English Edition U.S.A

English Edition U.K

“I must say that I don’t remember many of the things talked about in this text quite in the same way. I do realize that our memories are not really reliable as I have been shocked in the past that things weren’t the way I thought they were. That is my thinking about some of the things I just read in this book — but the text is not what’s important; it’s Chas' stunning photos, that bring back the experience.” -Francis Ford Coppola

‍ ‘‘REAL to REEL: What I Saw and… What Saw Me’  -  is the incredible story of the life and career of Chas Gerretsen. In his autobiography, illustrated with 148 images, he tells his journey from backpacker to combat photographer to Hollywood … and back

Confident that he would always find a job and get something to eat, Gerretsen left his Dutch hometown at the age of sixteen. He set out into the world, chasing  the dreams of his childhood; a string of adventures stretching several continents began.

His journey unfolds like a film, in unvarnished and unforgettable scenes: from hitchhiker to freelance photographer, covering the Vietnam and Cambodian Wars and the 1973 coup d'état in Chile.  Two years later he moves to Los Angeles first starting like a paparazzi but soon becoming a sought-after portrait photographer in Hollywood, and the  set photographer on Francis Ford Coppola’s epic war film, Apocalypse Now.

Throughout his travels Gerretsen develops as a photographer. He starts using a Kodak box camera and describes his career from soundman and on to a camera man, photojournalist and writer; from portrait and advertising photographer to filmmaker.

After fifteen years as show biz photographer, he decided on a radical career change; he bought a 14m sailboat and went with his partner Monika on a thirty-four-year journey sailing around the world.

Gerretsen wrote his autobiography in a matter-of-fact style; what he experienced was often so extraordinary, it does not need any embellishments. Deeply human, raw and honest,  ‘REAL to REEL’ bridges the gap between the life we live and the story we become.

Spanish Edition

English edition (Hard cover)

Winner: Best Photobook, FELIFA 2023, International category.

German Photo Book Award 2024; Silver, in the category: documentary photography.

Chile: The Photo Archive was Chile's #1 non-fiction bestseller

Dutch Edition

English Edition ‍ ‍

This photo book has all the images from the twice extended 6 months long photo exhibition in the Nederlands Fotomuseum a retrospective of the working life of Chas Gerretsen: 1968 to 1989. From Vietnam and Cambodia, the 1973 coup d’etat in Chile to Hollywood and Apocalypse Now.

Autobiography in paperback

‘Het Wonderbaarlijke en Vreemde Leven van Chas Gerretsen

Language: Dutch.

Straight from the publisher Boom.nl or through Amazon