Wojciech Grzędziński, Covering Wars as Part of his Varied Photographer Career, Now in Ukraine
Grzędziński is a freelance photojournalist who has covered many wars from Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan to Georgia, currently in Ukraine, covering the Russian invasion. He spoke to Reynolds School of Journalism student Alejandra Rubio about his career path, which has won him many awards, including the World Press Photo Award for Spot News.
Tell me about your career path and why you decided to become a photojournalist?
I was born in 1980. I was growing up in Eastern Europe during the rough times. I haven’t lived in Poland during the martial law because I [was] in the States. But we came back in 1984, as I remember, well, I can’t say I remember, that’s what my parents told me. During 89, 94, 91, and 90 years, something was going on in Europe. When I was 13, 14, 15, I started, well, this is the age when you understand a little bit more. During the Balkan War, I’ve been reading many free reports. And there were amazing reporters in Poland, like totally amazing.
There was always a camera in my home. My dad used to take a lot of pictures. It was a hobby for him. But he took really good pictures.
When I was 18, 19, I had just graduated from high school. I didn’t know what to do with myself. You can go back to school and study something. But in 1999, it was a time with a high unemployment rate. So you can imagine that no one my age had a job. So I decided that I would try to get a job. I started as a photographer and journalist at a student newspaper, and I’[d] been selling furniture at the same time and studying. So it was pretty crazy. When you’re young, you can do all those things together, and you have the strength.
Even go out and party during the weekend. Party hard, work hard, play hard. But that’s how it started, and I realized that it was a fun job. In the beginning, it was a fun job because you meet all those people, you visit all those places, especially when you begin in Eastern Europe, which was pretty hard to travel. It was a long time ago. It was a good way of life to see the world and see something more. Then when I started to work with newspapers, which I like, it’s amazing. The pure essence of journalism is working for a newspaper with those short deadlines with those crazy stories that you do.
I wanted to see what the war looked like because of the influences of these amazing reporters that covered these war zones. And so I went to Lebanon in 2006, then to Afghanistan.
So from there, I realized what it’s like in these war zones. I had to do it full-time, and I understood that I needed to do it for the people under attack in these wars. You have to feel it. And that was like the breakthrough moment for me. These people who were left don’t have this magical switch to make it stop. I realized I could give them a voice, and that was powerful. And that’s how I started. But I never wanted to be just a war journalist or a war photographer.
Because it’s very, very narrow, it consumes you, it takes all of your life, sucks out of you. But it was still a very important part of what I was doing. The Lebanon War was the first one and the one that I realized that it’s not for fun. It’s not for adventure. Of course, some like it for some crazy reason. But it’s mainly for the people trying to survive these wars.
While covering these wars, you were already working for a newspaper, or were you a freelance photographer?
I started to work with newspapers quite early. I was 21, something like that. I began working with Dziennik (direct translation is Daily) a national Polish newspaper. I became a staff photographer for them in 2005, and I quit the job in 2009. They went out of business a year after I quit.
I started freelancing because I realized that being a staff photographer and working for newspapers is not the full-time career I want[ed] to make. Of course, this thing is pretty important in your life. It was a lot of fun adventure and all those stuff in the beginning. But then you realize that you have to buy a flat or apartment or whatever, pay the bills, and have a normal life.
You’ll never have a normal life in this job… You’ll need to have a place to come back. So I decided to quit the newspaper, start freelancing and work for private or commercial clients. And then I got the preposition from the office of president Bronislaw Komorowski to become his chief photographer. So for the next four and a half years, that’s what I did. And after that, I started freelancing again.
How did you gain access to becoming the chief photographer for this president?
WG: They offered this job. I well knew that they were looking for a chief photographer who could manage the whole strategy and not only take photos. To humanize the president and bring him closer to the people…. Presidents before were only shown at official ceremonies and events. The same way that Pete Souza was doing with Barack Obama. His work was like pretty amazing. Like, everyone knows it. Also, the staff from the Ukrainian office of the President are pretty cool guys. We’re still in touch. Hopefully, I will see them next week. Also, the staff of the Portuguese President did a pretty good job. So yeah, that was the thing I was trying to do. I had a crew of four or five photographers plus me…
What image do you think got you recognized with larger publications?
I’m not sure. I still don’t think I’m not an example of a career you should follow because when you have this gap of five years, working for the president and only for the president, everything changed during those five years. Photo editors and staff photographers, everything changed. I’m just rebuilding all my contacts, and I have been for many years, and this is a crazy thing to do.
And I think that this is the biggest challenge in my life right now. To rebuild and freelance again, because you have this kind of gap. I feel out of the market, and no one will know my work from Georgia from 2008. Maybe they will know one or two. They will not recognize my amazing reportage from back ten years ago. They will recognize all this new work coming in. These people are a whole new generation.
I’m not that self-confident like the new generation is. I was raised with different values and words in the world. That was more humble. So when I see these young photographers, they think they’re doing an amazing job, and editors believe them. Some older photographers know that they have a lot to do when looking at these images from the younger generation. It’s not an easy life to be a photographer. There are many layers, and it’s a challenging job to do. Because it’s not about pictures, it should be about a story. But it’s not. Photography is like 20%, and then there is this marketing stuff. There is this self-promotion right now. I think that 50–60 % of it is self-promotion, and it’s not my thing. I’m all about the moment. I’m all about the story. I’m not as talkative as these younger guys. So I’m not a good example of a career photographer. HAHA.
