About me - I have always been curious about everything that lies behind the next mountain, the next river or the next curve. I photograph both the unusual and everyday objects. With my backpack and camera safely placed near me, I like to go where civilization has not managed to spoil natural landscape yet, where time has just stopped for a moment and birds dare not trespass, firmly believing that farther away only dragons dwell. The sound of church bells that I hear in the distance, the laughter of toothless shepherds gathering their sheep together in the mountains, or simply the friendly pat of a giant who cannot help screaming really loud, “Vive la’ Polonia!” when I reveal my nationality to him are things that I cherish when I visit new places.
About traveling - Ever since I read the adventures of “Tomek in the Realm of Kangaroos” (the series of books written by Polish novelist Alfred Szklarski) I have always thought about traveling into the farthest parts of our planet. My dad’s colorful tales about baobabs, moving sands, elephants and tigers convinced me that there is quite a different world worthy of seeing somewhere out there. From the beginning, it was only the three of us – my dad, my younger brother and I. We owned a bicycle which had a very long saddle convenient enough for all three of us. The trips I planned were becoming longer and for myself, the traveler – more and more independent. Once, while standing on top of Vilan mountain in the Swiss Alps, I realized that an individual cannot see everything that exists in the world, so the aim for the traveler is not just the destination but rather the traveling itself. It is an overwhelming passion that can last a whole life time.
About traveling - Ever since I read the adventures of “Tomek in the Realm of Kangaroos” (the series of books written by Polish novelist Alfred Szklarski) I have always thought about traveling into the farthest parts of our planet. My dad’s colorful tales about baobabs, moving sands, elephants and tigers convinced me that there is quite a different world worthy of seeing somewhere out there. From the beginning, it was only the three of us – my dad, my younger brother and I. We owned a bicycle which had a very long saddle convenient enough for all three of us. The trips I planned were becoming longer and for myself, the traveler – more and more independent. Once, while standing on top of Vilan mountain in the Swiss Alps, I realized that an individual cannot see everything that exists in the world, so the aim for the traveler is not just the destination but rather the traveling itself. It is an overwhelming passion that can last a whole life time.
About photography - A strange glitch of mankind does not allow as to relish in the instant, to contemplate the presence, and thus fully appreciate what is being given to us at this very moment. It is through photographs that we see different ways of life and come to appreciate what we have right now. Photographs are a mechanism of preserving memories, especially those moments of happiness. It is true that for our whole life we experience different things – trips, beautiful landscapes, meetings with random people, tastes of unknown dishes and smells of the strangest plants. So it cannot come as a surprise that when we arrive home we feel an urge to share all this with the ones we love. We simply don’t want to forget about everything that was good…
Piotr J Andzel
