In 2005, Tom Epperson was honored with a solo exhibition at the Ayala Museum, one of the most important cultural institutions of the Philippines. Entitled One Light, the exhibition featured 55 portraits taken over the course of the past 20 years of people from all walks of life, shot using only one light source. Socialites, musicians, actors, businessmen, family and ordinary folks were exhibited. His 2007 exhibition in Manila, Frozen, an event sponsored by BMW Philippines, consisted of about 40 images of a variety of flowers frozen in water.

Although currently based in Manila, which has been his home for the last 23 years, Tom was actually born in Cleveland, Ohio. He got his first camera at the age of 11, but would not begin studying photography until he reached 18. In those years, Tom was also an avid surfer, and would spend the better part of his youth traveling throughout the United States. It was in his stop at Hawaii that he got a call to work for Hanna Barbera as a cameraman, which turned out to be the beginning of a long and meaningful stint in the animation industry.

His transition from animation to photography was not without complexity, as he had to uproot himself from his native land and move to more exotic locations such as Australia, Korea and the Philippines before realizing his true calling.

In 1985, Tom was sent to the Philippines by Burbank Films, a Sydney-based animation studio he used to work for, to help set up a studio in Manila while teaching the proper use of an animation camera under a three-month contract. This unexpectedly turned into three years before returning once again to Australia. After reading an article in American Photo about French-born photojournalist and war photographer Katherine Leroy, whose life story had so inspired him, Tom instantly decided to quit his job in animation, a job that spanned 14 years, to become a photographer.

After working as a freelance photo assistant in Sydney with photographers who were into a wide variety of disciplines such as fashion, food, still life and commercial work, Tom headed back to Manila in 1990 to pursue his career in photography.

Tom is married to a Filipina, Jennifer, and has a daughter named Aryanna. He still surfs and plays the harmonica for a local Filipino blues band, The Blue Rats.