Nov 01

True Story – Courage and the Art of Giving Back

Friends. Please take the time to read a touching story by Jill Waterman entitled "Off the Map" about a fantastic student I met while speaking at the Brooks Institute of Photography. Her name is Michelle Nolan. When I speak publicly, I often refer to the importance of giving back to your community. Michelle's story and how she affected the life of a young boy undergoing cancer treatment, Rusty Cwiklis, is truly inspiring. If you're looking... read more ›
652 reads
Oct 25

ScanSnap, Tool of the Century

Okay, the title of this post might be a slight overstatement, BUT of all the technology we've added to our office recently (and believe me, we're geeks...always up to something), this little device has really made life better: The ScanSnap by Fujitsu ($450). What is it? The ScanSnap is a high speed, compact scanner that converts hardcopy documents to PDF in a flash. It digitizes both sides of a document in a single pass, in... read more ›
260 reads
Oct 15

Don’t Worry, Just Focus. Please.

Argh. It seems that so many in our profession are worried about the future of the industry. I'm shocked really. First, it was paranoia by many that the digital age was somehow "harming" photography. That was true only if 1)you were a stuffy codger unwilling to embrace change and the opportunities that the digital age could bring, and 2)you were overly pretentious and in the dark about the intersection of art and commerce that is... read more ›
405 reads
Oct 13

Thank you PDN Magazine and Nikon for the Award

Thanks to collaboration from a handful of people in our office (read Scott, Kate, Julian) and our really talented designer and friend Finn McKenty (you can see their goofy video profiles on our staff page), I just barely squeaked in there and was awarded Honorable Mention for the category "Best Ongoing Campaign - Established Talent" in the 22nd Annual PDN/Nikon Self Promo Awards. Thanks to the judges and the fine folks at PDN Magazine and... read more ›
428 reads
Oct 12

Speaking at Getty Images in Sydney, Austraila

As a followup to my Seattle talk for Getty Images "Passion for Pictures" speaking series, I've been booked to speak again at the Getty office in Sydney, Australia on this coming Friday October 20, at 1pm. These events are typically limited to Getty people and their corporate invitees, however if you're really fired up to attend, send an email to info@chasejarvis.com and depending on how many interested folks we hear from, we'll see if we... read more ›
464 reads
Oct 03

Puma Turns the Tide and So Can You

In true Seth Godin style (perhaps long before Seth was really cranking) Puma turned the tables on the sneaker industry. Now listen up people this is universally viable: if you're trying to make big steps in whatever you're doing, don't chase people around trying to be them! Innovate. It's the key to survival and growth, especially when the going gets tough. Fast company has a great piece online right now about turning the tides and... read more ›
230 reads
Sep 29

Where the Brains Are

My good friend and amazing real estate broker, Bryan Ford, (thanks for landing us our new studio space, Bryan!) passed along this great piece from the October 2006 issue of Atlantic Monthly which outlines how America's cultural elite are clustering in a few cities--and leaving the rest behind. You might guess the cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Manhattan (and surrounds), Silcon Valley, Austin, and the North Carolina Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and... read more ›
196 reads
Sep 27

Knights of Cydonia – Part II

So my good friend Ben Winters, VP at Uppercut Images sent me this response to my Aesthetics: Knights of Cydonia post at 2am after we missed connections at the DJ Krush show at Neumo's in Seattle. He wasn't down with using the 'comments' unfortunately, and wanted this off-list. I have subsequently negotiated his letting me post his sleepy 2am rant-but-on-point note here:Chase,As I sit awake now reading my email at 1 am after sleeping through... read more ›
209 reads
Sep 26

Aesthetics and The Knights of Cydonia (And A Reminder)

Holy crap. I was reminded today in a strange way that good art is about vision and intention. It's less about the components and, ultimately, more about the process of DOING--the putting together of concepts. My good buddy Ben Winters from Uppercut Images turned me onto this brilliant video for the track 'Knights of Cydonia' by the band Muse. What I loved about it is that until I'd reflected on it properly, I didn't know... read more ›
316 reads
Sep 26

Photokina – New Cameras from Nikon and Hasselblad

As many of you photo industry enthusiasts know, the huge yearly Photokina Trade Show is happening this week in Germany. While trade shows don't really blow most people's minds (mine included), it's worth noting that manufactures often unveil their new offering at these things. That said, Nikon today previewed their new N 80 "semi-pro" camera. A link to the release can be found here. If you're an aspiring pro or a serious amateur and you're... read more ›
433 reads