Mr. Tad Bowman
Landscape Photographer and Adventurer
I like to introduce my Photographer Spotlight, Tad Bowman. This is a gentleman that is a father of 2 young adults, who loves to explore, and has inspired my creation in capturing the beauty of nature around us. He moved to Colorado in 1997 and has been hypnotized by the amazing colors of the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Landscape. Such as I, he has a “deep passion for exploration and adventure.” From traveling the San Juans, Grand Tetons, desert southwest, Utah, and Tennessee, Tad focuses on different locations based off the time of season. For the past 4 years, he has developed a unique portfolio of desert southwest landscapes capturing the beauty of the red and orange rock formations. He travels to remote areas and camps mostly in his vehicle before rising early in the dawn hours to backpack to locations he scouted previously.
He has discussed the process in which how he captures the images. He uses a combination of high-end Canon digital, Fuji digital medium format, and Pentax digital medium format bodies along with various highest quality zoom lenses, density filters, and polarizers. He uses the highest quality zoom lenses to capture the scene which allows a lot of flexibility to modify compositions quickly. His accessories consist of assortment of Singh-Ray gradual density filters, Hoya pro polarizers, and a carbon fiber tripod with benro pan and tilt head. He personally processes all images using Photoshop as "it's important to him as an artist to have full control over the processing. He wants the capability to fine tune and adjust the image so that it expresses emotions and exhibits an artistic quality that he aims to achieve.".
He does discuss how he utilizes Photoshop actions and has reviewed SleekLens. Example of one of the actions he demonstrates how he views a raw image. Even though he has a unique process routine, he will apply if needed.
I interviewed Tad recently and received an embraced response.
What is your goal when capturing landscape scenes? “I love exploring. I’m a free spirit and the thought of an adventure captivates me. I enjoy hiking and backpacking solo, so photography became a natural outlet. It’s a spiritual experience for me.”
What inspired you to take on photography? “When I take a photo, my goal is to capture the moment in such a way that it captures the memories and experiences I had that moment. It’s a connection and one that I want to remember whether it’s good or bad. I look at every photo on the wall and each one told a story to me. What was going on at a specific point in my life. Often, it’s a process to where I look at the scene and establish meant for myself.”
SUNSET OF FIRE - THREE APOSTLES
COLLEGIATE PEAKS WILDERNESS, COLORADO
Photo © copyright by Tad Bowman.
For me, he views the scenes, the same as myself. To capture the moment in time where we can reflect on challenges, accomplishments, turmoil, and defeats. Learning to better ourselves and accepting what has presented itself in our path. I respect his decision to utilize his full pallete of knowledge both in camera and post. Some images may have an increase saturation, but I believe it can help tell a story of time frozen.
Some awards and accomplishments include:
Honorable Mention: Outdoor Photographer’s 2007 Your Favorite Places Photo Contest
3rd Place: Photography’s Your Best Shot Photo Contest
Finalist: Outdoor Photographer’s 2008 Nature’s Colors Photo Contest
Finalist: Outdoor Photographer’s 2008 Celebrate the Seasons Photo Contest
Honorable mention 2009 Canon’s Photography in the Park’s Photo Contest
Finalist: Outdoor Photographer’s 2012 5th Annual Nature’s Colors Photo Contest
Multiple winners and finalists in Betterphoto's International Photo Contest
"Additionally, my work has been published in Urban Climber Magazine, Colorado Life Magazine, multiple times in Outdoor Photographer Magazine, and multiple times in Backpacker Magazine. My work has also been included in multiple calendar projects too. My biggest client to date is Sony Bravia (Europe). I aim to create fine art landscape photographs. To me a fine art photograph is characterized by a balance of artistry and technical mastery. Art without technique leaves the viewer unfulfilled while technique without art leaves the viewer uninspired."
MOUNT SOPRIS SUNRISE 3
WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST, COLORADO
This Colorado mountain photo depicts gold light on Mount Sopris with colorful fall foliage in the foreground. Photo © copyright by Tad Bowman.
