Jan Skwara Biographical
© Jan Skwara
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Jan Skwara
Jan Skwara, born in 1981, is a photographer and traveler based in Poland. He is the winner of numerous international and national photography competitions, including National Geographic’s Grand Photography Contest, Leica Street Photo, Travel Photographer of the Year, Polish Sport Photography Contest, and a three-time winner of the "Frames from the World" contest. He specializes in documentary, travel, portrait, and sports photography. His work has been published in National Geographic, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Sun, and Digital Camera UK. He has showcased his photographs in both individual and group exhibitions, such as “Black & White” (Athens), “Photocrowd & Alamy Exhibition” (London), “Podróże okiem Polaków” (“Travels Through the Eyes of Poles”), “Poland – Contexts,” “Indian Mysteries,” and “Bangladesh – A Reporter’s Eye”.
For several years, he has been exploring historical photographic techniques, such as the collodion process, dry plate photography, cyanotype, and albumen prints. He also creates images using a camera obscura. Inspired by the first travel photographers, he journeys across the world with a darkroom and a large-format camera, documenting vanishing cultures and traditions.
In 2024, in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the highest ambrotype ever created, he independently carried a photographic darkroom, a set of essential chemicals, and a large-format camera to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m / 19,341 ft above sea level), where he captured unique photographs. The expedition was successful, and the documentation is currently under review by the Guinness committee.
Professionally, he organizes photographic expeditions around the world, teaching his students the principles of reportage and documentary photography.
📱 WhatsApp: +48 503 804 057
📧 Email: jan@janskwara.com
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