There are photographs that capture details of what happened in a moment.
Then there are photographs that ask us to feel what happened. To read between the lines. To experience the unexplained.
I’ve always been drawn to the second.
My work isn’t about recording a place or proving that I was there. It’s about preserving the moments that most people never notice—the glance exchanged between strangers, the pause before someone reaches for another’s hand, the dropped threads or lost connection, the quiet solitude of a person deep in thought, or the way morning light wraps itself around an ordinary street until it becomes something unforgettable.
These are the moments that disappear first — or only show ever so briefly.
They’re also the ones that tell us the most about who we are.
They are moments that refuse to be explained.
Paris has become the place where this way of seeing feels most natural to me. It isn’t simply a city I love—it is a place where I feel deeply connected to life itself. Walking its streets slows me down. The rhythm is different. People linger. Conversations spill onto sidewalks. Beauty isn’t manufactured; it quietly exists in everyday life.
Every walk through Paris reminds me that extraordinary moments rarely announce themselves.
They whisper.
That is what I am searching for every time I lift my camera.
Why Black and White?
People often ask why I photograph almost exclusively in black and white.
The answer is simple.
What is — and the truth of what existed — requires no filter.
Color tells us what something looked like.
Black and white invites us to notice what it meant.
Without the distraction of color, our attention shifts toward expression, gesture, light, shadow, texture, and emotion. We begin to see relationships instead of fashion, stories instead of scenery.
Removing color reveals something much closer to truth.
It strips away the noise until only the essential remains.
Black and white has an honesty that continues to draw me back. It allows the viewer to complete the story with their own memories and emotions rather than simply observing mine.
Exploring the Unexplained
One of my passion projects is Love Unexplained. I capture moments that refuse to be explained.
Moments that communicate unexplained love and connection. Moments exchanged with or without words. Body language, space, energy, and mood.
Many of my favorite images exist somewhere between documentary and poetry. They are not about certainty. Instead, they are about possibility. They are not about perfect or expected love, they are about authentic love and rare moments that don’t always neatly fit within the lines of expected boxes.
The unexplained relationships between people—the invisible threads, the quiet longing, the shared laughter, the solitude experienced in crowded places—often reveal more than any posed portrait or conversation ever could.
Those are the stories I hope to tell.
What Is Fine Art Street Photography?
Street photography is often described as photographing candid moments in public spaces.
Fine art street photography begins with those same authentic moments, but it is guided by artistic intention rather than simple documentation.
It isn’t about collecting interesting scenes.
It is about creating photographs that evoke emotion, invite interpretation, and stand on their own as works of art. For me, I am drawn to capturing imagery of strong women who are creating, building, existing, and growing their lives on their own terms.
Every decision—the light, the composition, the timing, the use of shadow, and often the choice of black and white—is made in service of expressing something beyond the actual scene.
The goal isn’t simply to show you a street.
It’s to make you feel something about the people who walked through it. To connect you to that moment and shared space.
Fine art photography doesn’t explain everything.
It leaves room for wonder and curiosity.
Timeless Moments
The photographs I hope people return to years from now won’t be remarkable because of where they were taken.
They’ll matter because they captured something universally human.
A glance.
A goodbye.
Hope.
Heartbreak.
Loneliness.
Love Unexplained.
These experiences belong to all of us — they transcend time and space — regardless of language, country, or generation.
That is what makes them timeless.
My hope is that each photograph becomes more than an image on a wall. I want it to become a conversation between the subject, the viewer, and the memories they bring with them.
Because the most meaningful photographs don’t simply show us what happened.
They remind us of something we had forgotten we felt.
They remind us that love and connection are the point of it all.
And that love needs no explanation.
Thank you for being here and following my journey.
Julie Tower | Photographer | Black+White | Paris | Capturing Moments that Refuse to be Explained.
