Chaplo's "Amarillo Flights" Traveling Exhibition to Premier at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas

(Canyon, Texas) The The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) will premier Paul Chaplo's fine art aerial landscape photography exhibition “Amarillo Flights” through November 1, 2020. The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, near Amarillo, is the largest history museum in Texas (now that’s big!). PPHM is home to a major collection of Western Art. The show features aerial photography of the Llano Estacado and Canadian River valley including many historic sites. PPHM will also host the launch of Paul Chaplo’s upcoming book (by the same title), planned for release by Texas A&M University Press for Fall of 2020. Chaplo is a Texas photographer. This is his second book with Texas A&M University Press. The "Amarillo Flights" book is part of The American Wests Series at WTAMU. The exhibition is sponsored by Red River Paper.

"Amarillo Flights" Traveling Fine Art Photography Exhibition with a Historical Angle

Selecting a paper for the Amarillo Flights traveling exhibition

       With the Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Llano Estacado Country (working title) book manuscript now reviewed and approved by Texas A&M University Press, I now turn my attention to the traveling exhibition. While selecting images to print large for the touring show, my current delightful task is to select a fine art paper for the photographs. 

        My appreciation for quality paper has its roots in experience in printmaking such as etching/intaglio, stone lithography, and traditional photography  darkroom techniques. My search led me to a great paper company in Dallas, Texas called Red River Paper.

Testing fine art papers from Red River Paper!

        After narrowing down my paper choices, I reduced the candidates down to two: Palo Duro Baryata 300 and Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag 310 both from Red River Paper. We did test prints on both papers. The Baryata 300 has a classic feel, while the SoftGoss Rag 310 has a more contemporary look that is well-suited to my finely detailed fine art aerial photographs. I opted for the SoftGloss Rag yet wanted to see a full-size print before finalizing my decision.

First full-size print for the Amarillo Flights traveling exhibition

        Next, it was time for a full-size print on Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag Paper, and I was blown away! This will be the paper that I use for the Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Llano Estacado Country traveling exhibition.

         If you are a museum or gallery interesting in hosting the exhibit, please call me directly at 972-898-6969 or email me at paulchaplo@gmail.com An exhibition prospectus is now printed, and the exhibition is now available for booking!

Big day! Delivering the Amarillo Flights manuscript to Texas A&M University Press

Paul Chaplo at TAMU Press

manuscript in hand!

(College Station) Big day last Friday! My wife Cynthia accompanied me to hand-off the Amarillo Flights manuscript to Texas A&M University Press. We had a delightful visit with the awesome team on Lewis St.

Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Llano Estacado Country is packed with Texas-sized color aerial photographs of the Llano Estacado country of Texas and New Mexico. The book is Chaplo’s third collaboration with TAMU Press.

The book features a introduction by Walt Davis, former director of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas; former curator of vertebrate collections at the Dallas Museum of Natural History; and along with his wife Isabel, coauthor of the book Exploring the Edges of Texas. He lives in Campbell, Texas. He is author of Building an Ark for Texas: The Evolution of a Natural History Museum.  Armed with his experience in museums and as a practicing watercolor painter, Davis bridges the worlds of history and art in his writing.

Paul Chaplo is a Texas fine art and commercial photographer. His first book was Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country. Chaplo’s commercial work as an aerial and oilfield photographer can be seen at www.oilpics.com 

Along with his latest proposed book Amarillo Flights, Chaplo is planning a traveling exhibition of select color photographs from the book, and is already moving forward with a prospectus, complete with professional art moving services. 

Preparing for my next exhibition Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Llano Estacado Country!

NEW UPCOMING EXHIBITION: The Amarillo Flights book will be accompanied by a traveling exhibition of select photographs. I have to admit it -- I'm a paper snob. Having been trained in both traditional printmaking including etching/intaglio and darkroom techniques, I have developed a love for fine papers. As fine art photography has moved into the era of making collectible limited edition photographs on injet paper, I have gone on a hunt for the paper for printing my next exhibition. Also, being a person who likes locally-sourced products and talent, my search has led me to Red River Paper in Dallas! What a tremendous resource to have a world class fine inkjet paper company right here in the Dallas - Fort Worth area!

In reviewing the papers from Red River Paper, and getting ready to do some test prints, I am immediately drawn to their "Palo Duro" line of papers. I have to say, it is the "perfect storm" of product and subject -- after all, the new book and exhibition will feature some breathtaking photographs of Palo Duro Canyon and the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River!

Art lovers may recall that Georgia O-Keeffee did her early work in Palo Duro Canyon, which she described as "a cauldron of color and light."

Read more about Red River Paper at their website:
https://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/fine-art-papers.html

I am really liking Red River Paper's Palo Duro Baryta Fiber 300 gsm which is a spitting image for the traditional paper that Ansel Adams often often used to print his most famous image, “Moonrise, Hernandez.” That paper Oriental Seagull G has often been called the "Cadillac" of photo papers.

Now, Red River has created a fine injet paper that feels like that iconic paper, and with it being made in Texas, it sounds like that Cadillac now has long horns on the hood!

Stay tuned for updates as we do test prints and prepare for both publication and exhibition! Buckle your seatbelts!

-Paul Chaplo, M.F.A
Photographer: Amarillo Flights: an upcoming new book from Texas A&M University Press, and a new traveling exhibition! #TAMUPress #TAMU #photography #books

Red River Paper, Dallas, Texas

Photographing the Bonnet Carre Spillway Bridge, Louisiana

Paul Chaplo, MFA, AIA-Assoc. Architectural Photographer

Imagine a historic two-mile long railroad bridge at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain and your photography assignment is to capture this marvel of engineering before it is replaced -- and you need to do it with large format film! Our camera and tripod weigh about 30 pounds--a modern version of what Ansel Adams used. That was our assignment for the Bonnet Carre Spillway Bridge just north of New Orleans. After extensive training for working on-track and at heights, we gained access to the bridge by airboat and by hi-rail. The latter is a truck that is equipped with retractable train-wheels that can ride on the tracks. It was quite an experience, and we needed to work between trains and maintenance vehicles. Crew and equipment were scrambling to do work before the spillway opened. The Bonnet Carre Spillway is a massive flood control structure that releases flood waters from the adjacent Mississippi River. On the bridge, we wore safety harnesses with fall-arresting lanyards attached to an anchor that literally slid on a train rail on the bridge over the water. In the swamp around us were numerous and venomous Cottonmouth water moccasin snakes, and a few alligators, but we completed the assignment with flying colors. Later, I learned that the bridge was originally Illinois Central Railroad, and literally crossed by the train "The City of New Orleans" that is immortalized in the Arlo Guthrie song by that title.