Tomasz Gudzowaty (born 1971) is a Polish documentary filmmaker, portrait and art photographer, who gained international recognition through numerous publications and awards, most notably – in World Press Photo in which he succeeded nine times.
[1] In recognition of his achievements, Gudzowaty received high honors from the state and national organizations in Poland, including the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, awarded by the President of Poland in 2000, the Award in Visual Arts from the Polish Society of Authors and Composers ZAIKS in 2012, and the Gold Olympic Laurel in Photography from the Polish Olympic Committee in 2013.
According to his statements in several interviews, he got interested in photography from early childhood owing to his maternal uncle, a serious amateur photographer and self-appointed chronicler of his home town.
In the 1990s Gudzowaty won several awards at the Polish Press Photography Contest (Krajowy Konkurs Fotografii Prasowej), and traveled extensively in Africa and Asia.
His international breakthrough came in 1999 when he was awarded the First Prize in Nature-singles category in the World Press Photo competition for a picture of young cheetahs just before killing their first prey.
During that period, he also undertook several photojournalism projects documenting social and environmental issues, the most known of them being a photo story on workers in the ship-breaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
[4] In 2009 Gudzowaty's photographs were shown at Rencontres d'Arles festival as part of the joint exhibition "Ça me touche"[5] curated by Nan Goldin.
In this style, he covered such projects as retired Olympic champions, Mexican free wrestling (lucha libre) and illegal car races in Mexico, parkour, urban golf in Mumbai slums, pole dancing in Sydney, naghol ritual in Vanuatu, etc.
[6] Tomasz Gudzowaty is a member of several professional organizations, such as the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), and the Union of Polish Art Photographers (ZPAF).
Gudzowaty's style was described as very individual and highly elaborated aesthetically, prompting questions about the limits of classic photography and the new creative possibilities of the medium.