Piotr Olszewski grew up in Warsaw and Budapest during communism. He became interested in photography at a young age, particularly fascinated by the work of the legendary street photographers Robert and Cornell Capa, as well as Weegee and other photography pioneers. In Budapest where the Capa brothers were born, Piotr had ample time and opportunities to follow their trail. What drew him to their work was the emotional connection with their subjects. Photographs capturing the vibrancy and energy of street life, particularly in New York City – day and night, with people dressed up for parties – offered a glimpse of reality in a stark contrast with the street life in the communist Poland and Hungary. Piotr started exploring street portraits, at first with his analogue camera, and then as soon as computers arrived in Poland in the beginning of the 1980s, he embraced the new technology and began experimenting with photomontage on the computer. Immigrating to the US in 1989, Piotr fulfilled his dream to experience the freedom he found in the Capas brothers' photographs. He immediately enrolled at the New York Institute of Photography and started taking photography classes at the International Center of Photography (founded by Robert and Cornell Capa in 1974). His approach to taking pictures changed and so did his style. “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” said Robert Capa. This approach became Piotr’s guiding principle. He started getting closer to his subjects, using a wide-angle lens to show people’s emotions, their interactions, movement, and capture the energy in the streets.