My name is Wojciech Ulman. I was born in 1958. As far as my education is concerned, I hold a master’s degree in agricultural economics and I am an industrial electronics technician. After graduation, I worked in Rzeszow Television for seven years and then, together with my wife, I have run the grocery and the horticultural farm that produces the seedlings of balcony and garden flowers. I have always been passionate about beauty and I have been constantly looking for it in the surrounding world. I think that flowers are beauty in its purest form. That is why I constantly admire the variety of their colours, forms and scents. When I bought my first digital SLR camera a few years ago, I immediately began to photograph them. Soon I have noticed that universal lenses are not necessarily the best tool to do that, so I bought a macro lens. I also purchased a few guides to macro photography. After I gained quite broad theoretical knowledge, I started my adventure with macro shots.

I must admit that from the beginning I was fascinated with wonderful, and so far unknown small worlds. I was enchanted watching various insects, flowers and dewdrops in extreme close-ups. Step by step, I mastered my technical skills and upgraded my equipment. Over time, I came to the conclusion that, although, good gear is important, you can also take beautiful macro photos having simple compact camera with a few add-ons. Typical photo guides are larded with theoretical knowledge which can discourage a potential reader. Also, the practical advice seems to give an impression that macro photography is really complex.

That is why, I decided to share my practical knowledge and experience which is reflected in my guide ‘The wonderful world of macro photography’. It is posted on this website for a wide range of readers. For me this little world became a microcosm, as if it was the world existing in an alternative space-time. It let me escape from the mundane reality and discover my latent talents. I began writing poems for adults and stories for children to accompany my photographs. I started writing stories some time ago for my own four children. However, I did not write them down. Only when my granddaughter Anastazja was born, I came up with an idea of immortalizing the stories that I was telling her. I have successfully published several volumes so far, which I highly recommend. I have tried to pass on my love of nature, photography and history. The stories are beautifully illustrated by Ewa Kielar, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Using her drawings made with coloured pencils or pen and ink a child alone can learn to draw. I wanted to try to illustrate the stories myself and I started to paint fantastic pictures that can be seen here. I am not trying to imitate anyone. I have not had a brush in my hand since I left the primary school. So I was really surprised that it came out well.

I started using my own invented painting technique and I have experimented with it having a lot of fun. I love children and I like to meet them at schools and kindergartens. In my opinion, we have to fight the mediocrity and harmful rubbish that is flooding the market of stories, films and toys for kids. If we do not tear the kids away from the TV and the computer, we will raise spiritually impoverished strangers. I think that children are raw diamonds. Hence the great role of teachers who should not throw the diamonds into the cement mixer and make hollow bricks out of them.