April 12 – July 6, 2008

From April 12 through July 6, the IPHF will host Visions Through a Plastic Lens, featuring the work of Lou Chapman of Fort Worth, TX. Using a Holga camera, Chapman has created a body of work that transports the viewer to a dreamlike world where reality is reflected rather than accurately depicted. The images are only minor manipulated during printing, revealing the energy of the moment, rather than a realistic representation.

The Holga camera is a manual, all-plastic, single-shutter-speed “toy” camera manufactured in China. It uses medium-format film and creates square negatives from the plastic lens, and has simple construction that allows light leaks and uncertain focusing.

Chapman, who is also a yoga teacher, compares his Holga photography to the practice of yoga, which emphasizes the importance of feeling and to open oneself to surroundings. Using the Holga, Chapman must manually advance each frame of film and set one of two aperture settings, as well as guessing at focusing. In work with the Holga camera, Chapman gets “a constant reminder that ultimately, I am not in control. I can only capture a reflection of what I think I see through the viewfinder.”

Not only is Chapman an accomplished photographer and yoga teacher, he also worked as a newspaper reporter for 19 years, working in New Orleans, Denver, New York, Fort Worth and Boulder, CO. During his news career he won a Pulitzer Prize nomination as well as numerous other awards. As a photographer, Chapman works on commercial assignments, shooting with film and in digital. His artistic work has appeared in individual and group shows and has been juried into a dozen national and international exhibits.