Holmesburg Prison
I had the pleasure of photographing the Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last week. Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America was able to get a group of 15 us in to the prison to photograph it. Unlike Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Holmesburg is not open to the public and part of it is still used when there is an overflow of inmates.
I left my Pentax K5 home and trooped in carrying the Fuji XPro-1 and my little Fuji x100s as backup. I was really pleased with both cameras and found it to be so much lighter to carry. I used my new 14mm Fuji lens the entire time. I also shot in a 1:1 aspect ratio which provides this wonderful square format.
The photograph above is looking down the hallway of one of the cell blocks. You can see that the paint is just peeling away. I loved the blue light spilling from the skylights in the cells onto the hallway floor.
This is one of the prison cells. You can see where the tree roots have come through the brick into the cell.
The cell below was interesting because someone had left an orange prison jump suit on the bed and I loved the contrast of the orange against the beautiful green walls.
This is a close up of a prison room that actually had a window in it. I loved the the light spilling in.
Karen Johnson - A Photographic Life 
Frighteningly beautiful!
Thank you Pat!
Most Amazing! Very “other worldly”.
Thank you David!
Amazing.
It is an amazing place! Thanks Deb!
Really cool and kind of freaky…Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Lori! You know me, I like those cool and freaky places.
Awesome photos, Karen. I love how you take a crusty old place and turn it into a beautiful work of art!
God Bless you!
Thank you Deidre!
I have chills looking at the photos.. Wow…
Thank you Annie! It is spooky looking there.
wooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOWWWW!
amazing place! great shots!
Thank you!!
Great shots Karen and what a cool place, not that I would like to spend any time there though.
Thank you Mark! It is a little creepy but I was surprised it was not damp and cold.
The square format is perfect for this kind of work, it enhances the claustrophobic atmosphere of this fascinating series.
The second one is crying out for a B&W conversion.
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Thank you so much Maracelo! I will have to try the B&W conversion on the second one. Thank you for that great suggestion!
My biological grandfather was an inmate here. My family knows very little about him and what they do know is both troubling and fascinating, to say the very least. One of the things we know for certain is that he was among the many victims subjected to the horrifyingly inhuman “experimentation” that occurred in this dank hell. I’ve devoted a lot of time trying to figure out this elusive relative of mine. Every tiny rumor, every back ally conversation with junkies who knew someone, who knew someone who was once acquainted with him in some long forgotten past-life, brings me a little closer to understanding the complexities of ‘David Johnson’. These shine a small, yet significant, beam of light on my deeply troubled grandfather’s life. Despite his ghost-like existence and the fact that my own father never even met the man, I’ve always felt a strange foreign connection to him. A very bitter sympathy that I relate to. The eerie stillness in these pictures really speak to me. All the beauty and all the agony
Thank you for telling me your story and I am glad my image helped a little bit. You may want to reach out to the people at the Holmesburg prison since it is still active. They may be able to shed some light on your grandfather.