News from Timm Chapman

Freshly posted is a new gallery dedicated to Bolivia, a place where I traveled to in February of this year. This was my second time to visit this country; the first was visiting the Amazon Basin to photograph wildlife way back in 1999. On this latest trip, instead of going to sea level, I decided to travel high up to the Altiplano; reaching 15500 feet in altitude at the highest point. I would first visit the agricultural heart of Bolivia, Cochabamba. It was there that I visited the city and nearby ancient townships. I also hiked to the foot of the largest statue of Christ in the world, Cristo de la Concordia.

The main destination on this adventure however, was to photograph the incredible Salar de Uyuni; the world's largest salt flat. The Flat is the legacy of a prehistoric lake that went dry, leaving behind an impossibly flat nearly 11,000-sq.-km. landscape of bright-white salt. 

I went during the rainy season, hoping for a light pooling of water to collect on the surface, which would transform the landscape into a gigantic mirror. As is always the challenge in my line of work, Mother Nature had to cooperate to provide just enough rain to barely cover the surface as too much rain would easily be disturbed by air currents and erase the mirror reflection. She also needed to provide some drama in the sky so that the surface wasn't reflecting a big empty ball of blue sky. Good thing I alloted 5 days in the area to find those pools and wait for some skies; it proved very challenging!  

Fortunately, if there were no clouds in the sky, at least night photography would be an option, and I took advantage of the incredibly dense canopy of stars visible in this remote area.

I invite you to explore my latest gallery - you can find it HERE

Due to special requests I have put together a few collections from my portfolio that focus on two new areas: Petroliana and Amusement Parks.

The Petroliana Gallery contains imagery of vintage, and well patinaed subjects that are related to the automobile and the oil and gas industry. These images are ideal for a themed space such as a garage, or man cave.

The second gallery is devoted to the amusement park. I always looked forward to the Midway coming to town once a year during the Calgary Stampede. I would spend hours on the rides; with a special love for bumper cars & the Zipper. This collection of images harkens back to those days with a grouping of active parks as well as those long abandoned.

I invite you to spend a little time revisiting your youth through this collection.

I wrote about my adventure in visiting the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean: Socotra, and the story has appeared in the Vancouver Sun. Sister papers across the country will likely pick up the article ove the coming weeks. If you're interested in reading the story, CLICK HERE for the full article...

The year isn't over quite yet, but my road shows are all complete for the season. I just finished returning from Houston where I had my most successful Texas show ever, capping a stellar year of folks welcoming my work into their homes. I really can't thank all of you enough for supporting my quest to capture our fragile earth in photographs.

I have my annual Outlet show coming up in Tempe, Arizona, the first weekend in December, where I will sell off a bunch of my 'floor models' from the road plus some from my storage archive. Great deals will be had for those who can attend this local show. 

I am also working on a secret show planned for mid January - details to come...

A long time in the making, I am proud to debut my newest collection: "Watercolours"

This assemblage of imagery is a bold, new portfolio for me. The photographs were captured over a series of flights in a quest to record the spectacular beauty of nature’s natural brush strokes painting the Icelandic riverways.

Iceland’s circulatory system is clearly visible from above. Glacial melt and snowpack combine with Arctic rains to breathe life and blood flow into the country’s many surface arteries. Along their journey to the sea, the water mixes with glacial silt, volcanic ash, sand, mud and minerals to produce a palette of colour as it washes over the landscape.

The resulting photographs look more like abstract painting, yet are very real – and studying each piece closer reveals signs of life, and a reminder of how unbelievably beautiful our fragile Earth is.

Since the imagery is aerial, the photographs can be hung in any orientation (tall or wide). I invite you to explore this latest, and very very unique gallery

I just returned back from another planet...well that's what it felt like when I was there... I traveled over 9000 miles to the tiny island of Socotra, nestled at the gateway of the Arabian Sea. Socotra is part of war torn Yemen, however lays 350km from the ravaged mainland. It is home to some of the most unusual scenery and plant life on the planet, including the world's only forest of Dragon's Blood Trees. After a complicated logistical intinerary and one missed flight, I spent a week on the island and another 10 days in the United Arab Emirates visiting futuristic Dubai and the cultural centre of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi. I came away with an interesting selection of photographs and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Images are just starting to be added to the new Socotra Gallery, so be sure to check it out!

