It’s time for plan B: Szaciński decides to open his own photography atelier. Not worried about his modest finances and fierce competition, Szaciński opens a shop by the main street in Christiania. He’s not the first: about 20 photo salons are operating in the city already, but he’s undoubtedly the best. And soon, he becomes the richest, making three, even four times more than his competitors.
Everyone wants to be photographed in his atelier: the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, the Shah of Persia, Swedish aristocrats, artists, politicians, princes, and the queen. King Charles XV will even have a post-mortem picture taken.
In 1888, Szaciński becomes the official royal photographer. The monarch’s image must be present in every household in Norway, so the photographer from Poland has to print hundreds of thousands of copies, making a fortune in the process.
The Pole specialises in portrait photography. His perfect reputation is unshaken even when the police employ him to photograph arrested prostitutes. Szaciński also follows important events, photographing the return of the national hero Fridtjof Nansen from the first expedition to the Arctic Ocean. In his spare time, he photographs the poor, the ill and of disputable beauty. He also likes to take pictures of streets and objects.
Apart from his talent, Szaciński is known for his sociable nature. He is a member of many organisations, and he establishes several new ones himself. It was probably him who founded the Norwegian Photographic Association which he presides. Szaciński also becomes the president of the Photographers’ Trade Union. He believes art and professionalism should go hand in hand.
From 1873 onwards, he is showered with awards. At a photography exhibition in Drammen, he receives a medal. At the General National Exhibition in Vienna, he receives another medal. He is bestowed with more accolades from Paris, Philadelphia, Dresden, Paris again, Paris for the third time, and Christiania.