Interview with Rafal Pruszynski

How, why and when did photography begin for you?

It really began as a way of documenting Poland on my vacation trips there during the 1990 when I was in highschool and university. Mostly as a way of satisfying my nostalgia for a country I left when I was 10. I shot mostly architecture and family and then put together albums that would give me a feeling of being connected to a country I no longer lived in but missed immensely. The photos themselves were not really any good, but at that time it was never my intent to achieve high quality photographs. It was the content and the connection that counted.  After moving to Korea in 2001 I used photography purely as a tourist. It was not my intentiuon to reside here for a long time and I simply shots things as if I were a tourist. 8 years later I’m still here for at least another 2 years.

And a little about your background beyond photography…?

I was born in Poland, moved to Canada at 10. I studied biology and biochemistry in University. After graduation I moved to Korea and I think it has had a huge imnpact on me as a person.

Can you talk about the specific things that have influenced your work over time? Such as specific artists, friends, music, movies, books… And as related can you talk about your thoughts on how this has impacted your evolution as a photographer.

First, Flickr really exposed me to a wide range of photography from street to landscape and portraiture and put me in touch with like minded people.  For example I run a group called La Familia Abrazada as a collaboration with people I met through HCSP.  The other influence was David Alan Harvey.  I was able to meet him in 2007 when he was in Seoul and was able to spend a whole week shooting with him while helping him get around the city.  The breakthrough moment was a portfolio review where the best work I had done till then was basically shot down.  5 years of my best work up till then.  An experience that hurt, but what I was able to take away from that was that I had to focus on projects and to learn by looking at as many photos and artists as possible.  I have had some regular input from him since then and that has shaped my work immensely.   Also I would say that Eggleston, Shore, Mark Power, Nan Goldin as well as a number of photographers on Flickr (such as the LFA group I already mentioned). I also look at a number of blogs where less know photographers are showcased.

What has been your biggest challenge in growing as a photographer?

The biggest challenge is trying to develop my own language that is both rooted in my influences but also my own.  Its not an easy thing to do.

Your photographs are very often, from what I can tell, created with the intention of becoming a series. How have your series evolved? Do the photos comes first, the idea, something in between?

Its a mix.  For example Little Pieces of Us started from the photos.  It actually started from a realization that I could do something more than the usual family album stuff after I shot a few photos of my son at the doctor’s office.  Sometimes it starts from an idea, like with my Fake Plastic Trees where I had the eureka before I even shot a single photo.

Was there any challenge in balancing creating this work for you and your family vs. the photographic community?

The intent always was to create something for both.  We always take photos and I take many that will never be in Pieces.  Photography is always present, which is a normal thing.  Pieces is basically the same thing, but with a slightly different, more serious intent.  So on the one hand it is meant for my family and myself, as a way of capturing the fleeting moments, and on the other hand it is meant for a larger community.  The challenge is mostly about quality and diversity. I want to shoot good and diverse photos that ultimately create ain interesting and deep story.

I recall someone saying that when photographing family you often trade off “experiencing” vs “documenting”. You become the outsider while photographing rather than a part of the family experience. That doing both is challenging.

Sure, but not as much as one may think.  At least I dont perceive it like that.  As I said, Pieces is a small part of the photos I take: birthday parties, portraits, etc that will never make it into Pieces.  I don’t think there is that seperation.  I do think that in the end it deepens things for me.  When I look at the photos in Pieces I remember the moments in those photos.  As I said in the statement on Burn that accompanied the work, the idea is to capture fleeting moments one quickly forgets.  And on that level the work has succeeded.

Are there specific things you look for when searching for the photo? Something that stays consistent regardless of the subject or series? Or perhaps something that helps you frame what you are looking for via the series.

Its different for different projects.  In Pieces the consistency is the mood.  In Riverside it is also mood.  In Fake Plastic Trees it is the composition.  Mostly I would say mood is the thing I try and keep consistent, certainly in Pieces or the projects under Marooned (Riverside, Nocturnal Picnic, Park Life, Parked)

Can you give us some insight into your latest series Nocturnal Picnic?

It was a series whose bulk basically came together in 2 evenings of shooting last October. I was basically trying to shoot at a lantern festival. Thousands of people were cramped into a small space and many took refuge from the crowd by going into the woods around the area. I took one shot and immediately saw the potential. I had wasted a lot of the time though that first evening so I returned the next evening to shoot more. My goal is to go back this October to continue the series.

If you were to recommend other photographers or artist work for others to look at what would that be?

I think the obvious answer is to give some famous names. Instead I will point people to Flickr, and specifically groups like La Famila Abrazada (we have a tumblr blog, too), Landscapist, La Pura Vida, High and Low, Hard Core Tree Photography, Populated by Vegetation, We Hate Summer but We Love Rothko and also HCSP.

Thanks to Rafal for participating.  You can see more of his work at Flickr and a version of his photo essay  “Little Pieces of Us” at Burn.