Podcast: Creative Innovation & Visual Voodoo, with Chase Jarvis
Release Date: 03/27/2025
Podcast: Creative Innovation & Visual Voodoo, with Chase Jarvis
B&H Photography Podcast
Above Photograph © Chase Jarvis We’ve all heard the saying “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” But do you know how this catch phrase ended up as a mantra of the mobile economy? In today’s show, we speak with Chase Jarvis, the man behind Best Camera—the wildly successful photo sharing app that predated Instagram—to get an inside look at his wild ride. A born entrepreneur and self-made photographer with a hunger that always worked against the grain, Chase’s meteoric rise in action sports/lifestyle photography dovetailed with the dawn of the sharing economy,...
info_outline
AI-Powered Wedding Photography Workflows, with Sam Hurd & Justin Benson
B&H Photography Podcast
Photographers often react instinctively against artificial intelligence, typically focusing on controversial generative AI. Meanwhile, a different branch of AI technology—machine learning systems—has been making remarkable progress helping photographers manage overwhelming image workflows under tight deadlines. In today's show, we explore this trending topic in a discussion with Justin Benson and Sam Hurd, both accomplished wedding photographers and tech entrepreneurs. Justin begins by clarifying the distinction between machine learning and generative AI before taking us...
info_outline
Picturing the World from Immersive to Eternal, with Claudio Edinger
B&H Photography Podcast
Above Photograph © Claudio Edinger When it comes to photography, Claudio Edinger has a Midas touch. Equally celebrated for his immersive photo series, the intimacy of his portraits, and his aerial views that conjure a sense of the eternal through selective focus, his compulsion for research drives adjustments to his photographic strategy from one project to the next. In today’s show, we unpack the many facets of Claudio’s storied career, from his arrival in New York and early documentation of Brooklyn’s Hasidic community in the late 1970s to the environmental portraits he made inside...
info_outline
Demystifying Contemporary Africa with Lou Jones and the panAFRICAproject
B&H Photography Podcast
Above Photograph © Lou Jones Africa is the cradle of our civilization. Yet, most Westerners see this massive continent from a distance, and often through a scrim of largely negative headlines. For more than a decade, Boston-based photographer Lou Jones has sought to challenge this misperception. In 2013, he launched an in-depth photographic documentation of individual countries across Africa under the title the panAFRICAproject. Jones joins us on today’s podcast to recap his efforts to date, which currently encompasses a third of Africa’s 54 nations. Listen in to learn...
info_outline
The Art of Competitive Cycling Photography, with Phil Penman & Kristof Ramon
B&H Photography Podcast
Top shot © Kristof Ramon The dynamic arena of competitive cycling photography is not for the faint of heart. This grueling specialty requires a mix of split-second reaction times, intuitive technical mastery, and the ability to anticipate—and even more important—embrace risk. It takes a special breed of photographer to continuously capture every ounce of emotion packed into this sport, from bruising injuries and bitter disappointments to the exaltation of a win. For today’s show, we’ve brought together two passionate cycling aficionados, former competitive cyclist...
info_outline
Passing the Podcast Keys with Derek Fahsbender and Allan Weitz
B&H Photography Podcast
Allan Weitz had little idea of the grand photographic adventures in store when he signed on as host of the B&H Photography Podcast shortly before the show’s debut in October 2015. As a self-described big mouth, and with more than 40 years as a working pro fueling his curiosity about all things photographic, Allan quickly honed his chops to become the voice of the show. Today’s episode marks a crossroads, as Allan passes his hosting mic to the show’s incoming host, Derek Fahsbender, producer and host of the B&H Event Space. During a lively chat, we celebrate Allan’s long and...
info_outline
Black Cowboys & Rodeo Culture, with Ron Tarver & Ivan McClellan
B&H Photography Podcast
Top shot © Ron Tarver Cowboy lore has deep roots in American culture. Yet, black cowboys have lived pretty much under the radar until recently, when songs by pop culture icons Lil Nas X and Beyoncé went viral and catapulted the black western aesthetic into the limelight. In today’s show, we’re getting the inside scoop from two photographers who’ve been fully immersed in these vibrant communities since long before they became a top fashion trend. Separated by a generation in age and with pictures spanning from film to digital, we follow Ron Tarver and Ivan McClellan from their early...
info_outline
2024 Photo Gear of the Year with Kevin Rickert
B&H Photography Podcast
Well, 2024 has certainly come and gone in a flash, meaning it’s time once again for us to reflect on new photo offerings in our annual Cameras of the Year episode, now renamed Photo Gear of the Year. Featured in our discussion are new releases from , , , , , , , and . In the words of our recurring guest, Kevin Rickert, B&H’s Senior Sales Trainer for Photography and Lighting, “Everything old is new again” at least when it comes to this year’s most sought-after camera releases. A penchant for pocketable, fixed lens cameras led us to organize our camera offerings by type rather...
