Let’s shed a little light on my background:

I was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1979. In 1987, my parents, sister and I fled the communist regime and relocated to West Germany with a hope of a better future. After a couple of years it was clear that we weren’t allowed to stay and faced the threat of being deported back to Poland at any given time. Luckily my parents were quick to act and got us all to move to the best country in the world, Canada. Ever since 1989, Toronto has been my home.

My artistic past and present:

All of my life I’ve been a very creative and artistic person. It pretty much runs in my veins as much as it does in my family. I graduated from college with two diplomas: One in Graphic Design and the other in Traditional Animation. Ever since then, I’ve worked in feature film and animated television series. As to photography, I am self-taught.

So, why photography?

Sometimes we don’t find our true passion until all of the necessary steps are taken. For me it goes back to 2005, when I went backpacking in Eastern Europe. That’s when I caught the bug. I find there is a beautiful simplicity to photography, and that it doesn’t lie. Yet it can be artistically enhanced through storytelling, composition, lighting and movement, all of which are skills I picked up through school and further developed by working in the animation industry. For me, this was the perfect storm!

My style:

I don’t follow any trends, but instead remain true to my vision and shoot in a way which excites me. I’ve come to believe this is the best way in creating beautiful works of art and being happy in the process. I love black & white and have a tendency to do a lot of my personal work in that format, but when it comes to weddings and events of similar nature, I do my best to include my signature look in colour as well. In the end, it’s all about the emotional experience through the act of storytelling.

Why does my website exhibit both, professional and personal work?

I truly believe that they are one and the same. Professional work shows where a person is currently at, whereas personal work shows where they are going. If I’m not happy with my personal work, how can I expect my clients to be happy with my professional work? If it’s not good enough for me, then it’s definitely not good enough for them.

My future:

Definitely will keep shooting and expanding my photographic horizons. There is tons of experimenting ahead and inspiration to fuel it all. As one of my favourite quotes goes, “Pursue perfection, but be willing to accept excellence as a compromise to stagnation."

Cheers and thanks for visiting :)

- Mike Swiegot