Welcome

This site is the place where I highlight my favorite photos. It's not intended to be a complete collection of my work, just random photos that I'm proud of. Checkout my Eric Bowen Photography site for a more complete collection of my work, and to buy prints or digital originals of most of the images you see here. Thanks!

Sunday, October 9, 2011



Just lying around... This is one of my favorites from a fun Senior shoot I did yesterday with Danielle.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Photo Advice Contest

The nice folks over at PetaPixel (http://www.petapixel.com) are running a photo advice contest (http://j.mp/ppsgmg).  Post the best photo advice you ever got and win a couple nice prizes!

Here was my entry:
"The most "interesting" photos the ones that show the world from a different perspective and open people's eye to the magic hiding in plain sight:
Shoot lying on the ground, shoot standing on a ladder, use a wide-angle, or a long telephoto, shoot at slow shutter speeds, shoot into the sun!
f8, 1/125s, 50mm is for tourists... "
Thanks to Layne Kennedy for the original inspiration!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Black & White saves the day! (aka: escape from white balance hell)




Sometimes you shoot a great image in horrible lighting conditions.  This photo includes an unwhitebalancable mix of indirect sunlight, florescent light, and incandescent light with all of the above bouncing off orange walls...

The solution: convert it to black & white!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sometimes things don't go according to plan...



Stillwater, Minnesota is one of the most popular locations for weddings in the Minneapolis / St Paul area. And on this particular Saturday with 45 minutes between the ceremony and the reception to shoot the wedding party at a scenic location outdoors we ran into road blocks... literally!

All three classic Stillwater locations the bride and groom had chosen to shoot pictures at were already taken BY OTHER WEDDING PARTY'S shooting their own photos!

That left the flooded water front in front of the reception hall at the WaterStreet Inn as our last possible outdoor location...

This could have been BAD... a ruin the day sort of BAD... instead the wedding party rallied and made the most of what we had to work with.. and created more great memories of the FUN we had shooting pictures at the flooded band shell and on the BUSY lift bridge!




Monday, April 11, 2011

A home for literate birds



Bibliophilic bird houses created by Orono Middle School students for a fund raiser. Sorry Mom, I really should have gotten you one...

Monday, February 14, 2011

Captured! - The one shot portrait challenge

I've been thinking about portraits lately... More specifically the idea of taking ONE photo that manages to capture the true essence/soul of the person being photographed.

I've managed to capture some great portraits over the years, but most of my favorites are of friends... partly I just take more pictures of people I know, but I think the emotional connection helps make the subject comfortable enough to let their guard down and let me capture a real image of them... I would love to get better at capturing images like this of complete strangers!

Here are some of my favorites that I think hit the mark as a single image with a little commentary on what I like about them:



John Kriesel lost his legs and two close friends (pictured behind him) to an IED in Iraq. But instead of breaking him the experience has made him stronger. Despite adversity he is still a happy optimist, and this year he was elected to he Minnesota House of Representatives!



Andrea is a US Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot, and this picture was taken in the cockpit waiting for clearance to take off for a mission into a very sketchy landing zone in the heart of Sadr City in Baghdad to pickup a suspected chemical weapon in a plastic bag... Many people would be looking a little tense at a time like this, but not her... The smile couldn't be more relaxed and genuine, and I think it captures the core of her personality.



Denise is a passionate gym rat and long-time fitness instructor despite a full-time "day job" at a technology consulting company. She is also one of the happiest people I know, and I think this shot captures her true passion and personality!



"Paper Clip Bob" is a long-time bartender at Axel's in Loretto, Minnesota. He has a totally dry unexcitable personality, and that trademark paper clip. Captured!



Steph is a member of the USA Women's Bandy team and also a full-time Minneapolis Firefighter. She could probably check you into the middle of next week on the hockey rink or carry you out of a burning building, but at her core she is happy and charming with a smile for everyone! I think this image captures the lurking intensity and easy smile...



Theresa has a serious corporate job at a major Fortune 500, but she also owns a farm with her husband and two sons. She is the perfect example of somebody who isn't defined by their work!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

NCAA Women's Basketball Referee





Women Bandy players have balls



Steph Johnson, a member of the USA Women's Bandy team.



Bandy is basically a cross between ice hockey and field hockey... Played in skates on a big ice rink with a ball instead of a puck. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/sports/olympics/29bandy.html

Monday, January 31, 2011

Love my D700 for shooting sports in low light



Brayden skiing a JV race at Hyland.

This shot was taken in very low light (early evening under lights). The full frame D700 does a great job of making great images in these sorts of challenging conditions.

Nikon D700, ISO 1000, f3.2, 1/500 sec, 170mm