Interview with Rafal Maleszyk

#1 Please introduce yourself

My name is Rafal Maleszyk I am from Poland, when I was 19 I started to travel through Europe, lived in Spain, Austria, The Netherlands later moved to California. For the past 4 years I have been living on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

#2 How did you get interested in photography?

When first started to travel abroad I wanted to share all interesting places I see with my family and friends. I have seen an exposition in the Centro Cultural in Palma de Mallorca by Sebastiano Salgado, large format black and white prints of children. I must say this was the day I decided photography is for me. I learn by recording images, even when I am learning languages I have to see the written version of the word before I can remember it. This was just natural that photography became huge part of my life.

#3 Do you have an artistic/photographic background?

I have experimented with many different artistic mediums before photography became the primary. I have worked for German artist on the island of Mallorca working in stone, taken photography class in Palma de Mallorca, I have taken art classes in Vienna as well as San Francisco, California. I have designed and built wooden tables as well as worked with acrylic paint. My photography benefits largely from all this experimentation.

#4 Which artist/photographer inspired your art?

Joan Miro, M.C.Escher, Vincent van Gogh, my wife and my daughter.

#5 How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph? Are you planning every step or is it always spontaneous?

I love art because you can do anything, anytime. Art gives me freedom to do what I feel like at the giving moment. Of course a lot of times the process of creating a photograph is a laborious task, it takes countless hours of searching for the perfect location then right point of view, then the light. Sometimes I have to go back to the same place several times. Since I have started to do Plastic Landscapes I had to learn what kind of plastic to use, how long it is going to take me to prepare it and of course collected after I am done. A lot of things have to come together and connect. Nature does not give us the great spectacles every time we go out, it take a lot of patience and searching before we can witness something spectacular. It is all about being in the right place at the right time with the precise skills, right equipment and positive energy, when all this factors come together I might be lucky to create something good.

#6 What fascinates you in places that you shoot?

I use to photograph remote places; unknown landscapes would wake up this unstoppable desire to record what I see. I do not have to travel to the moon to see the exceptional uniqueness of the landscape, just crossing a border of a country or a state is enough.  Hawaii has been a little bit different; I have not left for 4 years now and can not get enough of diversity, light and nature of this magnificent place.