The Pittsburgh Photography Club, aka The Photographic Section of the Academy of Science and Arts, one of the longest running Photo clubs in the USA, has invited me to speak about my experience shooting the Eruption in Geldingadalir. If you are a member, or would like to become one, the presentation 'Nature's Fireworks' will take place February 15th at 7:30 PM Eastern time.

If you're over in Europe keep an eye out for the new issue of Terra magazine. It features a number of my photographs of Iceland's eruption taken in the Geldingadalir valley; the highlight of which was grabbing the marquee spot: the front cover. The text for the story is penned by my fellow explorer Malte Clavin.

Terra is the only German-language travel magazine that is entirely dedicated to nature travel.

When some guys reach middle age, they spoil themselves with a rather exorbitant purchase... usually it's a ridiculously overpriced and impractical sports car. For me, it was a ridiculously impractical, but unbelieveably rare vintage lens: A Nikon 1000mm F6.3.  This lens was built in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics. About 48 lenses were made for the Nikon rangefinder camera, and around 60 made for the iconic Nikon F mount, which all Nikon SLR cameras have used since 1959 to present day.  Most of these lenses were ordered for the military and likely disappeared. Very few have surfaced in the public market, so when I saw one, I grabbed it.

This behemoth of a lens tips the scales at almost 10 kilograms (nearly 22 lbs) and was the fastest commercially available 1000mm lens Nikon has ever built.  I took this enormous piece of glass out for a 'test drive' recently, and captured the event in my latest 'Portraits of the Landscape' video; tune in for 15 minutes of geeking out over glass. Warning, the video has infinitely less sex appeal then a Dodge Hellcat Charger....

If you're a dinosaur like me, you still like to 'reach out and touch someone' over the holidays in a more personal way than an email. A greeting card is the method I have used to reconnect with those that are important to me, and our family has sent cards out for as long as I can remember. I continue the tradition each year, by producing a new card each holiday season with an image of mine taken over the past year. This year's edition is called 'The Welcoming' and was taken in beautiful British Columbia. A beautiful natural combination of deep blue and warm gold.

You can get a set or two for yourself by clicking HERE. You can also see the rest of my cards on offer in my SHOP

The holiday season will soon be upon us. It's been a crazy year as we slowly transition out of the pandemic and now we are encountering the challenges of a reduced work force, supply chain issues and shipping delays, all of which are affecting our turnaround times.  That being said, my production labs are advising that the best chance to get delivery of new orders in time for Christmas is for me to have my orders in by November 14th. Please keep that in mind if you are planning to order a gift for someone special this year...

Keep in mind also that we have Gift Certificates available as well - Click HERE to get yours!

Just back from 9 days in Iceland; my 8th trip to the Nordic island. One would think that surely I would have seen all that the tiny northern island had to offer, but that's simply not the case. I went there specifically for two projects, the first being to photograph the eruption at Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula and the second for a 'secret' set of exclusive images that will be announced at a later date.

Needless to say, the volcano eruption did not disappoint!  Quite frankly, it was the most spectacular thing I have ever witnessed and I have seen a lot of amazing things in my travels. It was the first eruption on the peninsula in about 800 years, and it was an effusive eruption, meaning that it is primarily lava, as opposed to ash.  Conditions cooperated to allow for a few aerial shoots as well as numerous different perspectives from the ground. I sought out to capture the topography and the character of the volcano and learned that it was a challenging subject to record. In the end I am overjoyed with the results of the work and I hope you are as moved by them as I was.

You can find a dedicated gallery for the Volcanoes by clicking HERE 

You would think that after 7 trips to Iceland, that I would have gotten the northern Viking island nation out of my system, well I thought so too, however that all changed when I heard the I'sland was active again ; with churning and bubbling lava as Mother Nature begins to sculpt new earth.

The newly burbling volcano, Fagradalsfjall, began erupting on the Reykjanes peninsula in mid March and is currently building up a cone whilst belching fountains of lava high into the sky. My timing wasn't great with Iceland's last eruption, so I am fast tracking a return visit after having been fully vaccinated - be sure to follow me on Facebook as I will be making regular posts whilst I'm on site...a helicopter might be involved...  

I returned to my childhood home of Alberta in late December through January for a shoot I had long thought of...a solo jouney to capture the solace, bite and simple geometry of the Canadian Prairie in Winter. 

