First of all, I was born in early 70s in Poland. We were living in Warsaw, Polish capitol. My first camera was an amazing, single lens medium format camera called Druh. You can compare its functionality only with basic model of Holga (120 GN). It was good equipment for boy in the age of 8 and surprisingly I made some good shots using this simply pin-hole device. In late 80s my father bought a Zenith TTL, a flagship model of Zenith branch. Together with standard 50/2 lens I entered into new world, where the DOF and shutter can be easily managed. My favorite landscape compositions became more clear and sharp.
Being blessed with rather flat and uninteresting region of Masovia (where Warsaw is located) I was unable to make such pictures I was dreaming of. I'm fond of mountains and the only hilly area in Poland are Carpathian, with the highest ridge known as Tatra Mountains. Since 1984 I've visited this area every year, sometimes more than once a year. Most of my pictures was made there, and when I'm looking for a new place to visit I almost always focus on mountains area. That was happen when I first traveled to Norway and when I spent holidays in Germany.
I am graduated in atmospheric physics and I have no background in photography. I'm self-taught, just looking at my pictures, compare my work with professionals and studied books. Today I concentrate on making pictures and writing books – I successfully published one of my book. And I still live in Warsaw, too far from my mountains.
Now let me say few words about my gear. In my rucksack you can find Mamiya 645 Pro TL with AE Prism and Nikon D200 with one of the following lenses:
Secor 35mm/f3.5, Secor 45mm/f2.8, Secor 55mm/f2.8, Secor 80mm/f2.8, Macro 120mm/f4 (1:1), APO 200mm/f2.8; Nikkor 12-24/4 IF/ED/DX, Micro Nikkor 60/2.8 AF-S ED, Nikkor 70-200/2.8 IF/ED/VR, Nikkor 24-120/3.5-5.6 IF/ED/VR.
I use only Kasemann PL filters and B&W UV filters on every lens to protect the front from accidental damage. Grad filters I bought from Cokin. Despite its weight, the Manfrotto 190PROB tripod with 029 Head (for Mamiya) and 468 Ball Head (For D200) is my favorite gear.
