If eyes are a window into one's soul, then Garry Bowden's main goal is to expose the soul of San Francisco.
For more than a year, the SF-based artist has been photographing portraits of the myriad characters he meets throughout town. He plans to turn the striking results into a book this coming winter.
"This project gives me an excuse to stop and meet all the interesting people in this city," he told The Huffington Post. "There's nowhere in the world like the Bay Area, so I'm grateful I get to learn about its culture straight from the people who create it."
Bowden captures young and old, straight and gay, brown and white and every color in between, detailing the poignant few moments he spends with each subject. Through their faces, he tells the stories of a street worker trying to make enough money to cover the debts of her drug-addict mother, an AIDS activist, a bright-eyed transplant ready to tackle her California dream, a homeless man determined not to make his situation a "shituation."
"Despite how we appear to be different on the outside, we all experience the same things in our inner world," Bowden said. "Life is made infinitely easier if we see each other as friends exploring the mystery of life together."
A few pieces from "Souls of San Francisco" are currently on display at D-Structure in the Lower Haight, and highlights from the collection can be viewed on the official website. Take a look at some of Bowden's favorite images below, and if you like what you see, you can contribute to his Kickstarter campaign here.
