unfortunately I cannot give you any more details - I'm still negotiating
with the publisher. |
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| #9
Are you working as a pro or are you still treating photography as a hobby? |
| Photography
is just a hobby, unfortunately I cannot commit as much time to it as I'd like to. I
haven't had a camera in my hands since November 2007 (sighs). I hope that really soon I'll
get back on track, meaning three or four trips every year to places that will let me
really bury myself in photography for a while. |
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| #10
What equipment do you use? |
| At the
moment it's Canon EOS 5D with four lenses: Canon 24-70 f 2.8, Canon 100-400 f 4.5-5.6,
Canon 15mm Fisheye and Sigma 12-24 f 4.5-5.6. |
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| #11
Are you planning any exhibits in the nearest future? |
| At the
moment my exhibition 'The Colors of Europe' is on display thru September 4th in Krakow's
club 'Pauza' ('Pause'), 18 Florianska street. The same exhibition will be held in October
in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Celje, Slovenia; then later in January 2009 at
'Ksiaznica Pomorska' in Szczecin, Poland. In November this year I'll present an exhibition
of my black and white landscapes at B&B Gallery in Bielsko-Biala. |
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| #12
What are you plans for the future? What kinds of projects would you like to do? |
| My plans are
rather long-term. Next year I'd like to go to New Zealand or Canada. Later this year maybe
Sardinia and Corsica. If I have a spare moment I'd love to visit Norway again. |
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Maciej Duczynski Official Website:
www.lonelywolf.pl |
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