Extraordinary storytelling photography by Karen Jerzyk

Karen Jerzyk is a photographer living and working in the Greater Boston Area. As a self prescribed “incredibly introverted, awkward wallflower” Karen looked for a way to express herself other than words, and found that when her parents gifted her a camera in 2003. After many years of photographing promotional shoots and stage portraits for bands she decided to shift her focus to people, portraying them in elaborate scenes. Karen:

“My trademark of shooting elaborate scenes in abandoned buildings (when I find a location, I quite literally spends hours cleaning up and restoring it to what it may have looked like, paying attention to the smallest details such as placement of items in the room) eventually got me arrested in August 2014- I like to describe that particular event as “the best thing to ever happen to me”, after national news outlets picked up the story.”

Not only her intricate shots in abandoned buildings are amazing, her more close-up, Burtonesque portraits and self-portraits are like photos from movie-characters. Karen:

“I strive to produce photos that tell a story- that connect with the viewer on a personal level. I like to find locations that were abandoned before any sort of technological age, typically locations with relics left in them from 1980 and earlier (the older, the better). My photos are meant to be read like a book, and looked at and thought about often. There is no “right answer” to the ultimate meaning of any one of my photos, as each viewer can read the scene differently. My goal is for my photos to evoke thought and emotion.”

You can find more of Karen’s work on her website, Instagram and Facebook page. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading! What do you think of Karen’s work?