Dakowicz photographed the same few streets in Cardiff, primarily St Mary Street and Caroline Street, on a Saturday night for five years, between 2006 and 2011 Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
On a good night, Dakowicz shot up to 500 pictures; on a bad one, only 50. Cardiff After Dark condenses those many long nights of wandering the streets and shooting into one night Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
'I live in Cardiff but I am not from here,' says Dakowicz. 'And, though I often take a few drinks for courage, I was not partying with the people I photographed. I was on the outside watching, observing. So, yes, I am an outsider, but I also interact. I am not a sneaky photographer, trying to shoot something and then run away.' Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
'I was surprised when I first went out in Cardiff on a Saturday,' says Dakowicz. 'I had never experienced anything like it. For me, the project has always been about nightlife in Cardiff, the town in which I live. It is very simple: me, my camera, and a street at night.' Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
Dakowicz's pictures do not, for him, have a political or even social subtext. 'I am not really trying to say something big and meaningful through these pictures,' he says. 'I am certainly not trying to portray British society.' Photograph: Maciej Dakowicz
