Wojtek Korsak: Artist-photographer, winner of prestigious competitions, lecturer, traveler, Pole and French, author of several awarded albums.. and owner of one of the largest collections of black and white negatives immortalizing the Eiffel Tower that he took for maaaaany years. He also exhibited pictures of the Tower ON the Parisian tower itself!

Wojtek is an extremely soulful man, with an endless sense of humor and an eternal smile on his face. In plastic-digital times, he is still faithful to the art of traditional photography. Instead of tinkering with Photoshop, he looks for beauty that is already hidden somewhere, waiting for hours for the right light. It surprises, amazes, delights. Being in France for 20 years, he photographed fashion, works of art, museum exhibits, landscapes, architecture, portrayed … 

We had a great conversation during our get-together, Mister Korsak is a great storyteller! I was interested in how Wojtek’s work in fashion photography looked like before the digital tsunami. An analog photo shoot back in the days would take much more time and the processing was very expensive. The workflow was slower, and the shots had to be planned precisely. People behind, and in front of the camera would behave differently knowing they don’t have endless opportunities to re-take pictures.. which lead to different results: each photograph was a truly unique handcrafted piece of art. You never knew exactly how it went until you checked the negatives and developed them using chemicals in the darkroom. The lack of instant gratification was integral to the experience. What a meticulous creative process of image-making!

– My parents have always been in the artistic circle. It was a natural environment for me. I was tangled between their legs. I soaked up this atmosphere. Maybe that’s why I turned to this atmosphere during the pandemic, when suddenly, overnight, we ran out of direct interpersonal contacts – says Wojtek Korsak about his inspirations for the project “Artist – Creative Process”, carried out for six months, that was held under the scholarship of Culture and National Heritage.

“Artist – Creative Process” is his latest photographic series, a record of extraordinary meetings taking place in the studios of artists – painters, sculptors, filmmakers, and musicians – and their private worlds. I was one of these artists! Below a few of my portraits taken by Wojtek. 

The series was printed as a book and exhibited at galleries: The vernissage and premiere of the printed album took place in Gdynia Film Centre and was also exhibited at Oliwski Ratusz Kultury, Nowy Warzywniak Art Gallery. We were lucky to attend the vernissage between two pandemic lock-downs. I got to see my portraits printed in large format hanging on the wall and got a few of the books for my family and my family.

Wojtek also teaches photography in an amazing school in my town. After seeing him work with his cameras and how he captured my personality so accurately I was blown away and decided to enroll in the course with my boyfriend. We started studying photography in February and so far it has been amazing! Can’t wait to share some of my own photo work. 

I am looking forward to slowing down and switching from digital to analog, I want to embrace the process of developing my own photographs in the darkroom. The freedom of shooting digital all the time is nice, but there is something romantic to this art of analog that attracts me. There is true craftsmanship in this medium. 

Hopefully, in a few years from now, I’ll be able to capture unique moments as Mister Korsak. Thanks, Wojtek. It was a pleasure!

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