The following is from Bob Ito’s speech at the gathering on May 18, 2019. CAPA presented a posthumous Distinguished Service Award to Fred.  The award is secondary to the primary goal of giving appropriate recognition to a great photographer and inspiring teacher and leader.

Fred’s Award

My name is Bob Ito. I am here to represent CAPA, the Canadian Association for Photographic Art. I have been a volunteer with CAPA for almost as long as I have known Fred and I have known Fred for more than 40 years. In fact, I first met Fred at a CAPA conference in 1977. CAPA was called NAPA at that time.

As a member of the CAPA Board of Directors I have the honour to present the highest award that CAPA gives out, the CAPA Distinguished Service Award to Fred, posthumously, in recognition of Fred’s contributions to photography in Canada. This award has only been given out three times in the history of CAPA.

So what this award is about?

“The Distinguished Service Award is granted to CAPA members who have consistently given unselfishly of themselves to nurture CAPA or individuals, in the furtherance of CAPA’s photographic ideals”.

The operative word here is “unselfishly” and this word epitomizes Fred.

We should have presented the award when Fred was still with us, but Fred was never a collector of awards and consequently no one thought of nominating Fred for the award earlier.

Please allow me to relate some of Fred’s contributions to CAPA and to photography in Canada.

Fred’s greatest contribution to CAPA was his ability to inspire, influence and motivate photographers through his images, through his mentoring, through his teaching and in freely sharing his knowledge. He made people laugh, he made people think and he made people care. He was a true gentleman and friend.

His images speak for themselves and do not need medals or ribbons to proclaim excellence. We have already seem some examples of Fred’s photographic work today and there are many more examples to come today.

Fred is Canada’s version of Ansel Adams, complete with trademark beard. I took Ansel Adams’ last workshop in 1983. While I have long admired Ansel’s images, what impressed me most was that he had no secrets and freely shared his knowledge and vision.

Like Ansel, Fred had no secrets on photographic locations, photographic techniques or in sharing his vision. He has led at least 75 field trips to various locations . He has judged and critiqued at many, many clubs and other venues to share his knowledge, wisdom and vision..

In 1986 CAPA held the largest photographic conference in its history. While I was chair of this conference, it was Fred who gathered together the many volunteers that made the conference a success.

Fred was Pacific Zone Director for more than 10 years and is largely responsible for making the Pacific Zone the largest photographic community in Canada with more clubs and more individual members than Ontario which has 3 times the population.

So Fred’s legacy is his influence and impact on the lives of so many in the photographic community. To paraphrase the great Greek statesman, Pericles:

“What you leave behind is not inscribed on trophies, but what is woven into the lives of others”

I think that you will agree with me that Fred is deserving of this award .

So Greg please accept this award, not as a trophy, but as a symbol of the lasting impact that Fred has woven into the lives of others, not only in BC but throughout Canada.

PLEASE JOIN FRED’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS AT A “ REMEMBERING FRED GATHERING”
On May 18 2019 in Burnaby B.C., from 12:30 to 3:30. Program starts at 1:00 pm
Scandinavian Community Centre
6540 Thomas St., Burnaby, B.C.
Please RSVP with number of attendees to: fredchap@shaw.ca
Whether you are able to join us or not, if you have a memory of Fred that you would like to share, please email us by May 4.

CAPA will be presenting a posthumous Distinguished Service Award to Fred at the gathering on May 18. The award is secondary to the primary goal of giving appropriate recognition to a great photographer and inspiring teacher and leader.

FRED CHAPMAN
May 17,1923 – April 16, 2018

Friend, Artist, Teacher, Craftsman
Lover of Nature
Photographer

Fred’s first love was the outdoors. Nature with its inherent patterns, colours and mysteries were his earliest inspirations. Throughout his life, he expressed this love in his images, shared his enthusiasm with others, and contributed to the development of photography in Canada.

In 1970, Fred organized the Burnaby Camera Club – now Burnaby Photographic Society. He was a member of the Burnaby Arts Council, the Photographic Council of BC, the fledgling NAPA now CAPA and a long time member of Western Photographic Circle. Fred was Pacific Zone Director for NAPA thru the 80’s and was instrumental in instigating field trips, workshops, and print shows across BC, culminating with a multi year run of the “BC PHOTOGRAPHERS” annual show at Robson Square. Fred toured BC with his two projector instructional slide sets and co-led the NAPA Camera Canada College 86. Well into his 80s, he co-founded the BPS Photo Friday group.

Fred started with B&W printing and moved on to Cibachrome colour printing. At 84 he got his first digital camera and computer. PhotoShop opened a new world of opportunities. Fred exhibited his work at Burnaby, Surrey and Richmond galleries as well as farther afield.

Fred made people laugh, he made people think, and he made people care. From his first young protege in 1973 to the last years of his long life, learning, teaching and mentoring were always more important than a box full of ribbons.

This modified quote from Pericles seems to sum up Fred’s enduring influence:

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments
(or recorded in silver, cibachrome and ink jet)
But what is woven into the lives of others”

PLEASE JOIN FRED’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS AT A “REMEMBERING FRED GATHERING”
On May 18 2019 in Burnaby, BC from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. Program starts at 1:00 pm
Please RSVP by April 20 with number of attendees to: fredchap@shaw.ca
Reply early, we may have to limit guests.
Whether you are able to join us or not, if you have a memory of Fred that you would like to share, please email us by May 4.