bio:
Charles Ford, raised in Houston, earned a BBA from The University of Texas at Austin. While a junior, he traveled to Bolivia to photograph a student medical group—work that led to a BFA from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. In 1980, he began shooting fashion and portraits in Dallas, later teaching photography at UT Austin. By 1981, Ford was in New York photographing for Vogue, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone. When away from assignments, he roamed the streets with his Leica, capturing candid moments—a practice he continues today. After more than a decade in New York, Ford returned to Texas in 1992. In 2023, he revisited and began sharing his 1980s–90s street work alongside his portraits and current projects.
Statement
In the 1980s, I worked as a fashion and portrait photographer in New York City. But whenever I wasn’t on assignment, I was on the street—drawn to everyday life unfolding in public. That impulse remains at the heart of my work. Using film and working without staging or interference, I aim to capture people absorbed in their routines, relationships, or solitude. While most of my images are candid, I occasionally make posed portraits of individuals I encounter.
Rather than documenting a single event, my photographs reflect how we move through shared space—how fleeting gestures and quiet interactions reveal something deeper. Though much has changed over the decades, the emotional undercurrents of public life remain. My work is a record of what endures: presence, connection, and the overlooked beauty of the everyday.
