WHO?
My name is Damian Chrobak, I was born in 1977 in Jastzrebie Zdroj, Poland. I got my first camera when I was 24 years old and started taking pictures immediately in the streets of Warsaw. Photography became my passion and I decided to develop and study it further. That is when I started learning more about it at the Academy of Photography in Warsaw. I didn’t know many people in Warsaw at that time and I would spend most of my days observing everything through a viewfinder. After one year and with the encouragement of my professor I decided to move to UK to study and work. I came to London in 2004 and since then I didn’t stop enjoying observing and documenting the world around me. In 2010 I joined the Polish Association of Art Photographers, and a year later I launched the Polish street collective Un-Posed together with many talented and ambitious polish photographers working in Poland and abroad. From 2019 to 2022 I studied at the Institute of Creative Photography, Opava, Czech Republic.
Recently together with my partner Ieva, who is also a photographer, we launched Aust.studio – a place for working and creating with other like-minded people, creatives, publishers and galleries. We do fine art and photographic printing, work with archives, photobooks and exhibitions. It feels like this practise expands my understanding and teaches me a lot of subtleties in this field.
WHERE?
Everywhere I live, visit or pass by. I think every place has a potential for images; you just need to find your vision and interest. A large part of my archive consists of images from Warsaw, London, and New York. I always carry a camera around my neck and I try to use every opportunity to take a photograph. Recently I moved to Kaunas, Lithuania and this part of the world became an interesting place of observation and documentation for me. It has a very different feeling, aesthetic and history than other places I photographed before, but I enjoy this new chapter and the possibility to change together with my photography. I was always fascinated by street but now I can feel some different influences coming in, as I’m looking for wider range approaches.
WHEN?
Always! On my way to work, while meeting friends, going to shop, everywhere where I know I can take a picture. I take an image when something inside tells me to do it. After shooting for 20 years, I feel like I developed some kind of instinct for making images that speak to me and it is a very intuitive way of working.
WHAT?
People and everything that is connected with them: their environment, activities, and behaviour. I was always an observer and photography helped me to put these observations in a shape of a photograph. I want to document daily life and how people go about it and how I go about it myself. For me, this type of documentary tells a lot about our society and helps me to reflect on things that draw my attention in everyday life.
WHY?
As far as I remember, I was always a quiet person and loved observing everything that surrounded me. Now I’m enjoying capturing those moments on film and putting them together. I don’t think I will ever stop taking images one way or another, and I want to record as much as I can, documenting the period and places I live in. Photography is such a valuable medium if used appropriately. Personally, it helps me to understand current times and get to know people better and sometimes it is a very meditative practice. I believe it is also a great way to pass on information for future generations.
