Photographer Sheds Light on Forgotten Places

At a last moments notice, photographer Marzena Grabczynska Lorenc compiled her collection, “Beauty of the Forsaken” to showcase at The Walter and Joan Hobbs Gallery on the lower floor of the .

The exhibit, which lasts until Friday, delves into the forgotten places; whether they are random, abandoned or just unknown. Five years ago Lorenc travelled for pleasure and now it’s motivated for her photography. She takes into consideration certain times to photograph particular objects and travels with her husband who keeps her company and carries her tripod.

“I like to think about the old places, what might have happened here or was it once of importance,” Lorenc said, explaining her attachment to all objects because everything has “feelings.”

She focuses on objects and places instead of people and faces because she feels it is invading someone’s privacy.

“Street photography just doesn’t appeal to me,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to be that person in a picture who might have been crying.”

All of the photographs used in the set were taken along Lorenc’s travels.  

“There are many places that people don’t see or just assume as garbage,” she said. “I feel that there is room between something beautiful depending on the light and its surroundings.”  

Lorenc recently returned back from a trip to her native Poland where she took photographs of Auschwitz and Krakow and plans on sifting through those for future exhibits.

Originally a librarian, Grabczynska Lorenc came to the United States just over 20 years ago, learning English from cartoon shows she would watch with her daughter and casual conversation she would make on the street. It was not until more recently that the humble artist discovered her true talent for photography.

“I always took pictures and had my camera with me, but looking back I see my pictures and say to myself that’s such a great shot… but I wish I could go back and repeat it.”

One of her biggest achievements was receiving the Best in Show prize for a photograph taken under the Brooklyn Bridge after a rainstorm. She realized its potential and retrieved from the “trashcan” on her computer after it sat there for nearly 2 years.

It is her natural ability and a creative eye that makes Lorenc unique.

“If there are 10 people in a room shooting the same thing, be the eleventh to go somewhere else that’s just as imaginative,” she said.

When asked about advice for aspiring photographers, Grabczynska Lorenc says it’s about self-motivation and the inner drive to realize “you can do more. It doesn’t matter what you shoot, it’s how you shoot it.”