The Art of Documentary Photography in Devon

In October 2022 we held a symposium in celebration of the work of James Ravilious and Chris Chapman

2022 marked 50 years since both James Ravilious and Chris Chapman started their careers as documentary photographers in Devon. Chris Chapman took his first photographs on Dartmoor in the summer of 1972 and still lives and works on the moor today. In the autumn of that same year James Ravilious began work as resident photographer at the Beaford Centre. He lived and worked in rural North Devon until his death in 1999.

The sold out ‘Art of Documentary Photography in Devon’ symposium celebrated the impact that the work of both these master photographers have had over the past 50 years and continue to have to this day. It also served to address issues relating to the future of documentary photography in Devon and beyond.

Organised by Beaford in association with the Ravilious/Chapman 50th Anniversary Group

To celebrate this joint 50-year anniversary, new book A Photographic Friendship was published featuring the work of both these photographers side-by-side for the first time.