Sorrel Sky Gallery

Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 2022 Standard - 28” x 67” Unframed, 43” x 82” Framed - Edition of 12 Large - 42” x 100” Unframed, 57” x 115” Framed - Edition of 12 I have had the idea of this image in my mind for a couple of years. Looking through stills of John Ford’s iconic film, Stagecoach, there was one image from the filming in 1939 that popped up on my screen time and time again - the stagecoach moving right to left with the unmistakable monoliths of Monument Valley in the background. There is no indication as to whether John Wayne was inside the stagecoach, but that mattered little, this was the perfect visual in what many have described as the perfect western. The location of the old still from Stagecoach is on private land right on the Arizona/Utah border not far from the Monument Valley visitor centre and my production team secured permission to film there. It struck me, given the direction of travel was westerly, if we used a wagon as opposed to a stagecoach, we could use the first rays of light to dramatic effect as they diffract through the foreground content. The trick would then be to find a dip in the terrain which would allow for the monolith to pop out above the wagon and horses. This was the critical part of the execution as to block the drama behind would kill the context and the photograph. We found our spot at dawn and then it was down to luck. I think in this part of the world, the light becomes too harsh to work with really only about 45 minutes after sunrise, so we had a narrow window. The end result is a testimony to the team around me and the great horse driving skills of Dan Harris from Santa Fe. ~ David Yarrow

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Frame is a bronze colored shadow box that adds 1.5" to each side. 48"x60" “I’ve always enjoyed doing these tipi abstracts. When I was young and we camped in summer, we’d wake up in the night and look up through the poles in the tipi and see the night sky, the stars. The red triangles signify mountains … I love the mountains.”

Santa Clarita, California - 2021 Standard - 37” x 37” Unframed, 52” x 52” Framed - Edition of 20 Large - 56” x 56” Unframed, 71” x 71” Framed - Edition of 20 The roll out of the road system in America accelerated geographical mobility and the pursuit of the American dream. The country is, and always will be, the home of the road trip. Motorbikes and roadside diners and gas stations became enduring cultural symbols of America. Meanwhile, the Harley Davidson evolved into an iconic American brand and bikers themselves carved their own archetype and story in a rapidly developing society. There was a spirit of freedom captured so well in the 1969 movie Easy Rider and by bands such as the Eagles, who encouraged us to “take it easy”. Whilst I did not take this photograph standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and whilst none of the bikers look remotely like Peter Fonda, there is a deliberate nostalgic nod to a freewheeling era in American history. My goal was to make a photograph to elicit memories of the America we once knew. But this vignette is, of course, completed by perhaps America’s most loved supermodel - Cindy Crawford. We could not possibly use any other person in this shoot, as the set we had chosen was the very diner she made famous in the iconic Pepsi advert of 1992. There may be no cowboys in this photograph or baseball bats or country music references, but there is enough to make it quintessential Americana.

Alaska, USA - 2021 Large – 56” x 97” Unframed, 71” x 112” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - 52” x 79” Framed - Edition of 12 Bears are not an easy subject matter for me; in part because the backdrops are often a little messy, and in part the obvious safety issues. Fortunately, bears in Katmai, Alaska during the summer salmon runs are used to sharing rivers with fishermen and are largely habituated to human presence. The biggest issue for me, however, is that my default position is to try and glorify an animal and that tends to draw me towards the biggest versions of a species. With bears, that is being a little greedy, and in Katmai, one simply has to work with what is available. Last week, howev- er, this beautiful and sizeable sow caught our eye and one rainy morning she put on a little show for us out in the tundra. The light was mar- ginal, but I just about got away with it. I was always looking for the head on shot and the rain added another layer of textural detail to what is a stunning bear. This was the only photograph I took away from five long days in the field, but that’s fine with me. As with the fishermen up in Katmai; it is not the number of fish you catch, but the size of the biggest one. I want to thank our excellent pilots Chad and Devon for looking after us so well in and out of Iliamna. ~ David Yarrow

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 24 x 18

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Frame is a gold shadow box that adds 1.5" to each side. 36" x 36" “Although the hawk actually has a dark beak, I made it a little light to emphasize it. This is his totem, from when he went on his vision quest or fasting. Alone for days, with no water or food, perhaps wandering or staying in one place, he would have had just a robe or skin with him, making his bedding with sage and cedar. For some it may take several vision quests or fastings to identify their totem.”

