Paul Bowen

Paul Bowen, a commercial photographer based in Wichita, Kansas, has been shooting aerial photography since 1972. He is credited with over 1,000 magazine covers and countless advertising campaigns. Paul was selected as one of 60 professional photographers who make up Canon's "Explorers of Light" program. He maintains a busy shooting schedule traveling the globe in search of stunning backgrounds.

Paul shoots from various airplanes while flying in tight formation to achieve his desired shots. He is often perched in the open tail-gunner's position of a World War II B-25 bomber, strapped in, thousands of feet up. His headset and microphone connect him to the B-25's pilot, and the pilot relays directions to the crew of the airplane Paul is photographing. As the target plane gets closer, Paul directs them with hand signals.

Business and Commercial Aviation Magazine honored Paul as only one of three recipients of its Vision Award for 2008, based on his contribution to aviation. In 2009 he was nominated with five other companies and individuals as a candidate for Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine's annual Laureate Award for the Business/General Aviation category. Paul had previously been named "Photographer of the Year" by Pro-Pilot Magazine. In 2008 ISAP, the International Society for Aviation Photography, awarded Paul The Award of Excellence, their highest honor, for "a lifetime of outstanding contributions to aviation photography".

Paul is best known for his vortices aerials, which capture the spinning currents of air produced at the tip of a moving airplane wing, revealed in clouds or fog. Canon ran two ad campaigns featuring Paul and his vortices images. His four coffee-table books, Air To Air, Volumes I and II, Air To Air Warbirds, and Air To Air Mustangs and Corsairs have gained critical acclaim, along with his annual calendar, Air To Air Warbirds.

Photos

Explore some of Paul's photos from our website by clicking the play arrow, or click on the square in the upper right hand corner to go to full screen. Once on the page, click play. To return to this page, click upper right hand button again. In full screen mode, you can double click the image to get a close-up view.