I have been told that I shouldn’t become a photojournalist and cover such dangerous events as a woman. What do you think about that statement?
Sorry for the language. That’s bullshit. Of course, this is a hard job. This used to be a man’s job. But I think that being a woman photographer, you have a lot of advantages, like a lot, there is a lot of initiative, there are workshops for only women. So this is what helps to promote you as a photographer. You have access to many more stories than men have. For instance, in December last year, I covered human trafficking in Kenya. So I spoke to all those trafficked women. Many of them were raped and sexually abused. And for them and me, this barrier, the gender barrier, was rigid. And all those stories are connected to fragile gender stories. It’s much easier for a woman to help tell their stories. I haven’t done any story in my life that a woman wouldn’t do. In my perspective, of course, this is the thing that you can do. That statement is a stereotype from the past. That’s my opinion.
Can you talk about how you are gaining access to these spaces?
I cover a lot of stories, and it just happens. There are lots of stories that I would love to take, but gaining access can be impossible. The Kenya story is a case, for example, of telling the world of unspoken things. One of the head persons at the NGO was Polish, and he was looking for a Polish photographer to help them with another project. One of my friends had given them my contact information. From there, I was able to talk to them about what kind of stories I would like to cover. Being able to gain their trust, they were able to help me gain access to these women. It’s essential to grow your work according to what type of career you want. It is crucial to building your name on values.
What do you see for your future?
GW: I decided to shoot music a couple of years ago, and this is a side thing that I do. I’m pretty well known in Poland for my music photos. I shoot mostly classical music, which is pretty rare. I love it, and I love classical musicians. I have many friends that play classical music. They’re crazy people, like totally crazy. Since they were three or four years old, these people have been playing their instruments. It’s a love and hate relationship that they have with their instruments. They are always full of passion.
I’m also trying to come back to be a press photographer, but I don’t want to work with Polish press anymore. Because for me, there is no press in Poland anymore. It just ended in 2010 and 2011, something like that. So I have been working with magazines and press and commercial portraits. Building this balance and not working just as a press photographer or only a commercial photographer can teach you many things that you can use on any assignment. For example, taking some stuff out of commercial photography, like lightning, organizing photo shoots, and other things you can use in your photojournalism work. And there are many things that you can use as a photojournalist, like the fact that they have the improvisation staff and all of the annoying things that will happen, and you can use them in commercial photography. I’m trying to build this kind of balance where the commercial side pays and gives me ideas, and the photojournalist gives me this meaning in the sense that I’m doing something meaningful with my life.
You have been covering the Russia-Ukraine war, can you tell me how that is going for you?
I’ve been here many times before. I covered the Orange Revolution in 2004, almost 18 years ago. I know people, understand and speak [Ukrainian] very basically. I love Ukrainians, and they know what they’re fighting for. They’re patriotic in this positive way when you have to be a decent man. I think that we have a lot of things to learn from them. As for me, as a Polish man, I think worldwide, many nations should look at the Ukrainians, understand how they act, how they support each other, and most importantly, fight for their own country. All those things they’re doing, this whole atmosphere here is something. I feel that I’m in something big. It’s like a lifetime thing, a life-changer event. The determination of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy WOW! He’s doing things like a leader that you only see in sci-fi movies. There hasn’t been this kind of leadership in the world. I can only be in here and support them with my pictures. That’s important for me.
Have you done a story that you have turned down ethical reasons or had a story that put you in a dark place?
When you are putting yourself on the line, it’s your life and mental stability. And I think that you don’t need to go to the war zone, to be very far out of your mental comfort zone. For example, you are talking to three amazing women that have been smuggled, trafficked, and raped. Now they are living with HIV. Having to ask them all these questions because you are a journalist can put you in this uncomfortable situation.
Being a photojournalist for over 20 years, I now have all of those stories inside me, right? The more you have been through, the [more] complete person you are. But those emotions are here. I suddenly realized this because of the emotional stories that I had done. I was in a very dark place. As for passing up stories, I have not. I have turned down commercial work. Someone wanted images of 500 Ukrainian women with children for commercial use. And I was like, WHAT! So you think I should go to a train station when there are a lot of refugees trying to save their lives, and you want to use them for your commercial? No way! They were paying a lot of money for this. So yeah. I did not take it. All those ethical things are mainly in the commercial market. I had another experience where people asked me for war photos for their TV series. It’s crazy.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start a career as a photojournalist?
First read. Read as much as you can. Not only on the internet but read print as well. The print will broaden your imagination. Then start shooting people around you. Friends, family, and anyone you have access to. Someone had given me some golden advice. If you can not find a story a mile or so from your home, then you will not be able to find one in another country. One story that I did that was not too far from my home was about these homeless people getting married at a church. So I offered my services and was able to gain access to their wedding. That was the best advice that I got, and I can give.
