| Gordon Chapple |
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| Carbon Transfer Photographs |
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Born in the San Francisco area in 1948, Gordon Chapple first became interested in photography in 1969. Initially Gordon photographed exclusively in 35mm, using a Nikon with a large assortment of lenses. During this time his work was concentrated on nature images ranging from micro work to larger animals. In 1971, Gordon traveled to Madagascar and East Africa as both a honeymoon and freelance photography trip. Images of leopards from this trip were later published in International Wildlife magazine.
While getting an MBA from U.C. Berkeley, Gordon Chapple became interested in larger format work. His first foray into larger format was a 4x5 Crown Graphic camera with a 150mm lens. With this setup, Gordon spent his available time between classes and studying to continue photographing nature scenes. In that he did not have formal training in photography, he learned composition and lighting by studying the Eliot Porter and Phil Hyde images in Sierra Club books. Starting in 1973, Gordon worked exclusively in color with 4x5 negatives making "C" prints. In 1978, he had the opportunity attend a workshop in Utah hosted by Phil Hyde, Dave Bohn and Edward Abbey. Not only was this a great learning experience for Gordon, but from this session Gordon started a long friendship with Hyde. Gordon's photographic direction underwent a major shift in 1989 when he ventured into a gallery in New Orleans and first saw color carbon transfer prints made by Rene Pauli. These were simply the most beautiful color prints Gordon had ever seen. Based in this single experience, Gordon called Pauli to ask about the process only to find out that the materials needed to make these prints was no longer commercially available. At that time the photographer needed to make his own black, yellow, magenta and cyan carbon tissues. Gordon's entry into carbon transfer printing began in 1990 when Charles Berger first introduced UltraStable printing tissues. Gordon had met Berger in 1989 and was the first purchaser of these new color materials. Learning how to make 4-color carbon transfer prints is a difficult process. In order to master the techniques required to make a successful final print, Gordon learned in the darkrooms of three master printers: Charles Berger, Bill Nordstrom and Richard Kauffman. In 1992 Gordon became interested in learning B&W carbon transfer printing, leading him to contact Michael Sandquist, a master in monochrome carbon work. From this point until the late 1990's when the UltraStable materials became unavailable, Gordon continued to print exclusively in 4-color and B&W carbon. The Josephus Daniels Gallery in Carmel, CA handled Gordon's work from 1978 until the gallery's closing in 2006. During this period, Gordon's images were included in numerous group shows. Further, View Camera Magazine published an article on Gordon's carbon work in 1995. Gordon Chapple remains very active in making carbon transfer prints as time allows from his responsibilities as CEO of consumer products companies. For the past 33 years, Gordon Chapple has made his home in Walnut Creek, California. |