info_outline
Picturing World Cultures: Marcela Taboada – Mexico
B&H Photography Podcast
Photographers have a magical ability to transport us to hidden worlds, giving us intimate access to facets of society that would otherwise go unnoticed. Above photograph © Marcela Taboada In today’s podcast, we sit down with Mexican photographer Marcela Taboada, whose long-term documentary projects offer revealing glimpses into underrecognized communities, for Picturing World Cultures. Combining a passion for making pictures that let her “see backstage,” with a knack for “knocking doors” and the tenacity to win over resistant subjects, Marcela gained rare access to photograph the...
info_outline
Reclaiming a Natural Landscape, with Jade Doskow & Cal Flyn
B&H Photography Podcast
What is the role of landscape photography in a post-industrial world? In today’s podcast, we consider some possibilities in a chat with Jade Doskow, current photographer in residence for Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, and Cal Flyn author of the book Islands of Abandonment. Above image: © Jade Doskow While our two guests work in different disciplines, which leads to divergent approaches to the pictures they make, their shared purpose tells similar stories. Among the topics we discuss are a distinction between romantic landscapes of the past and a more ambivalent attitude...
info_outlineAbove Photograph © Chase Jarvis
We’ve all heard the saying “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” But do you know how this catch phrase ended up as a mantra of the mobile economy? In today’s show, we speak with Chase Jarvis, the man behind Best Camera—the wildly successful photo sharing app that predated Instagram—to get an inside look at his wild ride.
A born entrepreneur and self-made photographer with a hunger that always worked against the grain, Chase’s meteoric rise in action sports/lifestyle photography dovetailed with the dawn of the sharing economy, leading him to a moonshot idea. The ensuing saga of Best Camera’s viral success, subsequent demise, and Chase’s quick pivot into his next visionary business model—Creative Live—is both a cautionary tale and a redemption story. All told, you’ll gain fascinating insights into the nexus of creative innovation and big business at the highest levels.
When asked about his biggest take away from Best Camera given the benefit of hindsight, Chase doesn’t miss a beat, responding, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”
Guest: Chase Jarvis
Episode Timeline:
3:44: How Chase’s mastery of sports and the gift of his grandfather’s camera gear led to a passion for teaching himself photography.
9:33: Channeling real-world examples from his grandfather and father into early pictures, along with library books about the masters’ and photographic techniques.
15:35: The development of Chase’s early entrepreneurial spirit and how his second-grade teacher stifled these efforts.
22:50: Bucking trends and connecting with the uniqueness you bring to your images as a creative style.
26:32: Embracing social media and the sharing community early on and the ability to see around the corner as an entrepreneur.
35:53: Chase’s fast track to commercial success, technological innovation, and developing the Best Camera App.
46:20: Episode Break
47:48: The lessons learned from the Best Camera failure and how Chase channeled these lessons into the success of the first livestreaming learning platform, Creative Live.
52:24: Making the pivot from the first live photo feed to building Creative Live as a way to answer questions the questions asked by a massive global audience.
1:00:51: Creative Live’s pioneering approach to a freemium business model, plus offering access as a core company value.
1:05:29: The most popular offerings at Creative Live: the fundamentals, the business of classes, and the big name thought leaders.
1:12:38: Chase’s views on the current—and future—landscape in social media, creativity, and AI, plus advice for getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
1:20:43: What success means to Chase, and the message in his recent book Never Play it Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity and a Life You Love.
Guest Bio:
Chase Jarvis is an award-winning artist, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and one of the most influential photographers of the past 20 years, whose diverse portfolio spans from advertising campaigns for Apple, Nike, and Red Bull to collaborations with athletes like Serena Williams and icons such as Lady Gaga and Sir Richard Branson. As an early adopter of social media and the sharing economy, Chase created Best Camera (the first photo-sharing app) in 2009 and co-founded the online education platform CreativeLive in 2010. Chase has spoken on six continents and advised Fortune 100 companies, with invitations to both the Obama White House and Buckingham Palace. Based in Seattle with his wife Kate and their dog Bodhi, he hosts the widely successful Chase Jarvis LIVE podcast (over 50 million downloads) while serving on several nonprofit boards.
Stay Connected:
Chase Jarvis Website: https://chasejarvis.com/
Chase Jarvis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasejarvis
Chase Jarvis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chasejarvis
Chase Jarvis Twitter: https://x.com/chasejarvis
Chase Jarvis YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChaseJarvis
Chase Jarvis Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Jarvis
Chase Jarvis Best Camera App: https://chasejarvis.com/project/the-best-camera/
Chase Jarvis Creative Live: https://www.creativelive.com/instructor/chase-jarvis
Chase Jarvis Never Play It Safe book: https://chasejarvis.com/never-play-it-safe/
End Credits:
Host: Derek Fahsbender
Senior Creative Producer: Jill Waterman
Senior Technical Producer: Mike Weinstein
Executive Producer: Richard Stevens