"Love Street" - Review

"Love Street" - Review

Using his camera as a passport, Love Street 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. Love Street is a unique look at people, documented through the lens of an ambitious observer of the human condition. 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. TBow’s work is excellent and evocative and beautiful.

Tom ( TBow ) Bowden’s fine art monograph “Love Street,” now available by clicking the “Book Store” tab on this site.

Commuter at Metro Station, Miami 2017

Commuter at Metro Station, Miami 2017

“If you look through the lens long enough and hard enough, wonderful things will appear.” TBow

Kat and Freddie, New Orleans 2018

Kat and Freddie, New Orleans 2018

Kat and Freddie traveled the entire U.S. “riding the rails.” Every year they returned to New Orleans to renew their marital vows. I saw Freddie the following year without Kat. He told me that his “drunken rage” had ended it all.

Flower Child, Todd Mission, Texas 2016

Flower Child, Todd Mission, Texas 2016

Jazanae in her sanctuary, Houston 2020

Jazanae in her sanctuary, Houston 2020

Johnny ( Jazanae ) has secret places, hidden in the woods and under a downtown bridge. It was here where we talked about her struggles with homelessness and being sexually non-binary. In these sanctuaries she feels safe to become Jazanae and enjoys making photographs.

Stephen, Homeless, Miami 2018

Stephen, Homeless, Miami 2018

Stephen and his daughter were homeless. She went to live with her Mother and gave Stephen her backpack to help him carry on.

Woman with her snake, New Orleans 2020

Woman with her snake, New Orleans 2020

Loretta in her Batwoman Outfit, New Orleans 2020

Loretta in her Batwoman Outfit, New Orleans 2020

Kenny, Miami 2016

Kenny, Miami 2016

Kenny told me, "Michael Jackson is my Guardian Angel and believe me, you need protection if you’re living on the streets.”

Mr. Mad Dog living under the freeway, Houston 2019

Mr. Mad Dog living under the freeway, Houston 2019

On Christmas Day I met Mad Dog at a homeless camp under the freeway. After losing his wife and child in a car crash he said, “I went a bit mad after that, so they call me Mad Dog.”

Young Man Named Coon, Santa Fe, New Mexico 2018

Young Man Named Coon, Santa Fe, New Mexico 2018

Coon said he was a “Traveler.” He told me he moves from town to town by hitching rides and when he can he does some “freight hopping” on trains.

Dorothy and Bernard, Houston 2014

Dorothy and Bernard, Houston 2014

I first met Dorothy and Bernard in 2014. I photographed them over the next few years through the ups and downs of their relationship. In this image, Dorothy has just told me that they are trying to get an apartment and may end their wandering ways for awhile.

Dorothy, four years after her breakup with Bernard, Houston 2018

Dorothy, four years after her breakup with Bernard, Houston 2018

After her breakup with Bernard, Dorothy was left on her own and her emotional and physical decline was startling to me.

Robin, Street Musician, New Orleans 2018

Robin, Street Musician, New Orleans 2018

Tina, Transexual, New Orleans 2019

Tina, Transexual, New Orleans 2019

We met in the lobby of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel on a rainy day. I was desperate to photograph someone and she was trying to get bus fare for Florida. She told me her family had disowned her. After listening to her stories and taking several photographs, I pitched in $20 for her bus ticket.

Tourists, New Orleans 2014

Tourists, New Orleans 2014

“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” Russell Baker

Tourists, Miami 2017

Tourists, Miami 2017

Jill, Street Photographer, Miami 2016

Jill, Street Photographer, Miami 2016

I saw an interesting woman and she gave me permission to photograph her. I found out later that she was Jill Freedman, a famous New York City Street Photographer. Jill passed away in 2019. RIP Jill

Marshall, Homeless Can Recycler, Houston 2019

Marshall, Homeless Can Recycler, Houston 2019

After the downtown bars close at 2am, Marshall collects the cans. He works all night and by morning has an impressive pile worth $40.

Buskers, New Orleans 2017

Buskers, New Orleans 2017

Candy, Escort and New Mom, Houston 2019

Candy, Escort and New Mom, Houston 2019

Candy had just gotten out of the Hospital after giving birth to her new baby. When I asked her what she liked to do she said, “When I’m not keeping people company, I like to get high, stay warm, and go to church sometimes.”

Young Man in King Costume, Todd Mission, Texas 2015

Young Man in King Costume, Todd Mission, Texas 2015

His friends were yelling, hurry up, hurry up! I had about 5 seconds for this shot.

Chotak, Poet, San Francisco 2015

Chotak, Poet, San Francisco 2015

Chris lives in a shelter and writes poetry. He asked me to please use his Tibetan name, Chotak. I asked him for a poem and he obliged. “I feel haunted and unwanted as the full moon begins to rise, in this deserted castle beneath the darkening skies.”

Street Fashion, New Orleans 2019

Street Fashion, New Orleans 2019

“The best fashion is on the streets. It always has been and always will be.” Bill Cunningham

Carnival Hawker, Venice Beach, CA 2017

Carnival Hawker, Venice Beach, CA 2017

One second after this shot, the Carnival Boss started screaming at me for money.  Learn to move quickly on the street, get the shot, then become invisible.  

The King, Miami 2016

The King, Miami 2016

Every street photographer in Miami seems to have a shot of The King. Sometimes known as Santa Claus, he wears this festive outfit throughout the year.

Sex Worker, New Orleans 2013

Sex Worker, New Orleans 2013

It was early morning in the French Quarter and he was headed home from work. He told me he was exhausted from a long night of partying which for him included being bitten and bruised.

Lee, Homeless Man with Fashion Style, Los Angeles 2020

Lee, Homeless Man with Fashion Style, Los Angeles 2020

Man with Melon, Miami 2017

Man with Melon, Miami 2017

Woman with Purple Hair, New Orleans 2016

Woman with Purple Hair, New Orleans 2016

David, Male Prostitute, Houston 2019

David, Male Prostitute, Houston 2019

David wanted to make sure I told people that he was proud of the word “prostitute” and that he was the best male prostitute in the city.

Couple in New York City Subway 2015

Couple in New York City Subway 2015

Patricia, San Francisco 2017

Patricia, San Francisco 2017