Glacier National Park,, Montana - 2023 LARGE 56” x 81” Unframed 71” x 96” Framed Edition of 12 STANDARD 37” x 54” Unframed 52” x 69” Framed Edition of 12 In the 17th century, the Blackfeet settled in the region that is now Montana. Previously, they resided in the woodlands north and west of the Great Lakes, but pressure from British traders pushed them west. They eventually acquired firearms and horses and became a formidable example of the classic Plains Indian culture. Ravaged by smallpox and constantly struggling with the challenges of extreme winters, low bison numbers and relative isolation, the Blackfeet had great fortitude and are often now referred to as the “Real People” of Montana. The Blackfeet’s tribal headquarters are in the town of Browning in the extreme North West corner of the state. The celebrated Glacier National Park may sit to the west and with it comes smart resorts like Whitefish, but Browning has little refinement - it is a grim and remote frontier town that is avoided by most travelers. It’s all a bit sketchy up there - especially in the winter. However, within 20 minutes of Browning, the Blackfeet enjoy some of the most majestic scenery in America, and it was this that drew me to the location. It was always going to be a winter shoot, as the snow added in another character for free. So in January 2023, we made the road trip north from Bozeman - it’s a long way, and the sense of adventure intensifies towards the Canadian border. This is a remote and isolated corner of America, and relative to other reservations in the US, I sense that filmmakers have had a light footprint around Browning. The tribal elder, Dutch Lunak and his horse Rain Man make for a powerful combination. The Blackfeet take the greatest joy in celebrating their heritage, and Dutch wears his look well. I wanted a face that conveyed dignity, wisdom and sovereignty, and I think he gave me all three. On the way home from Browning, Dutch took us to his favourite saloon in the village of Dupuyer (census population 86). Buffalo Joe’s is a gem of an establishment, and quite soon, this picture will be on the wall. ~ David Yarrow

Creede, Colorado - 2021 Large – 56” x 62” Unframed, 71” x 77” Framed – Edition of 20 Standard - 37” x 41” Unframed, 52” x 56” Framed - Edition of 20 The old mining village of Creede sits in a tight box canyon 9,000 feet up in the Southern Rockies of Colorado. An imposing vertical cliff face bullies main street and adds to the sense of ‘a town at the end of the line’. Creede plays to the lore and mythology of the wild west and consequently is awash with tourists during the summer. However, in the mid-winter, the place has an abandoned look to it and this was always going to be the best time to film. It would be a bridge too far to try to close the town down in July. We had been throwing around ideas as to where to stage a Bonnie and Clyde story and chose Creede, not just because the high street is little changed from the 1920s, but because the locals, including the sheriff and the council, were fully supportive of our concept. To a man, the town folk of Creede were committed to helping us bring the project to fruition. For two days, our crew and extras seemingly doubled the winter population of Creede and the one restaurant in town was at capacity most of the time. Fine tuning the composition was a challenge as ideally, I wanted Bonnie - played by Cara Delevingne - to be as big a part of the image as possible, but I also needed the buildings on both sides of the street to frame the narrative in the middle. Working with wide angle lenses risks making a loose image and I was determined not to fall into that trap. We had not dragged everyone up to this cold final frontier outpost to create a mundane image. My goal was to create one single vignette to emphatically celebrate the heavily mythologised story of Bonnie and Clyde. It therefore had to be rich enough to inform, whilst remaining simple and cinematic. The final result is a great credit to all involved - Cara, her team, my production team and the many extras. Faye Dunaway played Bonnie in the original film and she was my reference for Cara, who played the role immaculately, as I knew she would. Meanwhile, we will never know whether the driver in the car gave his best Warren Beatty impersonation - perhaps that’s just as well. ~ David Yarrow

LARGE 56” x 76” Framed: 71” x 91” STANDARD. SOLD OUT Butte Montana, 2020 I had the great fortune to meet Warren Beatty in LA and was totally in awe. Since then I have always wanted to find a picture that I could cheekily name after one of his big films. After this day in Butte, Montana, I had my chance. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. They were known for their bank robberies, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians. They were killed in May 1934 during a police ambush. Bonnie and Clyde - the 1967 American biographical crime film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters - was a landmark film and won two Oscars. It is considered one of the first films of the New Hollywood as it broke many cinematic taboos and for some members of the counterculture, the film was considered to be a "rallying cry”. Its success prompted other filmmakers to be more open in presenting sex and violence in their films. Warren Beatty, who produced the movie, always wanted to make the film in black and white, but Warner Bros rejected the idea. It still made the studio 40 times its investment. My little ode to Warren is very much in black and white. Kate Bock makes for an excellent modern-day Faye Dunaway. Meanwhile, Butte remains how it was left in the 1930s. David Yarrow

Oil On Canvas 60" x 60" “Brule is the name of a Lakota Sioux tribe—I chose it as the name of this piece because of the double meaning. This painting was the result of a dream. It’s still unclear what the dream meant, but the most likely answer is a reaction to the sad, violent, and tragic treatment of Native Americans—symbolic of what happened, ending cultural life as they knew it.”

