#3 Daniel Kulinski –Precious Moments

Hello. This is Nadia. In the last posting, I had introduced photos that were somewhat unrealistic. So this time, I found an artist who captures the hidden images of our daily lives. What kind of pictures come to your mind when you think of hidden images? Playground you go back to occasionally when you are depressed? The spot below the streetlight where you had your first kiss? Yes, that could be. But Daniel sheds a new light to things and places that we take for granted, making them look as if you are seeing it for the first time. I have experienced this kind of feeling before. Movies directed by Shunji Iwai - famous for movies like “Love Letter” and “Hana & Alice”- made me feel like that. The boring and mundane walk to school, so dull that I memorized how many and what kinds of ads were posted on the wall… The school festival that repeated every year… The school principal who basically said the same thing every time… The colorless everyday life that makes you bored just thinking about it changed into something beautiful in Iwai’s hands. The mysterious found in Iwai’s films were also in Daniel’s photograph. I came to know Daniel through the photo-sharing website called Flickr. I immediately fell in love with one photo and sent an e-mail to Daniel. Fortunately I was able to hear back from him and we became friends on messenger. And guess what picture I saw? It’s this!

A picture of a car that looks as if the color and black and white picture were taken at the same time. Do you see the antenna? How on earth did he even think of taking pictures like this? I envy him. So instead of admiring the pictures alone, I decided to ask Daniel about his secrets directly. The following is the interview.

-N: Hello, Daniel. This is Nadia. The photos are simple, beautiful, yet fascinating!

-D: Thank you. I try my best, but it doesn’t always turn out great.

-N: Please introduce yourself.

-D: My name is Daniel Kulinski. I’m 32 years old and I work at a post office in Poland related to IT field. I spend my spare time with my wife or practice combative sports called BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). And the rest, I take pictures.

-N: When did you start taking pictures?

-D: The first time I took a picture was when I borrowed a camera from my brother 4 years ago. It’s been about 2 years since I started taking it seriously and used Samsung pro815. I took nearly 1000 pictures but the results weren’t that great. I took the pictures to test the performance of the camera. Now I also use Samsung WB1000. It’s especially good for taking close ups.

-N: Do you have any secret know-hows?

-D: Nothing special. I just take pictures of whatever comes to my mind. First, I take a lot of them, then sort out the good ones. This way I get to learn how to fix mistakes and obtain good results. I sometimes imitate the pictures of other people. Not entirely though. I don’t think that’s fair.

-N: I think your photos are creative and fresh.

-D: Maybe that’s because the pictures have various angles. I usually take a lot of close ups and a lot of things tend to look different when they are looked at closely. I’ve recently started taking black and white photos.

-N: Why do you like black and white pictures?

-D: Black and white are very different from color. Black and white pictures evoke mysteriousness and curiosity. But in color pictures, a lot the things become boring. Black and white pictures, meanwhile, create another dimension while hiding the shortcomings.

-N: What does photography mean to you? I’d like to hear your philosophy on photography.

-D: Actually, I’d like to study photography formally but I don’t have the money or time. But I still think that many things can change depending on each individual’s ability and will. What they teach you in school isn’t everything. And to be more frank, I’m really happy that I was able to accomplish everything by myself. Philosophy on photography? The act of taking pictures itself is a great pleasure for me. I don’t spend that much on photo taking and I’m happy to see many enjoying my work. I also like to take pictures when I’m traveling. The reason for this is because I can take pictures of my own, not scenes that you often seen in advertisements.

-N: Thank you. Your photos deliver the passion you have. Thanks for your time. I’ll also try not to lose my dream.

This was how the interview with Daniel ended. Daniel is a person with tremendous passion for photography. And also who works really hard at it. He was effectively balancing his work, family and hobby. When taking pictures, Daniel takes one step closer. Also he looks at objects from a different angle than others. This kind of enthusiasm and effort enable his photos to be remembered as “precious moments”.

Do you want to create something precious? If so, take a step closer - whether it’s a thing, place or people. And look for the hidden. As you try to get closer, as you try to look for something different, your world will be filled with precious moments.

So far, I’ve only covered male photographers – no intention involved. Next post, I’ll definitely try to introduce a woman photographer. This was Nadia.