Chase Jarvis is an award winning, internationally renowned photographer based in Seattle, WA. While Chase is well known for his innovative commercial work, he has also gained a large following through online forums due to his willingness to share advice / tips on his blog, his inspiring collection of personal photography and his advocacy of social networking.

“The Best Camera is the one that’s with you” is his latest initiative, a 256 page photography book featuring only images taken with his iPhone. The book was released in 2009, and also coincides with his online iPhone photo ecosystem via the website thebestcamera.com. I purchased my copy through Amazon a couple of weeks ago and just managed to get around to reviewing it.

(Copyright Chase Jarvis, published with permission from Chase Jarvis)

The book itself comes in a minimalist, small format (6 x 6 x 0.7 inches). There is little in the way of written work, consisting mostly of images and titles, with a few of Chase’s personal inspirational quotes scattered throughout. The photos are clearly the focus of the book, with each one attempting to underscore the statement that it’s “the photographer that matters”. Chase cover a wide range of both subjects and locations with images shot from plane windows, around the streets of Seattle, in bars and restaurants and by hotel pools. It’s clear that Jarvis’ iPhone goes pretty much everywhere he does. Many get a heavy dose of post processing, using a variety of filters. Several shots are black and white, others highly saturated mimicking a Holga or Lomo like effect. Others receive a lensbaby like finishing. The effects are wide and varied and it keeps things fresh. The quality of the shots themselves vary. A couple rank among my favourite images I’ve seen this year (irrespective of the camera used). Others are more slivers of insight into Jarvis’ daily life… immensely meaningful to the subjects and the photographer and inspirational examples to anyone else.

(Copyright Chase Jarvis, published with permission from Chase Jarvis)

Chase’s work in “The Best Camera…” reminds me somewhat of the groundbreaking photos from Hiromix (real name Hiromi Toshikawa), a female Japanese photographer who rocketed to fame in the mid 1990’s when she won a high profile Canon competition in Japan at age 19. Her original work could be characterised as the simple photo diary, and spawned a generation of female photographers who started seeing their every day lives around them a little differently. Chase’s promotion of the camera phone as a meaningful photographic tool could potentially do the same.

In addition to the images, the quotations found within are of particular interest. “Each photograph is a tiny invention” and “No longer do I tire of the lounge or the crappy food or the painfully lines at airports” are both statements that have lived with me long after my first reading. Chase’s quote about the gourmet chef who comes home and makes himself a grilled cheese sandwich is pure class. It’s the perfect example of “strong words, softly spoken” – a case brilliantly argued without a great deal of fuss or words. In doing so, “The Best Camera…” quietly and effectively goes about putting to shame anyone whose ever muttered “there’s nothing to shoot” or “if only I had a more expensive camera”.

(Copyright Chase Jarvis, published with permission from Chase Jarvis)

Undoubtedly with work like this, there will be some critiques who will pour scorn on the image quality found on some of the pages. The digital photography industry has given birth to a generation of “pixel peepers” and “The Best Camera” stares down and challenges that trend. The few who walk away from the book thinking “so what” are the ones who are are missing a bigger point when it comes to photography. Inspiration is often what you make of it.

(Copyright Chase Jarvis, published with permission from Chase Jarvis)

While the book benefits from a close association with the iPhone, it’s not about the iPhone as a photographic tool. They key aim of the book is simpler – a demonstration that you don’t need the latest or best equipment to produce great images. However, even with Jarvis’ status, the book will ultimately will live or die by the quality of the work found within. And on that basis, how does it rate? My verdict is that the book absolutely succeeds in what it sets out to do – to challenge, to lead by example and to inspire. While it’s a different experience than flipping through a commercial portfolio, the images are all about inspiring the reader to go out and shoot something different (or shoot something ordinary, but do it differently) and by this measure, “The Best Camera” triumphs in every way.

“The Best Camera is the one that’s with you” can be purchased from Amazon.com