Interviews with Maja Zińczuk

At the beginning, I took photos and made films, but since I started working at the art gallery, I also handle the arrangement of exhibition spaces. Artists often ask for my opinion on this matter.

I take advantage of digital conveniences, but I am a rather analog person. I create the scripts for my projects by hand.I strive to maintain my own style; when it comes to photography, these are mostly black-and-white photos.I always strive to have a key theme or guiding idea for the project. That's where I start the creation process.

It's nice to have a guiding idea for a project, but sometimes it's worth stepping off the beaten path, doing something by accident, and seeing where the project leads.I feel, of course, fantastic during the design process.

I feel absolutely fantastic, it's indescribable.

The most important thing for me is consistency, bringing the project to completion.

I might like to learn the art of creating immersive exhibitions, combining museum exhibits with sound and visuals.

Never give up, believe in your abilities, seek yourself.

At first I didn't think about being a designer, but over time it came to me :)

I think it will be photography and filmmaking.

Be yourself, you will find your own style.

I pay attention to the details of the project, I have to complete it to the end.

Good design is a sign of good taste, artistic expression and knowledge.

My dream is to design multimedia exhibitions.

An immersive exhibition in a very atmospheric place.

Many factors determine the success of projects. These are also the people who help with the project.

Good design creates a psychologically good workplace, environment, home and so on. It affects our well-being

It depends on the type of project, how long it is, what needs to be done, the type of task and the cost.

Technology is certainly useful, good work flow helps to improve work.

I use Sony camera Fs5, some good Sony lenses. Software like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere.

In my profession, colors, light and surroundings are of key importance. Everything must be thought out and prepared in advance. This is the role of photography and film.

To ask what the idea was behind the project. But it would be best if it could be noticed earlier.

How much intricate and good work was put into it.

Every day I cooperate with various artists from various industries. These are the preparations for the exhibitions we hold in our art gallery.

People who can spread good energy and optimism. Those who go beyond the beaten path.

This may come as a surprise, but books about film set design.

It has undoubtedly been a long road. At the beginning there were studies, then slowly getting into work. Thousands of photos taken for free.

These will be definitely optimistic people with good energy to work and with knowledge and faith in what they do.

It's definitely a great feeling :)

My favourite color is red, I like places near lakes, my favourite food is pad thai and I like Spring the most.

Every day I try to think well about my projects, I don't get discouraged.

I think it's my passion for cool places, paying attention to details and the surroundings.

I don't know, but I want everything to be fine.

Right now I don’t have any specific brand or company. I work as photographer and filmmaker in gallery of art in my city and sometimes as a freelancer.

I associate design with good quality, with transparency and with the thing I like most - a thought, an idea, a surprise expressed in the form of one thought.

Photography, nature oriented films and social advertising.

Interior of the Polin Museum in Warsaw (Poland).Why? Everyone should visit this place and see for themselves :)

Every day I work in gallery of art in Poland. Me and my colleagues prepare exhibitions for artists. From promotion to interior design.

Usually I work with digital images and postproduction.

It comes to my on different times of days but I feel most creative when I listened to good music.

I try to think of as many aspects I can.

I think when I make the final touches.

When I work with creative things, I feel absolutely fantastic.

A very well-thought-out idea and finishing of the project.

Has my concept been implemented? Is there any sense or deeper thought in all this?

To include social or ecological thought in all this. Design must serve society.

Emphasis on the ecological aspects of what we do.

My last exhibition was in Poland, in the place where I work now, i.e. in the Gallery of Sleńdziński family in Białystok. The exhibition took place in 2018, and I would like to have the next one maybe even in New York.

Good photos and films, music and reading books. Sometimes playing sports or dancing. Everything can be an inspiration.

I try to photograph/film in my own style. I want to give as much of myself as possible in this.

I live in a fairly small town in eastern Poland. Local folk culture, with its traditions, holidays and music, is very important to me. I don't live in the capital of the country, I'm far from big advertising agencies and that's a minus, but I have to be more creative and that's a plus.

For now, I don't cooperate with companies.

They should pick out unique people.

My process is similar to the one in which I create all things. Focus and a good idea are useful.

I try to have functional things at home, but also things that will give the apartment charm and coziness.

I start the day with good coffee. Then I prepare my son for school. Then I can start working ;)

Don't stop pursuing your goal, don't give up. Believe in your abilities.

As in any profession, there are positives and negatives, but they are probably different for everyone. It is difficult to answer this question.

I will probably repeat this very often, but it is an element of surprise in a well-thought-out strategy.

Getting the point out of complicated things :)

I use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to edit photos and Adobe Premiere to edit videos. I am inspired by websites and podcasts about cinematographers, as well as interviews and books about photographers and designers.

You need to be very well organized in life and in your work. This is the key to success ;)

It depends on the project in question, what it is, how long the project takes and how complex it is.

I get a lot of questions about various things, and I always try to answer them factually.

It was when I worked in television as a camera operator.

First of all, these are artists who exhibit their works in our Art Gallery.

I like working with photography and film the most.

I would like to take part in a master cinematographer training.

I usually work in a team.

We are preparing to arrange an exhibition that is very important for our Gallery, from interior design to the marketing side.

By e-mail: majazinczuk3@gmail.com and phone number 693400389

I think I've already answered all of questions. Thank you :)!

I believe photography can create a different kind of ecological awareness because it works through emotion before it is explained. Scientific reports are essential, but they often speak through data, distance, and urgency. Photography can create a more intimate form of attention. It can make the viewer pause, look longer, and sense that the landscape is not an abstract ecological problem, but a living space with its own rhythm and sensitivity.In "Liminalis Photography," I didn't want to show the Biebrza Valley merely as a beautiful natural area. I wanted to suggest its fragility, silence, and dependence on constantly changing conditions —with the feeling that something irreplaceable may be lost.

