About Faces, Places and Things – David Bowden Photography

“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I began taking pictures in 1981. Armed with my Pentax K1000 and TRI-X Pan film I was off to capture the world around me. I wasn’t that interested necessarily in what I captured, I was interested in the act of exploring, seeing and recording what I saw. I didn’t necessarily prefer one subject type over another, I simply enjoyed having my camera and capturing whatever it was that caught my eye. This very approach to photography suited me very well through college and early into my professional career.


My formal educational and professional training are in Architecture and Computer Science. I was trained to compose, draw, paint and sculpt. This taught me a firm appreciation of the human form, color, light, texture and materials but also composition, regardless of the medium.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…. I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

After college I supplemented my income by shooting weddings, concerts, sporting events and models. As my career as an Architect began to grow, I shot less and less. When the construction industry took a dive in 1991 I found myself looking for work. In my copious spare time I ventured into my second love, computer programming. It was at this time that I started writing software and found that this industry while still volatile was far more lucrative than Architecture. I took everything I learned as an Architect and artist and applied it to building software. With this change in careers came my 15 year hiatus from photography. I completed my Master’s Degree in Computer Science after having worked in the industry for several years. At this point I had been a developer, sold my own software company and managed global web development at companies such as Symantec, Amazon and a few others.

“To master Photography you need the brain of a scientist and the mind of an artist.” – James Elliott

As I entered my 40′s, I was encouraged by friends and family to get back in touch with my creative side. Something was missing in my life as I migrated from being an Architect, to software and web site developer to executive. That something was being creative and expressing my artistic side. After a great deal of soul searching, I decided that Photography was the outlet I needed. I needed to get out of the office and back into nature. Experience it, capture it and enjoy it again. At the time, I lived in Seattle and enjoyed photographing the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The mountains, trees, lakes and rivers had a very calming appeal.

Now back in Texas, I still enjoy shooting landscapes as well as Architecture. Faces, Places and Things is my side business and artistic outlet. I shoot for publication and fun rather than run it as a formal business. As a result, I can approach my work with the same passion and enthusiasm as artist than with the rigor of businessman with a bottom line. Since my return to photography, I have been published in books, magazines, papers and web sites as well had work hung in a gallery and been commissioned for private work. I have won a few awards, shot a few famous people or events and had a real good time doing all of it. I am always looking for new people to work with and new ideas to shoot.

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to look at my work and web site. Please don’t hesitate to contact me about work or working together. I am always looking for new people to work with and creative ideas or shots to take.

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