I'm certainly not a chef, but whenever I'm asked what the "key ingredient" is to making good photographs, good ART, the answer I give is a simple one: make a lot of it. We often talk about how vision is everything, but vision doesn't come from the womb full grown and mature. It's cultivated. And that cultivation takes time and effort. Certainty and control might be your friends while performing surgery, but they are not... read more ›
Nov
02
Oct
18
People that have "done it" will be able to do it again. Whether it's shooting a successful commercial assignment, hanging in a museum, making a music video, or whatever. It may not be a de-facto truth, but that's what's believed on the open market. It's SAFER for the person hiring a creative if they can point to something that you've already done. One reason I get a lot of work is that I've done a... read more ›
Oct
12
Levi's recognizes that photography is absolutely a core component of a new era of creativity. Here's proof: check out their newest project, The Levi's Photo Workshop. It's a community photography collaboration venue located in central Manhattan (18 Wooster St. btwn Canal and Grand). Think free studio space, free camera rentals (even vintage), and a collaborative workspace. Levi's Joshua Katz says this project is... "...a way for Levi’s to offer a unique experience based around creativity... read more ›
Oct
05
In the 8 weeks leading up to my Seattle 100: Portrait of a City launch, I promised to be blogging, vlogging and any other sort of ‘ogging one can do, as well as answering questions to share the behind the scenes of what’s going on with the project. I've been doing some o' that and now we're just 3 weeks out...sorta, but better. If you recall, in similar fashion to The Best Camera Is the... read more ›
Sep
09
Last week when I announced my newest book, Seattle 100: Portrait of a City, I promised to blog, vlog, report and otherwise share the behind-the-scenes process of what it's been like so far in taking this project to print AND what's going on in these final weeks prior to the official "launch". Lots to report. My hope is that this can help anybody who is heading into a book project or perhaps considering... read more ›
Sep
01
Friends! It's been a long time coming, but today it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my third book, titled Seattle 100: Portrait of a City.. From the back cover: Seattle 100: Portrait of a City is the culmination of a three-year personal project by renowned photographer, filmmaker, and social artist Chase Jarvis. Both a creative project and an insightful ethnography, Seattle 100 shares—via more than 300 stunning black-and-white portraits and biographies of... read more ›
Aug
06
Polaroid has still got it after all these years. As proof, and for some Friday fun, check out this 1970's retro how-to video/advert/documentary. Still cool and amazingly poignant. Polaroid - the original social network. Snap a picture, show your friends = Create. Share Sustain. Note the range, accessibility and the diversity. Pretty impressive. Reminder to check out the Impossible Project, plus one of my recent Polaroid snapshots after the jump.Continue reading
Jul
18
Indeed, today is my birthday! I'm celebrating with family and friends up at our cabin on the coast (snapshot here of yours truly at our fire on the beach last night), but there is something else that's on my mind today. Giving back. And I've decided that in this coming year of my life, one of my goals is to give more time, money, and effort toward philanthropy and charity. This will take many manifestations... read more ›
Jun
14
Controversial? Perhaps. But I love it. From the New York Times: The project, called YouTube Play and conceived as a biennial event, is intended to discover innovative work from unexpected sources. It is open even to entrants who don’t consider themselves artists, and actively encourages the participation of people with little or no experience in video. “People who may not have access to the art world will have a chance to have their... read more ›
May
20
The most powerful images in documentary photography projects are rarely the ones on the surface of the issue, they're the ones that go deeper. Australian documentary photographer, Mark Tipple, has taken this concept quite literally in a new series called "The Underwater Project". I've always been intrigued by what happens below the surface, like what's happening where we can't see. Coming from a surfing background I used to wonder what happens when we're duck-diving, like,... read more ›
