Award-Winning Photographer
Andrew Bowen, M.Photog., CPP
While it is nice to say that I am an award-winning photographer, the real honor is working with the many dance artists who have come to the studio over the years. Photography, like dance, is a career of life-long learning. If you are lucky during that journey, your peers bestow some honor and recognition upon your art.
Master of Photography
Earning my Master of Photography (M.Photog) Degree from Professional Photographers of America (PPA) highlights my photography career. The multi-year effort required accumulating 12 PPA-approved education credits by attending numerous classes and earning 13 merits in the International Print Competition (IPC). In the fall of 2020, I earned the merits necessary and officially received my degree in January 2021. I am thrilled and humbled to have the work I create for clients judged favorably and amazed by how much I’ve learned in my journey. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey thus far, and I look forward to seeing what new worlds we create together.
“So many people have taught, challenged, inspired, and provided reality checks along the way. I have been privileged to learn from amazing artists and business professionals throughout my career. I look forward to many more years of inspiration and challenge. Thank you, Emme, for being an honest and generous guide along the way, taking in a time-challenged neophyte, and making him feel worthy. Most of all, I want to thank my wife and daughter for their love and support throughout the time of success, doubt, expense and mental thrashing along the way”
-Andrew at 2021 Degree Ceremony
Pas de Deux Photography Competition
Pas de Deux is a photography organization dedicated solely to dance photography. To help further the goals of creativity and quality work, the Pas de Deux photo competition was introduced in 2020. Due to Covid, there was no competition in 2021.
2023:
- 2nd Place overall in the Grand Prize judging.
- First Place Studio Photo
- Second Place Studio Photo
- Fourth Place Studio Photo
- Third Place Teen Photo
- Ninth Place Teen Photo
- Fifteenth Place Teen Photo
- Ninth Place Pre-Teen Photo
- Of 16 images entered, 15 were accepted as Finalists.
- 2 of 2 images in the pre-teen category are finalists.
- 7 of 7 images in the teen category are finalists
- 6 of 7 images in the studio category are finalists
2022:
- 8th Place overall in the Grand Prize Judging
- First Place Teen Photo
- 4th Place Teen Photo
- Top 20 Teen Photo
- 9 of 10 Teen Photos were accepted as Finalists
- 8th Place Studio Photo
- 9th Place Studio Photo
- Top 20 Studio Photo
- 7 of 10 Studio Photos were accepted as Finalists. The remaining 3 were honorable mentions.
2020:
- Top 20 finish in fine art
- All submitted images were in the finalist category for studio work.
International Print Competition
Since 2016, I have participated in the Professional Photographers of America’s International Print Competition (IPC). IPC is a juried competition where images are judged against 12 factors such as impact, presentation, technical skill, and overall impression. Each year, only four images may be submitted for consideration. While not required by rules, all submitted images are work I have done for clients.
The merit means that the judges have deemed the image of excellent quality and artistry. Some photos are considered exceptional and selected to be part of the Imaging Excellence Collection (renamed from the Loan Collection in 2021). The official IPC presentations are then held at the Exhibition at the Imaging USA Conference, which is held in January of the following year.
2023:
- IPC, as previously defined, is no more.
- Photos were submitted and accepted into “Natural Portrait” and “Groups” as finalists.
- Taking the High Road
- Tension in Unison
- Both Images earned Gold Awards in final competition
2022:
- Diamond Photographer of the Year for having all four images receive Image Excellence designation.
- Three of four images were awarded Top-10 designations in the District Competition.
- “Defying Gravity” was nominated as a finalist in the Grand Imaging Awards in the Senior category.
2021:
- Bronze Photographer of the Year again for having all four images receive merits.
- Top-10 District Award for “Heart of the Sunrise”
2020:
- Received my first Image Excellence designations ever on two images.
- Earned enough points to qualify for my Master Photographer from PPA.
2019:
- Bronze Photographer of the Year for having all four images receive merits.
- First year submitting dance photography
Stage… Interrupted
An Artists Grant from Arts Greensboro and the NC Arts Council in 2022 subsidized a project to give voice to the high school-aged dancers whose lives were upended by the pandemic. This project, Stage… Interrupted, now lives here:
We are now looking to collect stories of students’ loss of stage beyond the pandemic, professional retirement, and creating new lives after the stage. If you know someone with a story, please have them fill out the contact form on Stage… Interrupted.
2024 Arts North International 29
In its 29th year, this highly competitive international juried exhibition showcases work by artists throughout the United States and worldwide. There is a wide range of mediums represented, including acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings, sculptures, fiber & textiles, ceramics, photographs, and more.
Learn more at the Hopkins Center for the Arts website.
2024:
- Sacred Geometry
- Power Lines
- Selected from over 1000 submissions
2024 Art of the Arts Exhibition
Art of the Arts is a nationally juried exhibition of artworks that uses the visual arts to feature and highlight other art forms such as Dance, Theater, and Literature.
Learn more at the d’Art Center of Norfolk website.
2024:
- Taking the High Road
- Boundless
- Atlas
- Selected from nearly 300 submissions
North Carolina Artist Exhibition
North Carolina Artists Exhibition has evolved to become the largest annual all-media juried exhibition in the state. This juried exhibition allows artists to present their works before renowned art professionals, art aficionados, and potential buyers. In its over 50-year history, thousands of North Carolina artists’ creative work has been celebrated in the North Carolina community.
Learn more at the Raleigh Fine Arts Society and NC Artists Exhibition websites.
2023:
- Taking the High Road
- Select as one of 79 images from over 800 submissions
- SOLD!
Innovation + Design Show
I received the People’s Choice Award in the Photography Competition at the 2021 I+D Show in High Point, NC. Innovation + Design is a furniture design competition under the hospices of the International Society of Funiture Design. The photography competition required taking a piece of furniture from the show and photographing it in an interesting way. This 6-foot pendant lamp by Ashoke Chhabra (ashokechhabra.com) was an obvious first choice, and incorporating a dancer into the design was a foregone conclusion.
During the Covid-19 crisis, I chose to do something I had been putting off: becoming a Certified Professional Photographer through PPA. The certification process includes a test that assesses the photographer’s knowledge of various technical skills, including lighting and light, color theory, camera operation, optics, lens behaviors, and editing tools. There is then an image submission that demonstrates the application of your technical skills. I am proud that I passed my exam on my first try with 96% and had my images accepted on my first submission.