Presenting at an aviation conference in Los Angeles to a Canadian and US audience.
Public Engagement
True stories from fifty years of innovation, risk and recovery.
I'm available for public speaking events. I've spoken at GeoWeek, MAPPS, numerous industry events, and webinars with over 3,000 listeners. In spring 2025, Trimble Applanix — a $100M company — invited me to deliver the keynote at their biennial customer meeting.
For booking, availability, and a speaker kit, reach out. The speaker kit contains a short bio, long bio, headshot, talk descriptions, and A/V requirements.
"We had a brilliant, deeply inspirational keynote presentation from Ron Chapple who has, among other awards, an Emmy for his nature cinematography. His captivating visuals and remarkable ability to bridge cutting-edge technology with powerful storytelling resonated deeply with everyone, demonstrating how data and art can come together to reveal profound real-world insights. In my opinion, Ron’s presentation was the best Trimble Applanix UGM keynote ever."
~ Dr. Steven Woolven, President Trimble Applanix
Next Talk:
PhotoCON Hawaii
I will be a featured speaker at the upcoming PhotoCON Hawaii event on Oahu. Join me and the visual content community September 24-27, 2026 at the beautiful Capital Modern Museum in Honolulu.
Thank you to PhaseOne for sponsoring my talks!
Learn more and sign up at PhotoCON Hawaii.
ASPRS MENTORS PODCAST
Ron Chapple is the VP Global Strategic Solutions for NV5. He works with a team of geospatial and building analysis professionals who deliver industry-leading projects for airports, urban environments, building infrastructure, and data centers. Ron’s unique background in storytelling connects digital twins and technology. Ron’s clients include the BBC, PBS, and National Geographic. Ron has won several EMMY awards including a PBS project entitled “On Becoming California”. Ron pioneered the use of remote sensing as part of a Pulitzer Prize award-winning project with USA Today.
This podcast is hosted by the ASPRS Early Career Professional Council Officers, Jordan Hicks and Riley O'Donnell.
On the Record
MAPPING THE CONVERSATIONS: TALKING DIGITAL TWINS WITH RON CHAPPLE
In this episode of Mapping the Conversations, host Dr. Valrie Grant sits down with Ron Chapple, VP of Global Strategic Solutions at NV5, to explore the evolving world of digital twins, geospatial intelligence, and visual storytelling.
Ron brings a rare blend of Emmy-winning visual storytelling and cutting-edge geospatial innovation. From capturing breathtaking aerial cinematography for National Geographic and the BBC to pioneering remote sensing innovations for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, Ron’s journey is one of curiosity, creativity, and cutting-edge technology.
They dive into:
• Ron’s fascinating transition from photography to LiDAR and geospatial innovation
• What truly makes a digital twin (hint: it’s more than just a pretty 3D map!)
• The power of immersive visuals in environmental storytelling and stewardship
• A behind-the-scenes look at a volcanic digital twin model on Hawaii’s Kilauea
• Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in geospatial tech
• Why geospatial is the fabric of all business
• Building inclusive forward-thinking pipelines
The conversation wraps with Ron’s reflections on the creative and technical challenges of building models at scale and why digital twins must be treated as living assets rather than one-off projects. He emphasizes the need to break down silos, foster cross-sector collaboration, and bring fresh talent—from data scientists to filmmakers—into the evolving geospatial ecosystem.
Whether you're a tech enthusiast, policymaker, or storyteller at heart—this episode will reshape how you think about place, pixels, and the planet.
Articles & Interviews
Conversations you would rather hear than read
The written word
LIDAR MAGAZINE PODCAST
Ron Chapple has devoted his amazing career to flying helicopters, first for cinematography, but then to acquire imagery and lidar for geospatial purposes. His work has won multiple awards, including a Pulitzer prize, and has been instrumental in the discovery of archaeological wonders in Latin America. His company, GEO1, was acquired by US geospatial services giant, NV5 Geospatial, in 2022 and Ron now serves as Vice President Global Strategic Solutions - Digital Twins, NV5 Geospatial. In the podcast Ron discusses his life in flying, his transition to geospatial, the acquisition by NV5 Geospatial, and the creation of and data acquisition for digital twins.
SALON
Laser-based lidar tech is rewriting history — if climate change doesn't erase it first
11.24.2024
Feature on lidar's transformation of archaeology; Ron profiled for the detailed imaging of Ciudad Perdida in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
THE GUARDIAN
The big archaeological digs happening up in the sky
02.23.2023
Ron Chapple and his team used lidar technology to discover long lost settlements at Ciudad Perdida in the mountains of Colombia, South America.
EXPLORERSWEB
Revealing Archaeology's Hidden World With A Billion Points of Light
03.02.2023
Discusses the 2019 GEO1 partnership with National Geographic explorer Albert Lin, mapping Ciudad Perdida through dense jungle canopy
ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers)
Questions With a Pro: Ron Chapple
12.07.2020
Q&A session with Rana Faure covering the aerial/underwater niche and the decision to invest in a Cineflex HD aerial video system.
RIEGL NEWSROOM
From Mountain Glaciers to Powerline Corridors — Interview with Ron Chapple
07.02.2020
Michael Sitar interviews Ron Chapple, CEO of GEO1, on the pivot from video to lidar, starting with the client request that added 3D to a transmission-corridor shoot.
THE STOCK PHOTO GUY — JOHN LUND
Photographer Ron Chapple Interview
12.04.2010
Interview from a fellow stock shooter — the Thinkstock/iofoto years from inside the industry.
LIDAR MAGAZINE
Ready Willing Able: The SWAT Team of Lidar
03.26.2020
Ron Chapple and the GEO1 team are often called upon to assess complex landscapes, from the world’s tallest mountains to remote volcanoes; from busy airport runways to structures hidden beneath dense jungle canopy.
LIDAR MAGAZINE
06.12.2020
Ron writes in the first person on the expansive growth of GEO1 and how the geospatial sector might just be what this century needs to bring people and technology together.