Who is Chase Jarvis
Chase Jarvis is well known as a visionary photographer,
director, and fine artist with a consistent ambition to break down the
barriers between new- and traditional media, fine- and commercial art.
Early Life
Jarvis was born
in Seattle, Washington. His father was a Seattle Police Department officer, and
his mother was an administrator at a biotech company. He attended San Diego
State University on a soccer scholarship, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy.
Initially,
Jarvis planned to attend medical school after university. A few weeks before
graduating, Jarvis’s grandfather died and left all his photography equipment to
his grandson. Jarvis subsequently went
on a post-college trip through Europe and discovered his passion for photography.
He is self-taught, and has learned
photography through experimenting and independent study.
Career
In 1994, Jarvis
moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado with his girlfriend, where he began
shooting photos of pro snowboarders and skiers. Jarvis licensed his first image
for $500 and a pair of skis. Realizing that photography was more lucrative and
fulfilling than waiting tables, Jarvis continued to pursue photography while
studying Philosophy and Art at the University of Washington’s MA/PhD program. One
quarter before completing his Master’s degree, Jarvis licensed a batch of his
photos to REI that allowed him to leave academia and open his own studio, Chase
Jarvis Photography.
Since opening
his own studio, which currently has 8 employees, Jarvis has photographed for Volvo,
Nike, Apple, Microsoft, Columbia Sportswear, REI, Honda, Subaru, Polaroid, Lady
Gaga, and Red Bull. He is known for his kinetic style and emphasis on lifestyle,
sports, and landscape photo imagery and his photography sells from anywhere
between $50 to $50,000. In 2007, Chase Jarvis filed a lawsuit against K2 Sports
for copyright infringement and won. Jarvis is also a keynote speaker, and has
made speeches at conferences including PDN Photo Plus Expo, Photokina, and the Sundance
Film Festival.
In 2010, Jarvis
released his second book, Seattle 100, which is a collection of black and white
portraits and biographies of people defining Seattle’s culture. The proceeds of
the book were donated to charity. Also in 2010, Jarvis launched creativeLIVE,
which offers free online classes in photography, programming, image editing,
design, and fine arts. Jarvis is also an angel investor; in 2011, he invested
in Trippy, a social travel site.
On May 11, 2011
Jarvis installed Dasein: An Invitation to Hang in the lobby of the Ace
Hotel in New York City. Over 10,000 submissions from around the world were part
of Jarvis’ art installation.
