Xposure Collective from Poland

Today I would like to share with you an interview with the members of Xposure Collective, a group of photography enthusiasts from Poland. Rafał Kulwiec, Paweł Jóźwiak, Bartosz Bańka, Marek Szeremeta, Piotr Połoczański and Łukasz Kaczorowski decided to start working together as a collective in February 2016. In there artistic statement they wrote: “We embrace photography which is present in our everyday life, at work rush, at home with our families, and every journey – small ones, to next corner of the street, and those to distant places. To collect all important moments we use Fujifilm cameras. Compact, unnoticeable, discrete and classically designed light capturing devices. Catching the light, which is the key to photography. We would like to share our stories, written by light and moment”.

Tomash: Could you describe the idea behind the Xposure Collective? What are your goals, is there a common message that all of its members are trying to spread through their photography?

Xposure Collective: The idea itself came to us in a natural way. It was something, that in a certain sense, we all needed. Before it all started, most of us were photographers already. We were fully aware of how we wanted to communicate and present our work. The place, where we can share our photographs, our thoughts, and mainly – learn from each other, was the one that we needed so much. Our primary objective is to show our work made by compact cameras, which by their light weigh and size can accompany us in everyday life. Every single day, on each step we take, you can see shots that just beg to be taken. It is inconvenient to carry a DSLR with lenses by your side all the time. That little, handy and alternative campact camera, giving a possibility not only to take that shoot but retain DSLR quality and the quality is much better than you might have expected. Additionally, on the collective’s web/FB page, were posting articles written by us which tell about photography and topics related to it. Thanks to the page you will learn more about us, our passion and our work. Those compact cameras find themself quite good in educating and entertaining as well as workhorses used in proffesional work.

Tomash: How would you describe the benefits of creating and working within a photography collective? Are there any disadvantages or difficulties as well?

Xposure Collective: There are plenty benefits coming from working together, but the main objective is to share our passion, build a healthy relation and work as an effective team.We’re not only learning on each other’s work but motivate eachother. Honesty and respect is the foundation of our group. We always say what we are really thinking about that current photograph, what advantage and disadvantage comes on our mind forcing us to use 100% of potential we’ve got. Each of us is betther than another in some aspects of photography: one got better skill of “seeing” perfect frames, another have better workflow and “know how” in postproduction – all of those combines to form a team which is intended to represent complementarity and solidarity. When routine takes over we are able to push eachother in the right direction. We share inspiring links, sending some reflections and thoughts or setting a course in the right direction by sharing albums and books. Photographic downturn is something that may happen to anyone and there’s no place for a breakdown. When you lack inspiration it is important to get up and do something! No energy to practice? Try some theory, study photography and learn about it’s masters. Don’t waste your time! Despite all of that we’re individualists and sometimes discipline is hard to maintain. If we didn’t have Rafał aboard, our founder and editor-in-chief who manages to hold us together It could not be that bright:] Thanks to him you can hear from us regularly.

Tomash: Was it difficult to find a common denominator for all six members of the collective or was it something that actually happened naturally?

Xposure Collective: From the very begining we all had similar expectations, so it was easy to decide what we want to show to the public. Together we establish goals that we want to achieve and go towards completion. Despite the fact that this is a diverse group of people and we’re seeing world from other perspectives, basic establishments are the same for all. In our collective we’ve got wedding photographers, concert and event photographers, press and photojournalists. This plurality works for us and make us go forward, we feel like we fit exactly where we should.

Tomash: Do you have any particular plans for the future? Where do you see Xposure Collective in three or five years?

Xposure Collective: From the start it was our goal to set real targets to be reached. First of all we want to do our job, we want to evolve and share our photographs. In future we will probably go for something bigger, a large, ambitious project (or projects) that will combine our work together, but it all needs to happend in it’s own time. As we mentioned, despite working as a team, we are individualists which can be seen in our works. We are sharing our experience, as much as we can. It’s an opportunity to create something extraordinary. For now we’re working on series of interviews with photographers (one already can be viewed on our website) to be showed for readers regularly. It’ll be a great opportunity to get to know other people truly commited to photography.

Tomash: What made you choose Fujifilm X-Series cameras to produce your work?

Xposure Collective: For regular work we’re using DSLR’s. They are also reliable but designed for heavy duty work. Smaller equipment is something that we need for everyday photography, beyond proffesional sphere, where oversiezed DLRS couldn’t simply reach our expectations. After hours spent with a lot of stuff on our backs we were simply tired and exhausted, but still motivated enough to find an alternative. Smaller, handy, but still keeping the spirit of good quality image from DSLRs. Without looking far, theres only one simple and clear choice – Fujifilm X Series cameras. This camera system is intuitive and quiet enough to be used on streets without bringing special attention of people.

Make sure you visit the Xposure Collective website to have a look at more work of all its founding photographers.

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