Walter Chappell

Walter Landon Chappell (June 8, 1925 – August 8, 2000) was an American photographer and poet, primarily known for his black and white photography of landscapes, nature, and the human body.

[1] Chappell spent his early life on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon, until the family returned to Portland when he was three years old.

Chappell was curator of prints and exhibitions at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, from 1957 to 1961 and was affiliated with Aperture Magazine founded by Minor White in 1952.

Chappell re-located to San Francisco where he became re-acquainted with Minor White and joined a circle of photographers that included Imogen Cunningham and Ansel Adams.

Chappell moved to his final residence in the remote village of El Rito, New Mexico, in 1987 and from there continued to exhibit, lecture, give workshops and make field trips.