KAROLINA JONDERKO

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi

Neat, clean, creative, direct, light, positive, attractive. This is what I thought when I first saw one of Karolina Jonderko’s images. Her photography is sharp and has, since the very beginning, given me the idea of realness. There’s a perfect balance of composition, of rule of thirds, of close ups. The result is brilliant, haunting. The Harlow has had the chance of a brief interview with her. What follows is a written conversation we had. We invite you all to discover this amazing artist of morbid eloquence, it’s well worth watching.

What is photography to you?

For me photography is a voice. I’ve never been good with words. Photography gives me the chance to communicate with people and express what I want to say. I read pictures as if someone was telling me a story. No matter if it’s a single image or a photoreportage. Photographs tell us something about the photographer who took them.

When did you start? When did you first know that you wanted to be a photographer?

My journey with photography began when my father gave me his old Russian Zenit camera. I was 18 years old. I took pictures of everything around me, it was just for fun. After a year my dad bought me a digital camera, because the costs of buying, developing and prints were too high. I wanted to learn more about the tool I was using so I decided to participate in a one-year photography course. At the same time I was studying English at university. I was supposed to become an English teacher! When I finished the course I went to the Warsaw Film School, because I felt I need to learn more. Than my mom got sick, and those journeys (twice a month) to Warsaw were stepping stones from what was going on in my house. She passed away 3 months befoure my graduations (from English at university and photography school). Then I began to take pictures that I never thought I could take. They were far away from what I used to do. With a portfolio I made in 4 months I decided to take my chances and tried to get into the school of my dreams: the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz. I passed all the exams and ended up with the most incredible people who changed my life forever.

What are your favorite subjects / situations?

People of course. But I always like to talk about people without people.

My best shot / project is…

In my head.

Digital or Analog? Black and White or Color?

I use every mean of photography materials. I fit the topic to the material. For “Lost” I used a medium format camera.

Who were the first photographers that inspired you?

That would be a long list.

But among Polish photographers – Rafał Milach was the first, and still is a photographer I look up to.

I also got very lucky becouse I’ve been chosen for the prestigious mentor program of Napo Images (www.napoimages.com) – one of the most important Polish photography agencies. So now I get to work with photographers that I admired ever since I’ve started to think seriously about photography!

Do you have any plans for your next project?

The next project is also very challenging, so it will take some time for me to finish it.

Thank you Karolina, keep on with the great job!

http://karolinajonderko.tumblr.com

http://cargocollective.com/karolinajonderko