Calvin Dziewulski (Jeh-voo-LSKI) works weekdays at Pitt’s School of Public Health as executive assistant to Biostatistics and Health Data Science Chair Yan Ma. A Greensburg native and Pitt alum, he also reaches more than 60,000 Instagram followers as Calvin_412, spending evenings and weekends exploring the city’s streets, alleys and overlooked buildings, showing its history and character through his photography.
Dziewulski got his first camera, a disposable, from his parents to channel his youthful energy. “I had very bad ADHD as a kid and it helped to walk around and occupy myself,” he said. He wandered through nature trails, fields and woods, snapping photos of what he saw. “I don’t really like taking pictures of people. I like to take photos of what I see,” he said.
His interest in photography deepened in high school when a teacher at Hempfield Area High School, Emily Dano, introduced him to film photography. Developing and editing his own film taught him patience, attention to detail and a deeper appreciation for the art of photography, skills he still uses today.
Dziewulski’s focus has shifted from nature to the human-made landscape. Now living in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes, he photographs neighborhoods, architecture and forgotten corners. He looks for details most people pass by, capturing a city that feels alive even in its quiet or worn spaces.
“I love that Pittsburgh shows its history,” he said. “There is beauty in places that are falling apart or being reclaimed by nature. It is humbling to look out over the city and see all the buildings, the roads, the rivers. It makes me feel proud to be part of this place.”
Dziewulski has been posting on Instagram for more than a decade, but it was only after changing his handle to Calvin_412 that his following grew rapidly. Today, his posts receive more than two million views a month. He attributes the growth to focusing on authenticity rather than trends. “I take photos of what I love, not what I think people want to see,” he said.
He also hopes to inspire others to notice the world around them. Dziewulski hosts monthly photo walks in different Pittsburgh neighborhoods, encouraging participants to see familiar streets and buildings in new ways. “Photography is for anyone,” he said. “You don’t need the best camera or to be an expert. Everyone sees the world differently, and that is what makes it interesting.”
While balancing photography with work at Pitt and a master’s program in the School of Public and International Affairs, Dziewulski continues to roam the city, capturing the small moments that define it. For him, photography is a way to slow down, observe and tell stories about the places we live in and the history they quietly preserve.
-Clare Collins
