About

Hi. My name is Karl Chapman and I am based in Fife, Scotland. I have been taking photos since I was young, starting off with Kodak Instamatic given to me by Father Christmas some time in the 1970s. After work, family, friends, housework and dog, photography is my main interest, along with a healthy dose of road cycling.

I study the work of photographers and visual artists all the time. I guess I do have influences but can’t tell who they are (as in how my work turns out, as opposed to ‘not telling’!). Land, the sea, people, street, things I find all feature in my work. It takes a lot of photographing to understand what makes a good picture.

I grew up being inspired by National Geographic magazines that my dad had delivered. I moved on through classic black and white, Don McCullin and war photographers (having a romatic teenage view of war and war photography. which they did their best to dispel); Cartier Bresson and Magnum inspiration. My favourite all-time photographer is probably Andre Kertesz. My bookshelf contains books by these, plus Harry Callahan, Lartigue, Ragnar Axelsson, Bill Brandt, Syvia Plachy, Joyce Tenneson, Keith Carter and more.

My heart is in film photography and black and white printing. I like tangibles. If the house was on fire and I was allowed to save one camera it would be my Rolleiflex T. The contax, LF Toyo and Holgas would have to burn! I also use a Nikon D90. A lot. Too much, too many photos, with too many ways of ‘processing’ them. I love the iPhone camera – a great street shooter.

You can also find me at:

http://www.karlchapman.moonfruit.com/

http://ayephonography.tumblr.com/