The Prairie often takes second seat to the majesty of the Canadian Rockies. I have been guilty of that gravitational pull of the mountains that I missed out on the spectacular simple beauty of the flat lands. It's great expanse is clearly emphasized by the massive skies above. A patchwork of fields occasionally appointed with bling, in the form of a storage silo, or perhaps the prairie skyscraper: a grain elevator. 

Life is hard on the farmlands that feed the world, yet from a cursory glance, the geometry of the landscape is simple. Clean. Uncluttered. One can take a deep, cool breath of air and taste it's freshness. Cold where walking on the snow produces a deafening crunch and the water that lingers in the corners of your eyes crystallizes instantly as you step outside.

I am in the process of scanning and editing the images I'll be including in my portfolio, however I encourage you to visit the new gallery and see what I have posted thus far. 

Recently I was looking for some imagery of New York in my film archives for a customer and in my search I came across some photographs I had taken back in the late 1990s when I used to make frequent trips on business.

One particular trip I spent the weekend in Manhattan capturing some unique perspectives of some of its icons; namely the Empire State building and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Back then, I usually stayed at the Marriott World Trade Center, so looking back at these images on my light box put a lump in my throat.

I wanted to share them with you, so I scanned the film and added them to my Architecture gallery. Most were captured in classic B&W, but I do have a few in glorious colour. The classic presentation, coupled with a contemporary abstract perspective will fit in nicely in most any decor!

With the breadth of my portfolio it can be hard to make a decision on which piece of art to choose, especially when getting a gift of artwork for someone else. In times like this a gift certificate is the ideal cloice. A gift certificate is always the right size and colour and the gesture will always be appreciated by the recipient.

Gift certificates are now available online in my Web Store in a variety of different denominations!  Each certificate has no expiry date & is delivered electronically with it's own unique code which is applied by the recipient at checkout when they are ready to redeem it. The certificate can be applied to any work on the website, except for calendars, and is also valid for custom work for sizes not on the website. The certificate can only be used one time up to the full value stated. Gift certificates are not redeemable for cash and cannot be returned for a cash refund.

Get yours today by clicking HERE

The second weekend in September I was to have set up in St Louis, Missouri for my first ever showing at the prestigious Saint Louis Art Fair. This highly competitive fine art show is a true showpiece for the artworld in North America. COVID has cancelled the live event this year and they will be going virtual instead. As part of the preparation for the event they cobbled together an interview/promo video of me as part of their 'Meet the Artist' series. You can see the short video HERE and learn a little bit more about me...

This year I have 4 different calendars available for you to welcome in 2021, and seriously, that year can't get here soon enough!  

First up, I have the 2021 installment of Chernobyl: inside the Exclusion Zone, where I feature another dozen fresh images from this compelling abandoned area. Next, I have another calendar featuring fresh images from Greenland, the Arctic jewel. Given how ridiculously hot it has been in Arizona this summer, the photos included are sure to cool you off.

Brand new themes for this year include 'Superstition'; a calendar dedicated to Arizona's iconic Superstition Mountain, with images of the rocky sentinel like you've never seen before. Finally, a 12 month calendar dedicated to the incredibly photogenic Lofoten archipelago in Norway; another jaw dropping treasure above the Arctic circle.

Swing by my Store to secure yours today!

Who would have guessed what 2020 had in store for us this year? 

I had a great shooting trip all lined up in a secret far away destination in May, and the country closed it's border. Other countries started falling suit, even my homeland of Canada, so my travel bug has been quashed.

In addition, all 18 of the shows I had scheduled for this year have been cancelled. A few of the promoters have tried to reimagine themselves as 'virtual shows' and I have one of those scheduled for mid September when the St. Louis Art Fair goes virtual. The promoters are really putting in extra effort to make this event memorable and unique, so I'm looking forward to it. I was interviewed about my process for capturing images and will post a link to it once it is on the show's site.

In the interim, although our paths won't cross this season on the grounds of an art fair, I am still more than happy to look after your needs for 'art that matters'. Please reach out if you are thinking of new art for your space; whether you need custom sized work, multiple images to suit a theme or locale, or perhaps it is some contemplative, immersive imagery to take you away from reality for a while as it feeds your soul. If you are far beyond looking for just another pretty picture, and seriously want engaging, compelling art, reach out. I'm here for you.

