Podcast: Creative Innovation & Visual Voodoo, with Chase Jarvis
Release Date: 03/27/2025
Finding Faces in the Rocks, with John Paul Caponigro and Joel Simpson
B&H Photography Podcast
“If you look very intensely and slowly things will happen that you never dreamed of before.” This Aaron Siskind quote neatly sums up the deeply contemplative discussion we had with landscape photographers John Paul Caponigro and Joel Simpson in this week’s podcast. Siskind’s name is mentioned several times in our chat—as are many other 20th century photography legends—making this show both an exploration of photo history and an exercise in a holistic way to envision and record the world around us. Our focus on landscape quickly diverges from realistic depictions in favor of terrain...
info_outline
Shuang Hu Tells All: Starting Out, Collaborations & Viral Growth Hacks
B&H Photography Podcast
We’re kicking off the B&H Creators Green Room with the very talented Shuang Hu. Shuang is a renowned actress, writer, director, producer, and viral content creator with over 12 million followers. Tune in to learn about her creative journey, inspiration, and what it takes to grow as a modern creator. Guest Bio: Shuang Hu is a talented Chinese-Australian actress, writer, director, producer, and content creator who has gained over 12 million followers since starting her online content in March 2020. Her YouTube channel, THEONESHU, was listed as one of the top 50 most viewed US...
info_outline
Next Frame: From Boxing Rings to Media Stages with Josh Nass
B&H Photography Podcast
The photo world is filled with remarkable young and up-and-coming talents. They often don’t get the visibility they deserve, so we created Next Frame—a new monthly series aiming to shine a light their way. These bite-sized episodes are equally inspired by the guests we speak with and the invaluable contributions of local creative arts programs that have played a key role in their development. We’re launching this series with photographer, filmmaker, and boxing & music aficionado Josh Nass, an alumnus of Baltimore’s Wide Angle Youth Media programs. From nailing his Photoshop skills...
info_outline
BILD 2025 Recap, with CJ Wolfe, Maria Clinton & Benjamin Von Wong
B&H Photography Podcast
Above Photograph © Matt Emond Summertime is the season for travel. With that theme in mind, in today’s show, we’re taking you on a short trip around the block to revisit a few of our favorite encounters from B&H’s 2025 Bild Expo. During two days in June, we engaged with the many thousands of Expo attendees who converged at New York’s Jacob Javits Center for the show. From our sleek podcast console/recording station adjacent to the Bild stages, we shared our favorite listens and offered advice to the many inquisitive creatives wanting to start up a podcast of their own. Amid all...
info_outline
Path of Liberty: That Which Unites US, with Daniella Vale & Scott Beardslee
B&H Photography Podcast
“That which unites us is far greater than what divides us.” The first four words of this sentence are subtitle, and subtext, for “Path of Liberty,” an immersive outdoor photo and media experience on view through fall 2025 at Freedom Plaza on Manhattan’s east side. The creative groundwork for this project was a mammoth effort involving an extensive crew both on the road and behind the scenes. In today’s podcast, we catch up with two principals of this project’s creative team—creative director Daniella Vale and director of photography, Scott Beardslee—to learn more about their...
info_outline
The Art of the SNL Portrait, with Mary Ellen Matthews
B&H Photography Podcast
“Live From New York, it’s Saturday Night!” That single sentence has become a catchphrase for devotees of comedy and popular culture over the past 50 years—generations of fans who willingly turn their attentions from the height of weekend revelry to the televised antics of Saturday Night Live. Week in, week out for more than two decades, a single photographer has conjured visual magic behind the scenes, creating inventive and irreverent portraits that air for three seconds each as so-called “bumpers” that transition to and from the show’s commercial breaks. In this week’s...
info_outline
The Great Acceleration: Human-Altered Industrial Landscapes, with Edward Burtynsky
B&H Photography Podcast
Industrial expansion has left an indelible mark on our natural world, fundamentally altering landscapes and ecosystems for the sake of material progress and modern convenience. This transformation has created an environmental challenge of unprecedented scale. In today’s show, we’ll connect the dots between the raw materials that make up our planet and the industrial forces visually altering our contemporary landscape in a chat with a photographer who’s documented these profound global changes firsthand for the past 50 years. Applying visual principals rooted in abstract expressionist...
info_outline
A Master Class in Photo Book Publishing, with Mary Virginia Swanson & Rick Smolan
B&H Photography Podcast
Every photographer dreams of publishing a book of their photographs. But what exactly does that entail? In today’s show, we’re going to peek behind the scenes of this complex and daunting process in a chat with two complementary figures who’ve spent their respective careers helping to redefine what a photo book can be. Starting with three basic questions—Why a book? Why now? And what is the role of a book in your career at this time?—our discussion expands to cover a broad range of concerns. From distinguishing between the many different publishing models available today, to insights...
info_outline
The Beauty & Impact of Polar Photography, with Acacia Johnson & Jonas Paurell
B&H Photography Podcast
In a world of perpetual motion, there exists a realm of profound stillness—where light doesn’t simply illuminate, it transforms. Far from home amid Earth’s frozen tundras, time itself seems suspended in crystalline air. In today’s podcast, we’ll visit these places where time hangs in the balance, and we’ll explore the intrepid mix of endurance, patience, and vision it takes to make pictures there. Joining us for this conversation are polar photography specialists Acacia Johnson and Jonas Paurell. From making distinctions between Arctic and Antarctic regions, to learning about the...
info_outline
The Alchemy of Urban Street Portraits, with Jamel Shabazz
B&H Photography Podcast
When it comes to his iconic street portraits, Jamel Shabazz is all about building relationships and spreading joy. Yet, beyond the rich tapestry created with both the neighbors and strangers, friends and rivals he’s encountered across New York’s five boroughs, Jamel’s most meaningful role might be that of a street teacher, touching the lives of the people in front of his lens and inviting them to mark their place in history. In today’s podcast, we learn from the master while tracing his career path, from early observational learning at the side of his father—a professional...
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