When I walk and photograph street scenes, I do not think of myself as an artist or photographer. I think of myself as a passerby, bystander, or tourist who simply walks and takes pictures once something unusual (or usual, as in my case) catches my eye.
Speaking briefly, while photographing street scenes, I leave my artistic ego at home. By ‘artistic ego’, I mean the self-imposed pressure to capture only the most unique or aesthetically pleasing scenes. I do not honestly care what I photograph or how many pictures I take. I wrote this text on the 6th of August, 2025. It was a day when I was returning from the office on foot. While doing it, I was rucking (I had 30 kg [66 lbs.] on my back and shoulders), taking over 250 photos, and almost 17k steps. One old guy sitting on the bench asked me:
Hey, Tourist! Do you have a lighter?
Of course, I told the truth that I did not have a lighter and went my way. Still, I was glad that a random guy appealed to me as I was a tourist. I do not have tattooed on my head that I am an accountant or artist. Still, I think that thanks to carrying a Nikon D90 camera, a tool often associated with tourists and amateur photographers, most people consider me just another tourist. That’s great. As I mentioned earlier, I leave my artistic ego behind and simply enjoy the mundane reality while walking and capturing photos of everything that catches my eye.
Even if I know that I am an artist while writing this text (by the way, I believe all people are artists), I do not try to think too much about it while walking in the crowd. It does not help anyhow. Still, watching myself as a typical tourist gives me the courage to photograph even the most mundane views in Warsaw, and I want to emphasize that photography is accessible to all, regardless of their artistic background or equipment.
