Top Photographers of 2014: Part 1 – is Chase Jarvis the man?

Is Chase Jarvis the man?

If ever a photographer seemed to have it all, I would say it would have to be Chase Jarvis – an American professional photographer, director, artist and entrepreneur.

As a photographic master, Chase has won numerous awards from Prix de la Photographie de Paris, The Advertising Photographers of America, The International Photography Awards, and numerous photographic trade magazine throughout the world. Photo District News (PDN) Magazine called Chase one of the top 30 most influential photographers of the past decade. – Full bio.

Personally, I felt his photographs lacked the wow factor I so loved about Trey Ratcliff’s work but then again what do I know? I must say though, being fascinated (obsessed really) with the dark side (*evil cackle), I found myself gravitating to the album titled “Empty” (below) and discovered I quite liked it.

My favorite was the spooky gates, it looked like the perfect setting for those paranormal romances I love so much (*wink).

I also loved the black and white pictures of the New Zealand album

What is it with photographers and New Zealand?

I found it interesting that Chase Jarvis was a student of Philosophy (a subject I never quite understood, curse you PHY101) before the world of photography ensnared him.

In an interview with Forbes magazine he explains how this fortunate turn of events came about…

Philosophy helped me a ton in finding photography. It helped me be honest and direct with myself and it was the route that inspired me to skip out on further traditional education, to ditch medical school and bail on a PhD in Philosophy of Art.  In dropping out of all that, I learned a lot – certainly more valuable stuff than I’d have learned by staying in school.

Isn’t the motto Stay in school? Hmmm… as an educator I do agree with a lot of what he had to say about being pressured to fit into a mould to earn approval being an epidemic.

One can only hope that perhaps, visionaries like Chase Jarvis can change this ridiculous attitude we have towards what education ought to be (a debate for another day).

If you really want to get to know him, have a look at his blog posts. “The KEY Characteristic Shared by All The Most Creative People I Know — And It Can Be Yours Too” was an amazing read.

My favorite quote from the post? “…doing and making always trumps talking about it.” Such a simple truth and yet so many people just don’t get it, including some of my rather unimaginative, uninspired, staid teachers (I have issues).

This post revolves around the mind blowing work of artist Andres Amador. Truly inspiring.

Getting back to Chase Jarvis, according to Wikipedia, in June 2011 he and his team broadcast the first episode of Chase Jarvis Live via Ustream. 

The purpose of the series is to broadcast interviews and conduct Q & As with professionals the audience might find useful, such as other professional art directors, photographers and authors. Interviews are first broadcast live via Ustream and later uploaded to YouTube.

Now saving the best for last, what I absolutely positively loved was the whole concept behind CreativeLive.

Here’s what TechCrunch had to say about it…

Jarvis is a photographer himself, and his mission from the beginning has been to create a platform that offers curated content, advice and instruction from the world’s best teachers. Not only those who have PhDs in education, but those who have lived the lives about which they preach — from Tim Ferriss and Ramit Sethi to photography instruction from Pulitzer Prize winner Vincent Laforet and filmmaking classes by Gale Tattersall, the director of photography for House.

Jarvis is keen on helping “creatives” learn how to turn their passions, their projects and their passion projects into real businesses, which is something that can be tough for those “right brainers” among us to master.

You can watch live broadcasts for free 24/7 and purchase courses on CreativeLive. From how to create websites with WordPress to Painting with Photoshop, there is a huge range of creative courses available on here.

By far the best thing I discovered on the website. Way to go Chase Jarvis!