Interview: Dennis Swiatkowski, Get Your Plane Right on Time... and the city lights.

When I decided to make a series of interviews, I was clear from the beginning that I wanted to interview Dennis. People like him expand the vision of fashion on the street and created art to have an account, and art that we create every day in front of our closet, and later, people like him that are on the street, think that are worthy admire.

Dennis prints magic on his photos, I do not know how, but I do watch them capture the essence of the person shown in it. I suppose there are some people blessed with a gift for capturing people through a camera, and Dennis is for me one of those people; The Man From Amsterdam, the man who shows us the world through his eyes...

I really think we need people like Dennis in the world. People who show us the beauty of it through their eyes, dreamy, magical and mysterious. People who, through their work, remind us that man is a being fabulous, full of creativity, vitality and able to build beautiful things. For me, the work done by Dennis expresses all this and more with his photos, as he shows us glimpses of the world around us, a world full of a beautiful life.

But... who's Dennis Swiatkowski?

One of Dennis' gorgeous pictures and London Fashion Week.
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Q: So, first of all, could you please tell us who you are and a brief description of you?

A: I am Dennis Swiatkowski and I go by the nickname The Man from Amsterdam in the blogosphere.

Q: What do you do? What do you like to dedicate in the future?

A: I am currently writing my dissertation and hopefully I graduate in June. After that, I can go wherever I want to go and do whatever I want to do!

Q: Can you talk a little about your interests?

A: My interests are in fashion, photography, but also global affairs, politics, international relations. I would like to combine these opposites, who knows maybe I will manage to do that one day.

Q: Tell us a book, an album and a movie without which you could not live.

A: It is very hard to tell just one book, movie or album, as it depends on my mood and it changes whenever I discover something new or old. Right now I would say; book - The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton, it is not a novel, though. Album - Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia. It has this cosmic, dreamy, floating feel about it, which I just love! Movie - my all-time favourite is Blade Runner (coming to think of it the novel upon its base is a must-read too: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick) and a close second is Lost in Translation.

Q: Would you share with us a memory that makes you smile?

A: A memory that always makes me smile is my 3 months stay in Cape Town, South Africa. The things that are happening there in graphic design and the creative industries, in general, is amazing. We will see more and more coming from there in the future!

Q: Any favourite quote?

A: "Whenever I feel sad, I stop being sad and start become awesome instead." (Barney Stinson of How I Met Your Mother)

Stockholm through Denni's eyes.

Q: That was really good! Now, a little bit about photography... At what age did you get interested in the art of photography?

A: I was always interested in photography, but only picked it up myself once I moved to Amsterdam after finishing high school in Maastricht.

Q: When did you start to take it seriously?

A: That would be when I started my University course in Amsterdam. The city is such an inspiring place and there are living so many creative people. You really get motivated and inspired!

Q: Can you resume for us a little bit your professional career? Where have you been working?

A: I am still studying, finishing this June - fingers crossed -, so all work I have done in the field of photography was freelance. I mainly do street style, but recently I have picked up on doing choreographed photoshoots too. I have some interesting collaborations coming upon which I cannot elaborate too much at this stage. It involves 3 very nice, but different, magazines!

Q: Wow, I wish you good luck with that... So, another question... have you got any big influence on your work?

A: For the street style, I assume I am influenced by Scott Schumann (The Sartorialist). For pure art photography I am really inspired by Hedi Slimane and pure fashion editorial photography would be Richard Avedon.

Q: Who do you think is the best photographer of all times?

A: That is a question I cannot answer, there are too many photographers out there with all a different quality and eye for beauty.

 London loves you, at London's Fashion Week.

Q: Why did you decide to take outfit and fashion pictures?

A: I believe it is what makes contemporary society so interesting. We are no longer dependent on what the magazines or other traditional media show to us. Instead, we take the initiative ourselves and show each other what we find interesting and inspiring.

I think the internet in general and blogging, in particular, have liberated and democratised the stream of information. I applaud anyone who contributes with his or her own vision to what we perceive in this world.

Q: In your blog, we see many photos of outfits, what do you tend to look out for taking them? Is there something in particular that catches your attention?

A: I noticed over time that what makes a photograph really good is the subject itself. You can take a great shot from a great angle or under great light circumstances, but if you cannot get the subject put his/her own energy into the photo, then the photo will always be bleak. The outfit is just one part of what needs to be OK, the other one is the interaction with the person. So I tend to look for interesting people first!

Q: I guess that's a little bit psychological too! How many places have you visited with your work? Which one is your favourite one? Where did you make your favourite pictures?

A: I cannot count the places I have been to, because there are so many. I have been to all continents, except Latin America and Antarctica. I will go to Latin America end of August for 2 months. Hopefully to snap a lot of pictures and share them with you on my blog!

Q: And I hope to see them too! So, have you got any future plan for your work?

A: I have got so many plans, as for now, it could go either way. I might move to Stockholm to work for a fashion label in their creative department, but that is not confirmed yet. I might also return to Cape Town and start my own business there, involving a lot of photography, but not only. Or I stay in Amsterdam and layout my path from here. Haha. The future is uncertain, but that is what makes it exciting!

Q: When and why did you decide to start writing a blog?

A: The blog already exists for a couple of years, but I only started it as a fashion blog a year ago. [Before that it was more personal, and not interesting at all]

Q: What do you want to express with your blog? Do you think it adds anything to the people who read it?

A: As I mentioned before I want to express my vision of what I perceive in this world. Right now it is heavily focused on fashion and style, but I occasionally also post cityscape and landscape pictures, of places where I have lived or been to. The subtitle of my blog is A journey into a potpourri of fashion, film, music, observation and city-hopping. This is exactly what I want to do with the blog.

If people open up themselves, then yes, they will get inspired by reading my blog. Opening up is paramount for experiencing life anyway. I see too many people around me stuck in their little world. It is sad because you only live once and the beauty is out there. I wish we all would start over again, without being conditioned what to think is right, wrong, beautiful or ugly. Tabula Rasa.

 The city lights of London

Q: And finally, please, tell us a tip for your readers who wants to be an awesome photographer like you :)

A: Buy a decent camera, because that will make the picture 50% of what it is and the other 50% is your vision and creativity. Experiment and try things out. Take criticism not personal, but use it to improve your work. The best photographers all started out being shitty ones.

I think that's a great tip, Dennis... Thank you!

If you want to know more about Dennis or see more of his work, please, visit Get Your Plane Right On Time.