Working without digital post-processing required precise exposure measurement. I couldn't rely on subsequent adjustments to the mood of the image. I had to discern the light, framing, mood, and emotional tone immediately in the field. This forced me to shoot slower and more focused.In the Biebrza Valley, conditions change constantly. Fog moves, water reflects light differently from minute to minute, and the same place can become open, closed, bright, or almost invisible depending on the weather. This taught me that composition isn't just a formal arrangement of elements within the frame. It's also a way of responding to the passage of time. I had to decide when the landscape had revealed enough and when further intervention would weaken the truth of the image. This process taught me to accept limitations as part of the work. Composing and engaging with an image meant accepting that one true, unique moment can carry more meaning than a perfectly controlled image created later.

My experience in film and television production had a strong influence on Liminalis Photography. In film, a frame is never just an image. It's also about rhythm, duration, atmosphere, and anticipation.These principles naturally influenced the series. Natural light became not only a technical requirement but also a narrative element. My filmmaking experience helped me understand that stillness can contain movement, and a still frame can suggest the passage of time. In Liminalis Photography, the photographic image is static, but its inner logic is cinematic.

Receiving the Iron A' Design Award for Liminalis Photography was particularly significant because the project was based on restraint rather than digital intervention. In a category where post-production and photo manipulation are often associated with technical excellence, this distinction suggests that the jury addressed a different kind of photographic discipline: observation, patience, sensitivity to natural light, and conceptual coherence.Working without digital manipulation doesn't mean an image is simple, random, or unfinished. Decisions are made before and during exposure: where to stand, when to wait, how to interpret light, when to accept an image and when to let it go. I see this recognition as a sign that contemporary design and photography still value silence, honesty, and responsibility. In a culture saturated with enhanced images and AI, authenticity can become a powerful visual language.

One of the most pivotal moments in the outdoor session occurred when the landscape seemed to lose its distinct boundaries. The fog softened the horizon, and the valley hovered almost between visibility and disappearance. At that moment, I felt that the Biebrza Valley shouldn't be photographed solely as a recognizable location. It should also be photographed as a state of transition.This experience changed the emotional direction of the series. I became less interested in creating descriptive landscape images and more interested in capturing an atmosphere of uncertainty. The valley revealed itself not through dramatic events but through subtle shifts: the density of the air, the disappearance of distance, the way silence altered the perception of space. This made me realize that the power of the project should stem from impermanence. The series became a story about the fragile boundaries—between land and water, presence and absence, documentation and memory. This field experience gave the project its title and emotional core: the idea of ​​liminality, of being between states.

I see Liminalis Photography as a project that can evolve, because the Biebrza Valley itself is not static. It is shaped by the seasons, water levels, weather conditions, human decisions, and ecological changes. The series was created within my own professional practice under the Maya Zet brand, but I believe it has the potential to become a long-term visual archive of this sensitive landscape.In the future, I would like the project to evolve through exhibitions, publications,films, artist books, and further fieldwork. I am particularly keen to present the works as sequences, rather than just individual photographs, as the rhythm of viewing is crucial to the experience. The project could also return to the same areas over time, creating a silent record of environmental changes that may not be immediately apparent in a single image. I would like Liminalis Photography to remain both poetic and documentary. It is an artistic statement, but also a form of memory—a way of preserving the emotional atmosphere of a place whose future cannot be taken for granted.

Working in a protected wetland taught me that a photographer's first duty is not to achieve the most powerful image at all costs, but to respect the place being photographed. In the Biebrza Valley, the subject isn't just the landscape. It's a living ecosystem composed of birds, water, plants, silence, nesting sites, and delicate relationships that can easily be disrupted by human presence. Because this subject can't speak for itself, the ethical responsibility becomes even greater.These constraints shaped my entire method. I worked in silence, carefully, and with respect for nature. I agreed that some images shouldn't be taken if their creation would require interference with nature. This taught me that restraint isn't a weakness in photography; it can be one of its most important values. A fragile ecosystem shouldn't be treated as a stage for the photographer's ambitions. An image should never become more important than the living environment it represents. In retrospect, I feel that the ethical dimension of my work has become part of its visual language.

The sequence in Liminalis Photography was essential because I didn't want the project to function as a simple portfolio of individual images. I wanted the viewer to experience the series as a slow progression through the atmosphere of the Biebrza Valley. Because I didn't use post-production tools to create artificial drama or direct attention, the rhythm had to emerge from the images themselves: from shifts in light, density, distance, reflection, and mood.I approached the sequence in a manner close to film editing. Some images open up space, others preserve silence, and still others very subtly shift emotional tone. I sought transitions that felt organic, not decorative. The sequence of images had to preserve the experience of being in the field: waiting, observing, noticing subtle changes. In this sense, the sequence became another form of composition. The viewer isn't pushed to a single conclusion, but invited to move within the atmosphere.

The most important lesson I'd like to teach is not to dominate the landscape, but to stay with it long enough for it to change our perception. Some places resist easy capture, and this resistance must be respected. Landscape is not just a view. It's time, weather, memory, ecology, and a set of relationships that may not immediately emerge. A beginning photographer should learn to wait, return, and accept that the most powerful image may not be the most spectacular.Liminalis Photography taught me that restraint can amplify impact. When working with nature, the goal should be not only to create beautiful images but also to build a responsible relationship with the place. This means respecting ecological boundaries, accepting uncertainty, and allowing for silence or subtlety. I believe that environmental photography begins with attention. How we look at nature influences how we value it. If a photographer approaches the landscape with humility, patience, and care, the final result can become more than just a representation. It can become a form of listening.