Behind the Viewfinder
"I've been rightly accused of having a low threshold for boredom."
Who is Ron?
At age sixteen, I sold my Kawasaki motorcycle to buy a Nikon Nikkormat camera and spent the next several years learning the photographic craft through trial and error. By my early twenties, I owned a commercial photography studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a client list built from nothing. The studio became a launching pad for commercial and advertising work that took me across the country, for Thinkstock, a stock photography company I founded and sold to Jupitermedia, and for a career transition into aerial cinematography that then brought me to thirty-plus countries and eventually to a shared Pulitzer Prize and three Emmy Awards.
Early 1980s. Ron photographing a model in his 437 South Tryon Street studio in Charlotte, NC
The new company, Aerial Filmworks, led somewhere nobody expected. The technology behind capturing stabilized imagery from a moving aircraft became the foundation for GEO1, using lidar and high resolution imagery for both archeological discovery and electric utility clients. NV5 acquired GEO1 in 2022, where I went on to serve as VP of Global Strategic Solutions until my retirement in October 2025. Along the way, my film credits include BBC's Blue Planet II, Galapagos 3D, and Before the Flood alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, and work in environments that ranged from the genuinely beautiful to the genuinely dangerous.
My career is a series of transitions that only look like a plan in retrospect.
On assignment with National Geographic in the Arctic Circle for "The Last Ice" film
In 2022, my body began shutting down after a routine bike ride, leading to open heart surgery and the recovery room where my heart stopped twice. I came back from an eleven percent chance of survival, only to break a hip relearning to ride a bike and survive a ruptured aneurysm.
I'm currently in a wheelchair, working toward walking again, writing a memoir called Excavating 50 Years, and building Creative Rage LLC, a new content and publishing company.
Visit the Speaker page for a list of podcasts, articles, and interviews.
Behind the scenes video while on assignment for the BBC in Patagonia.
Selected Work
Full film credits on IMDb
GALAPAGOS 3D
Aerial filming in the Galapagos Islands with Sir David Attenborough. We based the helicopter on a ship to minimize impact on the environment.
THE LAST ICE
Award-winning film from National Geographic exploring the effects of climate change on the Inuit culture. Camped out in the Arctic Circle for a month with our helicopter 100 feet from my tent.
THE WALL
I worked with USA TODAY to develop a concept to fly the entire 2,000-mile border between the USA and Mexico with geo-referenced video while acquiring lidar and high resolution imagery of key landmarks along the way. Our collective teams were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism.
MT EVEREST AND THE KHUMBU GLACIER
Worked with National Geographic to collect lidar and imagery of the Khumbu Glacier in Nepal to document a "moment in time" as climate change accelerates glacial melting.
LOST CITIES WITH ALBERT LIN
Acquired and analyzed lidar data for the National Geographic series. Discovered a half-dozen long-lost ancient settlements at Ciudad Perdida in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern Colombia.
ON BECOMING CALIFORNIA
One hundred hours of aerial filming over the entire state of California for "On Becoming California", a PBS film. I won an Emmy for Aerial Cinematography.
FAST & FURIOUS 7
Provided the stabilized aerial camera system and technical support for the desert sequence filmed in the Empty Quarter of the UAE.
THINKSTOCK - THE USA COLLECTION
After the acquisition of Thinkstock LLC by Jupitermedia, my company produced a custom collection of 15,000 images for the brand exploring the United States from all perspectives - aerial, social, demographic, and cultural.
Emmy Award - Aerial Cinematography for the PBS "On Becoming California" film.
TIMELINE
1964
Shot my first photos on a Kodak Brownie at the Bronx Zoo
1973
Sold my Kawasaki to buy a Nikkormat
1974
Learned how to develop and print black & white film.
1975
Graduated Hunterdon Central High School in Flemington, New Jersey
1978
Audited the Photography MFA program at the University of Arizona and the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ
1979
Graduated Davidson College
1979
Ron Chapple Photography, Inc.
Founded commercial studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, built on a client list that included the southeast's leading banks, retail stores, and manufacturing companies
1985–1998
FPG International
Rights-Managed Stock Images
Transitioned from 100% assignment work to stock image production.
1987–1993
Only Black & White, Inc.
Founded custom lab for processing and printing black & white film. Located at 501 North College Street, Charlotte, NC.
1995
Moved to Maui, Hawaii. Set up Hawaii-based production team to supplement Charlotte-based team.
1998–2001
Royalty Free Stock Image Production
Ramped up low cost production as business models evolved.
2001–2004
Thinkstock LLC
Founded the stock company, images and footage. Acquired by Jupitermedia. Returned 400% to early investors.
2004–2007
iofoto
A production-driven image collection for the new micro-stock economy. Acquired by Canva.
2005–2022
Aerial Filmworks LLC
Gyro-stabilized cinematography from helicopters in thirty-plus countries. Clients include National Geographic, BBC, PBS, Warner Bros, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Fast & Furious, The Giver, Sony Pictures and The Bachelor. Won three EMMY Awards and a shared Pulitzer for Explanatory Journalism.
2007–2022
Footagequest
Aerial stock footage, licensed worldwide through Getty Images.
2016–2022
GEO1
The aerial camera technology, pointed at new problems: lidar and high-resolution imaging for archeology and electric utilities. Acquired by NV5 in 2022.
2022
Open heart surgery. Died twice. Eleven percent odds. Stuck around.
2023–2025
NV5
VP Global Strategic Solutions. Company ambassador and high-level involvement on the geospatial executive team. Retired October 2025.
2026
Creative Rage LLC
Content and publishing company. The current chapter.