Erik Witsoe

Street and Lifestyle Photographer based in Poznan, Poland

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"Looking Forward to Looking Back" Thoughts on a daily photo project.

“Looking Forward to Looking Back” Thoughts on a daily photo project.

365 Project Originally written for ”The Inspired Eye” published on August 23, 2016. Given the last few years, this feels much further away than a mere 5 years ago. A lot has changed since I wrote this, but then much has stayed the same. I recently came across this and enjoyed the memories it provoked. I hope you enjoy it as well. Five years ago, my fiancée Agnieszka and I moved from our home in…

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Rynek Jeżycki

Fresh produce, beautiful flowers and interesting people…this market has it all and was an important part of my daily life in Poznan. Every day, I walked through the market on my way to work and again after work, sometimes stopping for some produce or flowers or maybe even a few snaps before going home. But I frequented it enough that I became known as “Pan Fotograf” to the vendors who recognized…

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We Have Never Met

We Have Never Met

So much has changed over the course of a year and a year ago when I began this project with my friend Maria, I certainly never expected this year to look as it does. Before “social distancing” became a new way of living, I asked Maria to join me in a project that could celebrate distance by shooting together for a specific purpose. We have both admired each other’s work for years and to me it…

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Erik Witsoe Thank you for the love!

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Analog. Horizont KMZ and Kodak Ultramax 400

Analog. Horizont KMZ and Kodak Ultramax 400

Last year, I picked up a Horizont KMZ Panoramic camera but in a sudden mishap that camera was dropped and in need of repair. I have been looking for someone who can work on the camera but often the parts to repair it are not available. This camera also displayed light leaks to the left and right of the frames telling me that the seals were needing to be replaced as well. Plan B was to find a new…

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Reverie

Today, this morning, I am looking out my window watching the distant sun rise and thinking about my journey as I watch the building across from me and the lights slowly turn on, one after another, as people begin to wake to their own day and whatever realities they face in this new and unusual segment of life. I see people who might normally be going to work at this time settle into their new…

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Strange Days.

Monday, March 16. 8:45am to 11:50 am

This is what the city of Warsaw looks like during lockdown. Taking precaution this morning, I decided to walk to the Stare Miasto and back from Ochota. During the walk I observed a city normally bustling and crowded with activity of all types empty of it. As unusual as it is, I am proud that people are taking the Covid 19 virus seriously and taking steps to…

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Arbitrary Rendezvous in 2019

Arbitrary Rendezvous in 2019

2019 was an interesting year for me. It was a year of reconciliation and at the same time lots of personal growth. It was a year when I learned to lean on others and ask for help as well as rekindle relationships that had fallen to the side. There were new friends that came into my life and some difficult goodbyes that I wasn’t prepared to make. The year was remarkable in that it felt like the…

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The Art of Our Surroundings

The Art of Our Surroundings

Simplicity and simple situations that makes me stop and look again often make up my own versions of art. Innocent moments that meant something to me without really thinking about what that meaning is, but having captured it, eases my mind a little with the knowledge that its beauty didn’t go unnoticed and will be appreciated a little while longer.

Shadows that lean towards me and slowly move…

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Monochrome Autumn in Analog.

Monochrome Autumn in Analog.

In additon to my everyday gear, whether its digital or analog, I always have my compact analog Olympus LT-1 with me. Easy to use and small enough to fit in my pocket or bag, the camera has proven to be quite capable of capturing the everyday life that moves me.

This was also another lazy roll that I took my time shooting, working from Warsaw to foggy Wlodawa for the All Saints holiday and…

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Warszawa. Autumn Analog

Autumn in Poland is just so lovely and this last year we were treated to a pretty warm and pleasant one that reached all the way into November. I started this roll of Kodak Pro 100 in late September and lazily shot it with my Nikon FM2 until just before Christmas capturing moments as they presented themselves to me while wandering about.

I use the Kodak Pro 100 often but feel ready to explore…

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A 10 Year Chronicle of Being Sober and the Impact of Change.

A 10 Year Chronicle of Being Sober and the Impact of Change.

“I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.” ― Carrie Fisher

On December 13th, 2009 I woke up to a bottom that I hadn’t experienced yet in my life and it scared the hell out of me. So much so, that I began the process to stop drinking that very morning, clean up and change the course of my life not fully understanding what that meant. There was nothing easy about…

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I blame HAMMER Horror for my love of fog.

I blame HAMMER Horror for my love of fog.

Its true…. That and a keen imagination heavily insired by Karl Kolchak and Stephen King among others. I could write a serious list of these inspirations but I think it would be safer to say there is hardly a horror film or book that I am not familiar with at this point. But hey…let me know if there is something that you found that made your ticker go a little faster and that I might enjoy…

The…

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Tram Stories; Windows

This time, the tram story is about windows, looking in or looking out, they offer a glimpse into life that is sometimes easy to miss. Everyday moments of staring out the window, preoccupied, daydreaming or just being lost in thought while passing time for the appropriate stop to arrive.

These windows intrique me and often catch my eye as a reflection or steamed up and foggy or as a…

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Auschwitz-Birkenau. My shadow has grown a bit darker.

Auschwitz-Birkenau. My shadow has grown a bit darker.

“We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively witnessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.” ― Primo Levi

A thousand feelings and memories…

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A little luck and good fortune goes a long ways.

A little luck and good fortune goes a long ways.

Earlier in August, my Nikon FM2 broke…again. Same issue as last time, the rewind stem came undone. Luckily (again) it happened just after I rewound the film, so some very good fortune there. Riding with luck on my side, I found a repairman dedicated to cameras in a way I had not witnessed before and he took it upon himself to find the right part. Again with a bit of the lucky streak I am on, he…

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My growing obsession into film continues.

My growing obsession into film continues.

Last year on my birthday while vacationing in Lisbon, Agnieszka surpised me with an analog workshop and it set into motion a renewal of energy in photography and a love affair with film. Sometimes I am surpised with how much that single day impacted me and the direction it has taken me in, but life is all about twists and turns and this was one that I raced right into.

Today, a year later,…

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