It wasn't all that long ago I was capturing new images and having wonderful new adventures in the hinterland of frosty Siberia. Fast forward a few months and the world has turned upside down.  The Covid-19 virus has set the world adrift in uncertainty as countries struggle to react to the pandemic and find a vaccine. These are truly uncertain seas we all find ourselves in.

One of the many effects of the outbreak is the cancellation of public events as efforts are put forth to stem the spread through social distancing. As a result, art shows that I have had scheduled for this year, have had a cascade of cancellations across the country. As of this writing, I have lost all my shows for the first half of the year. With no end yet in sight, I suspect my July shows will also be at risk of cancellation. Obviously this will have an impact on my ability to bring my work to the masses, but I will weather the storm. wait it out and look forward to seeing you all at a time when sanity returns.

If you see a piece of artwork in my online galleries that resonates with you, I am still open for business and would be happy to prepare one for you and ship it straight to your door. I am offering 15% off all orders when you use the code NOSHOW at checkout in your shopping cart. This offer in good until the end of May. Hopefully by then, the craziness will have left and we can get back to some degree of normality.  Stay well, wash your hands vigorously and often, and do the right things.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love traveling to other countries. I absolutely love it. I never visit a new country carrying any ‘baggage’ in the form of preconceptions or expectations. If I believed everything I was fed through the media I’d be filled with so much anxiety and ignorance that I’d be scared to leave the house.

On the contrary, the world is a wondrous, magical place filled with unimaginable beauty not only in its landscapes, but in the people and the cultures that exist on this big blue marble of ours. Sure, there are pockets of ‘exceptions’ found in likely all nations to some degree, and that’s usually what is packaged and force fed to us through our media outlets, however when you visit somewhere with an open mind and open heart, experience life amongst the locals, break bread with them, chat with them, observe their daily lives, hear their beliefs, appreciate their passions, opinions, outlooks, differences; you can learn more than you could imagine.

The world is filled with good people from all walks of life. Don’t ever let the media colour your world. Get outside...beyond the borders...and experience it for yourself.

With this philosophy in mind, Russia was one of those places that I absolutely had to travel to. In the Western world, we are told very little about Russia and it's people and of course, it's landscapes. Most of what we know depicts Russia in an unfavourable light in movies and the news. I didn't believe it. I had remembered as a child being told that the worst possible punishment you could receive was to be banished to an outpost in Siberia in the dead of winter. Well, I didn't believe that either. Now it was time to give it the litmus test. I bought my plane tickets and made the 32 hour journey over 3 flights to Irkutsk, Siberia. My goal was to experience the people, the culture, and to photograph the ice on the world's largest (by volume) freshwater lake: Lake Baikal. 

Baikal is nothing short of jaw droppingly massive, plunging a depth of over 1640 metres (over 5000 feet)!! In winter, it freezes over and can produce some of the clearest ice on the planet; Its numerous islands pocked with grottoes that freeze over into spectacular caves of ice. That doesn't sound too bad for being a place to be 'banished to'.

Needless to say, although the weather provided challenging conditions this year with snow covering most of the lake ice, I did manage to capture some spectacular sights of this little known gem. The hospitality that was extended to me by the Russian people was exceptional and the whole trip was a delight. For those of you that follow me on Facebook, I posted regularly throughout my journey to give you some insight into this mysterious place. I invite you to visit my Russia gallery and see for yourself - I will be adding new images to it regularly over the coming weeks. 

My fifth episode in my 'Portraits of the Landscape' series is now live! In this video, you'll travel with me into the remote jungle of Vietnam in search of Hang Sơn Đoòng, the largest cave in the world. It was some of the most technically complex photography I have ever done, but also some of the most rewarding. The cave is like nothing else on the planet!
 
Click on this link and it will take you to the video. It's available in 1080p for those who like to see a high resolution version - if you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up on YouTube, share the link with your friends and Subscribe to my channel so that you'll be notified when I post a new adventure.

I've just released my fourth episode in my 'Portraits of the Landscape' series! In this video, I show you my tips for how to see the Northern lights, where and when to go, ways to improve your luck of spotting them and also technical tidbits on how I photograph them.

Click on this link and it will take you to the video. It's available in 1080p for those who like to see a high resolution version - if you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up on YouTube, share the link with your friends and Subscribe to my channel so that you'll be notified when I post a new adventure.

