HEY THERE,

I’M KARMEN

I have been a working photographer based out of Central Alberta since 2009, which is about one year before I gradated with my Photographic Technology diploma. And listen, I don’t actually think it is entirely necessary to go to school for photography, but I am so glad that I did. I absolutely loved being fully immersed in it; from photography history in a classroom to chemistry in the darkroom. It’s a deep, deep love.

The combination of science, history and creativity has always been just the right fit for me. And over the years I have been very fortunate to find work in many areas of photography from weddings to commercial and editorial shoots, to traveling for photojournalism assignments and a couple opportunities to share my work in art galleries. Now, in more recent years, I have found myself returning to where I started, film photography and portraits.

In what felt like a bit of a full circle moment (after years of saying I would) I, finally, picked up a film camera again for the first time in 13 years. Leading with curiosity, I started to push my creative and technical limits in new ways thanks to the slow and unknowing nature of film photography. I was forced to practice ‘letting go of the idea of perfection’. Which, in turn, has led to a most wonderful realization; that maybe my favourite part of photography is the act of co-creation. Whether it’s working with film, or a subject, or a landscape or all of the above, there is something magical that happens when we all sync up to make a photograph. Like some sort of outer body experience and such a specific type of connection, one that I imagine a musician or a dancer might feel when they connect to a song.

My favourite co-creators these days tend to be women and nature. I love exploring the many ways that we are connected, the ways we mirror each other’s strength and resilience, brutality and beauty.

And I mean it truly, that every women I have photographed inspires me in new ways.

The act of co-creation, revealing and healing a little piece of me every single time.  Expanding my understanding of what it means to be a women and to be an artist.