Studied human nutrition, worked in a family restaurant, and now shoots film in Warsaw.
Tell us who you are and how you ended up making photographs.
My name is Karol and I’m a film photographer from Warsaw, Poland. I’m 35, and I graduated in human nutrition, so I’m self-taught in photography. Before the pandemic I worked in a family restaurant; when the restrictions came we had to close it, and after that I started to think more seriously about photography.
How did you discover it?
My grandfather was always interested in photography. He had enlargers and lots of old cameras, and I was fascinated by the darkroom work he did. After he died, I borrowed a camera from my mother for the first time — that’s how the adventure began. Some basic Canon digital was my first real camera, and it was then that I realised photography was a good way to express myself.
Was there any art in the family before that?
My family were farmers, so there was no room for art. Later my mother discovered she was pretty good at painting. My grandfather was the photography enthusiast, but he lived far from us.
You shoot only film. What does it give you that digital doesn’t?
Film makes you pause for a moment and think about the frame — every press of the shutter costs money. It’s more tangible, more physical: you can literally touch the frame. I’ve tried digital gear, but it’s not for me.
What does a typical day look like?
I don’t have one. I don’t like monotony.
And your strongest work so far?
It’s hard to judge your own work. I don’t think it’s happened yet.
Pick one photograph and tell us the story behind it.
I was on holiday when Kodak offered me an advertising editorial. I wasn’t prepared at all. In the end my partner and I shot the whole thing with a disco ball, in a sandpit, in about an hour.
Where does your inspiration come from, and is there a photographer you’d like us to interview?
Everyday life and travelling, mostly. And I admire the work of many photographers: Tom Johnson, Jack Davison, Zhong Lin, Quentin De Briey, Alexander Saladrigas.
What’s next?
I’d love to say, but all I can tell you is that my next project will be on another continent.