I've just released my third episode in my 'Portraits of the Landscape' series, and part two of my photographic expedition to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. In this video, I enter the abandoned city of Pripyat, the closest city to Chernobyl's doomed reactor and what was once home to 50000 - now an irradiated wasteland. 

This video takes you behind the scenes with me as I explore this mysterious place...

Click on this link and it will take you to the video. It's available in 1080p for those who like to see a high resolution version - if you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up on YouTube, share the link with your friends and Subscribe to my channel so that you'll be notified when I post a new adventure.

Hot on the heels of the premiere of HBO's new miniseries which chronicles the events at Chernobyl, comes my second episode in my 'Portraits of the Landscape' series: A trip into The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

This video series will give you insight into how I planned for a photo trip there, and then you'll accompany me into the Zone as I seek out to capture captivating images from this sobering area of our history.

Click on this link and it will take you to the video. It's available in 1080p for those who like to see a high resolution version - if you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up on YouTube, share the link with your friends and Subscribe to my channel so that you'll be notified when I post a new adventure.

Those of you that know me, are well aware that I am a still photographer and not a videographer, however that hasn't stopped me from starting my brand new YouTube Channel where I am starting a series I call, 'Portraits of the Landscape'. This video series will give you insight into how I plan for a photo trip, and then travel along with me on that specific tour as I seek out to capture portraits of the landscape in each locale!

The very first episode is up and it concentrates on my last trip: The Gobi Desert of China. Click on the image and it will take you to the video - if you like what you see, please give me a thumbs up on YouTube, share the link with your friends and Subscribe to my channel so that you'll be notified when I post a new adventure. 

I'm planning to release more episodes of China, the Arctic, New England, Vietnam, Cambodia...and so many more...

Remember that all my images from the Gobi, and my recent trip into China, are all 20% off if you order a fine art canvas or dye infused aluminum piece. Be sure to use the code FAREAST20 at checkout! Sale ends at the end of April.

Hi folks!

I spent most of February behind the Great Firewall of China seeking out amazing landscapes in which to photograph and share with you. Although China is the most populous country on the planet, it gets very few visitors from the Western world, especially out in the rural countryside, so I endeavoured to capture some imagery the type you may have never before seen.

I first visited in 2005, however that was to Beijing, the administrative capital of the country. This time I would venture deep into the West, stopping in the frosty wonderland of Zhangjiajie and the mystical mountains in the clouds of Huangshan, then off to the painted mountains of the Danxia landform and finally into the remote Gobi Desert to take intimate portraits of the sensual sand. I am quite proud of the results from the trip and I have been busy working on adding some of these curated images to my NEW IMAGES gallery; eager to hear your feedback.

For those of you that followed along with me on Facebook during the trip, you'll know it was quite the adventure with baggage delays, emergency repairs to my hiking boot and a tooth, plus a tangle of logisitcs, oodles of noodles and a phantasmagoria of fog. The posts are all still accessible on my facebook account, so if you missed any, check in!

If you find anything that speaks to you in my online gallery from my latest China trip, all fine art canvas and dye-infused aluminum orders from the NEW IMAGES gallery are 20% off until the end of April - Simply use the code FAREAST20 at checkout. The sale applies to online orders only!

The New Year is off to a busy start!   

First up, I have added a new category of images entitled 'Concert Photography' which groups a number of concerts I have photographed over the years. Many of these images are from my early days in photography (the mid to late 1980s), and all were shot on 35mm film. You may recognize one or two of the performers there!

Secondly, I was kindly asked by Mountaineering Photographer Matt Payne to sit down for a chat for his highly popular podcast series 'F Stop, Collaborate & Listen'. Matt features prominent landscape photographers from all over the globe for a chat on all things photography - if you haven't listened before, you will find his archive a veritable treasure trove of insight and inspiration. You can find a link to my podcast by clicking HERE

February will find me off to China in pursuit of more spectacular sights to capture with my camera and bring back here to share with all of you... I will be capturing mountains seemingly floating in the clouds as well as undulating sculptural dunes in the midst of winter. Plus - an always adventurous trip into real Chinese cuisine!

Be sure to follow me on Facebook for daily posts (when I am able to break through the Great Firewall of China)

All the best,
Timm