My name is Susan Bowen and I am a fine-art photographer based in New York City; originally I am from Baltimore.

I feel a strong connection to the city where I live. A personal loss followed by the trauma of 9-11 is what brought me back to doing photography after a long hiatus. When I wander around taking pictures, I like to take the time to really see the ground upon which I'm walking. I treat all subject matter equally—I'm open to whatever shows up. I’ve got a quirky eye for spotting objects, shadows, and textures that have the potential to be turned into something beautiful even thought-provoking. Likely there is a connection to having grown up feeling unseen, that I am drawn to the quiet details—the overlooked corners and ordinary moments that hold unexpected meaning.

There is a lot of craft that goes into creating my images. Years of making photographs has trained my eye to see things that others may miss, be it topic, form, or more importantly the light. But the raw image is just my starting point. Color can be intensified, texture highlighted, and content edited to create something new and captivating. What sets me apart is that I take the time to pull the most out of each image; post-production has always been an integral part of my process.

I have exhibited widely; I have been awarded two public art commissions and was a finalist for seven others. I was in the first set of artists featured on billboards as part of Billboard Creative in Los Angeles. I recently was one of the artists featured on Artist Talk on Art, a NYC institution. I did an artist talk for American Photographic Artists in 2023. I was showcased in the Pictorial List that same year. I have been featured in Light Leaks Magazine, Photo Techniques Magazine, and the book Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity by Michelle Bates. My work is in the permanent collections of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Zimmerli Museum, and Middle Tennessee State University.

Let me show you my city and my world. I invite you to pause and really look at your own surroundings—to notice the quiet beauty hidden in the ordinary moments of everyday life, just waiting for recognition.

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For more than two decades I’ve been documenting the city in many forms. My original website, which holds an extended archive of projects and exhibition history, can still be explored here → www.susanbowenphoto.com.