Hi, I'm Karen, an American photographer based in Michigan.  I have created humanist, travel, and portrait photographs professionally since 2005.  I work on commissioned as well as long-term personal projects.

Photographs are a window into our collective soul. Affirmation. Reformation. Confirmation. It is the single most powerful means of communication. A single photograph has the power unite, divide, change, and ultimately bond us together in the shared human experience.

I love people.  Connecting.  Sharing.  Being in the world.  I aim to take a seemingly ordinary moment and make it extraordinary through the lens.  As a photographer, I enter lives, sometimes for only a fleeting moment, and slip away without my presence being known.  Other times, I'm a deliberate, persistent presence in someone's space.  I feel I take something from every person I photograph.  I also try to give something in exchange. I hope that every photograph that comes through me creates empathy and agency for the people I experience in the world.  I study people near and far. I aim to unite through intimacy and quiet conversations, which defines my approach.


//  THIS IS WHY I PHOTOGRAPH


At age 19, I boarded a plane with a backpack, passport, and an old Pentax I bought with my first paycheck at age 16.  I ventured to North Africa by way of Rome, then moved myself to Paris, where I lived, worked, and studied for the next many years.  In that time, I slept on an open rooftop in Santorini for $3, "hitchhiked" on the bridge of a freight carrier bound for the Turkish coast, and traveled all of Ireland for a week by bus for less than $200.  Those times of freedom and adventure -- not safety and comfort -- are the happiest of life. 

I aim to own little.  I travel anywhere -- full gear in tow -- in a single carry-on Osprey bag.  My philosophy is travel light, try strange foods (Icelandic fermented shark, anyone?), and make lots of friends along the way.

I was raised a Gen X latchkey kid in a solid middle class home in Southeast Michigan.  My dad was ta 34-year UAW auto worker and my mother made good on the feminist promise of her time.  She began college when I was eight and ascended to Senior VP of a large commercial bank.  My parents realized the American dream.  Along with my younger sister, Jennifer, who died in 2002 at 23, we had a happy home. 

Having lived and traveled the world, I believe there's nowhere like living in Michigan :  the smell of burning leaves on a crisp October day, hot donuts from the cider mill, and the thundering waves on Lake Michigan's shore.  This place and these people are my home.

I have a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan with coursework at the Université Paris I - Sorbonne.  I'm outgoing, creative, slightly OCD, ginger- and dog-obsessed.  I live with my husband, our teenage son, and our crazy cavachon, Pickle.

Self-taught since 2005, I've photographed literally thousands of commissioned subjects and delivered more than 1 million finished images in my 20 years. 
 
I seek to serve clients who share my belief in the power of the printed work, who trust my vision and execution, and who will meet me in a place of courage and vulnerability.  From that comes honest imagery that make us both feel seen and understood.

Please be in touch if I can be of service to you by calling me at 248.320.1943 (EST) during normal business hours to discuss your individual needs.

Photographs don't come from you.  They come through you.