Encounters

Using his camera as a passport, Encounters is Tom Bowden’s (known as TBow) portrait diary of human life in America. Known for his inimitable style, TBow somehow turns potentially unwilling subjects into compliant participants in his portrait making. Encounters is a unique look at people, documented through the lens of an ambitious observer of the human condition. In her essay in the book, the renowned documentary photographer Maggie Steber writes: ＂Nowadays, much of street photography is detached. Not TBow’s. He is a visual minstrel and troubadour. People are comfortable with him and they reveal their stories.＂ Interspersed throughout the book are short texts that tell stories about some of his subjects. For the portrait of ＂Scott with His Pistol, Austin Texas, 2016,＂ TBow writes: ＂This photograph was made the day ’open carry’ was legalized in Texas. I asked Scott what he thought about gun control and he told me, ＂Gun control is knowing where your gun is pointed at all times.＂

Tom Bowden’s love of street photography began in his childhood and continued while studying photojournalism at the University of Texas in Austin. His first professional film and photographic work appeared as a Producer on NBC Television. Later as owner of T.Bowden Productions, his photographic and documentary experience continued, working with clients worldwide. Tom Bowden’s street photography has been exhibited in group and solo shows and his current work can be viewed on his website, Instagram and as a featured LensCulture Contributor.