If Paul Kwiatkowski's vivid and raw photos are anything to go by then I am sure you will also get a nice solid kick in the pants reading his writings or watching the documentaries he produces. Paul's talents thrive when he associates himself with the interesting characters he meets through his projects and life travels. We can tell you more about Paul, but we won't attempt to as the man himself does a considerably decent job already writing about his experiences. So if your still not satisfied after reading our little interview I suggest you jump into the rabbit hole after Paul and see how deep it goes.

Your childhood and where you grew up seems to have had a massive influence on you and the work that you produce. Can you tell us what it was like for you as a child and teenager growing up?

Even though Florida is a fucked place to grow up in I credit the landscape to developing my imagination. I always loved those parts of the topography like the swamps that are neither solid nor water. It’s like everything about Florida culture is in a constant state of flux, stagnation and contradiction. It’s always been a place of retreat. A place where anyone can easily vanish. Also I grew up an intensely shy kid. By the time I reached high school I realized something was going to have to change if I ever was going to get laid on the regs. Initially I got into always having a camera on me as something to hide behind. I thought of taking photographs as a buffer to ease into social situations.

Can you remember the first time you discovered photography and at what stage did you decide to use it as a tool to record what you were witnessing?

Around the age of ten I saw the film Porkys for the first time. Naturally once my mother found out that my little friends and I were watching it every weekend she tried hiding the VHS. In retaliation I’d take Polaroids off the television screen during the shower/glory hole scene. At the time it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. I kept the photos in my back pocket for years until they faded out. Ever since I’ve been striving to touch upon those sensory memories associated with seeing that scene for the first time.

You also write a lot too, I love reading your short stories, they are funny as hell and paint a dark side in human behaviour. Can you tell us how that all started and some of the authors you enjoy reading?

In the tenth grade I met a kid who introduced me to Naked Lunch and consequently William Burroughs. I remember on weekends we’d stay in at my house with the door closed until morning just so that we could take acid, listen to bands like Throbbing Gristle and write. We’d construct these off the wall shadowy detective plot lines like we were characters in a Burrough’s novel. Most of what we scribbled was garbage but I loved doing it. Regardless, I’m grateful to have had an inspiring phase during my otherwise reckless teens years. At the moment my favorite authors and works are: Matthew Stokoe - High Life, Richard Hell - Go Now, Kate Braverman - Lithium for Medea, Chad Kultgen - Average American Male, Michel Houellebecq - Elementary of Particles and Pierre Guyotat - Eden Eden Eden.

You also produce your own documentaries, how did that come about?

I love photojournalism. I always want to hear more first hand accounts from the photographers as well as the stories behind some of the images/experiences.

Been a man of many skills and disciplines, which medium do you connect with most in terms of bringing out your vision of story telling and which one do you find most satisfying?

Hmm that’s a tough one, I don’t think every subjects can work through any given medium. It’s a case-by-case process to sift through the information and decide what format will best deliver the story and tone. Even though I’ve never worked in it, I love the audio podcast format. Sound design in my mind has always been a really exciting and transformative story telling technique.

Mentally do you go through the same process when writing, photographing or producing a documentary, or is each process quite different for you?

I think each medium is mitigated by your interactions whether it be with your subjects, characters or people you’re interviewing. I think it took me a long time to realize that no medium is completely insular. It takes lots of process, trial/error and editing to find what method best communicates your message.

A lot of your stories and projects in some ways involve the adventures or misadventures with fringe dwellers of society, what is it that attracts you to their stories and these kind of subjects?

They generally are more fun to hang out with.

You recently went on a trip to Haiti with another photographer Anthony Karen, can you tell us about that experience?

Fucking intense! Total eye opener. Cité Soleil was such a trip. It was a place and experience I won’t soon forget. Anthony is an awesome photographer with a true sense of adventure and curiosity for life. We went there on a medical mission and to photograph a Vodou pilgrimage located in a cave in the north.

At the moment you are working on a book, can you tell us more details about that?

I’m about to complete my first novel and photo essay And Every Day Was Overcast which is about coming of age during the 90s in South Florida. The timeline is bookended by the AIDS epidemic around 91 and a school shooting in 99. Both of which flavored the onset and tail end of my teenage years. Once I'm down with that I will start editing my images and stories for anther novel/photo essay about losing my job, collecting unemployment checks online and traveling to various shit holes and countries in South America, the Caribbean as well as Mexico.

Paul you seem like a good time guy, what is involved in a good night out with Paul Kwiatkowski and what is a good morning after remedy?

All I need for a decent night out is good company. Although for the morning after I recommend a joint, good Mexican food, coconut Water, Valium, something sealable like a grocery bag to comfortably vomit in and if possible secure a rim job.

Can you recommend us any good photographer to check out?

Miron Zownir, Elena Chernyak, Boogie, Boris Mikhailov.

Finally how do you think photography can contribute and be helpful in society?

Pornographers can no longer be the only photographers with talent.

Thanks Paul, YMY Collective