Paul Chaplo Presents "Marfa Flights" at West Texas Historical Association in Abilene!

Dr. Glen Ely (right) and Paul Chaplo at WTHA 2016
 

It was a pleasure to present to an overflow audience at WTHA Annual Conference 2016 thanks to our popular session titled "Trails and Roads Across Texas." We were honored to have our session chaired by Glen Ely.

My co-presenters Sylvia Mahoney and Barbara Brannon shared information-packed exciting papers about famous Texas trails and roads. Then I shared aerial photographs and historical information about the scenes from Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country my book published by Texas A&M University Press.

WTHA provided a unique opportunity to sit down and talk with Glen Ely the author of “The Texas Frontier and the Butterfield Overland Mail, 1858–1861" (University of Oklahoma Press). Glen spent 25 years researching the stagecoach trail and locating tracks, ruins, and artifacts in the field. Here we are looking at topographic maps on my iPad and scoping-out the old stagecoach trail in the area of my upcoming new book Amarillo Flights: Aerial Views of Llano Estacado Country to be published by Texas A&M University Press. I can't wait to see what old tracks may be visible from the air! More soon...

The book Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country is available from TAMU Press:
http://www.tamupress.com/product/Marfa-Flights,7882.aspx
and Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Marfa-Flights-University-Southwestern-Humanities/dp/1623491681

"Marfa Flights" book session at Texas State Historical Association in Corpus Christ!

The "Marfa Flights" Team at TSHA 2015
(left to right) Lawrence "Larry" Francell, T. Lindsay Baker, and Paul Chaplo

(Corpus Christi) Surrounded by a true "Dream Team" for my first appearance at the Texas State Historical Association annual meeting in Corpus Christi. (In group pic, left to right) Lawrence "Larry" Francell, T. Lindsay Baker, and me just after we completed our session "Marfa Flights" based on my book from Texas A&M University Press. Dr. Baker presided over the session as both Chair and Commentator, while Larry presented his paper titled "Writing in the Air from on the Ground" which addressed the changing land in the Big Bend country of Texas, photography as art and document, and aviation in Big Bend. I presented my heavily illustrated paper "Photographing Big Bend from a Cessna," with stories and history from the book along with anecdotes from "the making of" the photographs in the book. Thanks to Dr. Baker and Mr. Francell for making the session a great success!

The well-attended "Marfa Flights" session at TSHA 2015 

Well-attended "Marfa Flights" session at TSHA 2015. Here I am giving a talk with lots of pictures, of course! Nice to see Ron Tyler in the audience as I appreciate his writing during his work as former director of the Amon Carter Museum.

 Paul Chaplo, author of "Marfa Flights" presenting at the
Texas State Historical Association 2015

Paul Chaplo at the podium presenting his paper "Photographing Big Bend from a Cessna," which was accompanied by numerous color photographs in a PowerPoint presentation. The paper and session are based on the book Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country from Texas A&M University Press. Find the book on Amazon, or better yet, support TAMU Press by purchasing the book directly from Texas A&M University Press here: http://www.tamupress.com/product/Marfa-Flights,7882.aspx

The Marfa Flights traveling exhibition is now available for qualified museums. A prospectus is available.

Bio: 
Paul Chaplo holds a Master of Fine Arts in Photography degree from the renowned Rochester Institute of Technology. His book "Marfa Flights" is packed full of Texas-sized aerial photographs of the Big Bend country taken during perilous flights over the backcountry of this remarkable part of the Texas borderlands. Chaplo is a commercial architectural and aerial photographer based near Dallas. He also does archival HABS - HAER - HALS type large format archival film photography.

UPCOMING NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PAUL CHAPLO!
Photo courtesy Grant Carpenter ©2013 

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 Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country

Author: Paul Chaplo 

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press 

Planned release date: Fall 2014
http://www.marfaflights.com/   

Breathtaking views of the rugged Texas Big Bend country from the air . . . 

Each year, thousands of people visit Big Bend National Park and other locations in this remote section of West Texas, marveling at the stark and magnificent landscapes carved by eons of volcanism, wind, and water into the arid, mountainous country along the Rio Grande River. But until now, very few—other than hawks or eagles—have ever surveyed this fiercely beautiful region from above. 

In Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country, photographer Paul V. Chaplo takes readers on an unforgettable sky excursion over Big Bend. An introduction by longtime director of the Museum of the Big Bend, Larry Francell, traces the history of aerial photography in Big Bend, from air patrols during the Mexican Revolution to W. D. Smithers’ army flyovers to the helicopter flights after the recent Rock House fire. He also reminds us that this unique view of the land, where water is disappearing at the same time more and more humans arrive, serves as both art and documentation, a record of a changing landscape in an increasingly fragile environment. 

Flying from Marfa, Chaplo heads south to Big Bend National Park, over the Chisos Mountains to the Rio Grande. He follows the river west to Lajitas, Terlingua, and Candelaria, then veers back north to the “starry stairway” of the Davis Mountains, where the McDonald Observatory is perched. The photos capture the shapes, textures, and colors of the rugged landforms people usually see only from the ground. This dramatic perspective underscores the age and remoteness of Big Bend and displays an immense topographic tableau of strange and austere beauty.

PAUL V. CHAPLO is a professional photographer specializing in corporate and architectural photography. His creative work has been exhibited in museums around the country, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

For more information visit our new website: http://www.marfaflights.com/
Texas A&M University Press: http://www.tamupress.com
Twitter: @PaulChaploPhoto
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-chaplo/13/39b/55
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/paul.chaplo.author.marfa.flights
PinInterest: http://www.pinterest.com/paulchaplo/