LARGE SOLD OUT STANDARD 43" x 37" Framed: 58" x 52" This is a huge coastal bear; a living version of the stuffed ones that adorn the airports of lodges and airports in Alaska. They are bigger on the coast than in the inland tundra and that draws me to areas such as Kamishak Bay and the river that runs into it. Adult bears draw our breath the most when they are standing as that is when their shoulders, their bulk and their menace are amplified. The average adult male coastal bear weighs five times as much as an average adult man and in many bear pictures - including the majority of mine - this is not adequately conveyed. Sometimes a wet bear can look a bit like an oversized dog and leave the cameraman frustrated that the encounter has been disserved. But not here. A true first for me and an encounter I will long remember. There was a huge amount of luck involved and then at the key moment, just a little steel. I am low in the water and the bear is towering above me - there is no room for camera shake. It was a fairly miserable day weather wise, but actually I think that the rainfall helps the image. Sometimes I work in a studio, but this was about as far from a studio as it is possible to be. ~ David Yarrow

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA - 2021 Large – 56” x 77” Unframed, 71” x 92” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - 37” x 51” Unframed, 52” x 66” Framed - Edition of 12 Three variables came together in this split second to allow this winter portrait to transcend most of my work with bison in Yellowstone. The first is of course the proximity, which allowed for a standard lens and the contextual narrative that goes with it. The river detail behind lends to the power of the image as it gives an emphatic sense of place and season. This proximity came from a combination of my experience of bison movement and fluency in the use of remote control cameras. This is not something people should try in Yellowstone without a good guide and extreme caution. The second bonus is simply the position of the bison’s head. The big males do resemble beasts from some sort of fantasy production and the lower the camera is relative to the head, the more the sense of an encounter with a creature from another world is amplified. This looks like an animal from a different planet - something “Throners” would expect to see “North of the Wall”. No other mammal on the planet looks more like a monster than a male bison in the winter. The third helpful variable is his front left leg suggests movement towards me and that is fortunate as bison can often be stagnant when they are feeding. This picture has the dynamism we often seek. We took this picture so early in the day that no one else was in Yellowstone National Park. We left the park when the tourists were arriving. That’s the way we roll. ~ DAVID YARROW

Durango, Colorado; February, 2023 Durango, Colorado - 2023 LARGE 56” x 71” Unframed 71” x 86” Framed Edition of 20 STANDARD 37” x 47” Unframed 52” x 62” Framed Edition of 20 Photographing a famous person next to something visually outstanding represents a riddle as there must be a debate as to which subject to deprioritise. The best images tend to favour both subjects equally - an example perhaps being Diana Spencer - the then Princess of Wales - against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal. She is dwarfed by the magnificence of what is behind her but is central and pivotal to the story. Cara Delevingne cannot be taken up to a remote forest, fresh in new snow and then asked to play a secondary role. She has too powerful a look to be relegated to the role of a contextual extra, but equally, the Durango Steam train in winter is one of the great props a storytelling photographer can have. In scouting the journey the day after an intense snowstorm, I found a spot that I thought could offer a balance; I would just need Cara to be strong and sure footed on the banks of a river in a huge amount of fresh snow. There is a confident swagger to her and my best narrative was that she could be celebrating a robbery before it had even occurred - hence the cigar in her mouth. She can smoke a cigar like the best gambler in Vegas. It was a cold afternoon that day. This was no studio and as always, it was an honour to work with Cara, she is one of the very best in the business. It’s not a bad backdrop either. ~ David Yarrow

Sizes: Large: Image: 56" x 81"; Framed 71" x 96" - Edition of 12 Standard: SOLD OUT Over the last few weeks we have quietly been photographing senior Native Americans against the backdrop of quintessential and emblematic American vistas.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Whilst we will be releasing some of the series in the run up to the Presidential Election, this is not an overtly political statement from us. We know that Native Americans have long had a leaning toward the Democratic Party, but we took this assignment on because it is relevant, not to be political.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There is wide recognition now that Christopher Columbus did not discover America in 1492 and the events in Minneapolis have accelerated the debate on the possibility of institutionalised racism in the teaching of American history. This is not a discussion we want to fully engage in - as we are ill equipped to add value, but I do want to celebrate some of the tribal elders I have had the fortune to encounter in the last month. Their pride, manners, grace and humility have been humbling. We have made new friends in the North.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ For this project we worked with Chief John Spotted Tail, the great-great-grandson of the fabled Lakota chief Spotted Tail. We spent two days with him in Northern Wyoming and he was so excited to wear the headpiece that only the most senior Native American chiefs like him can wear. His attire was emphatically his decision not ours. Their heritage is integral to their souls.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The ground in front of Devils Tower has film history. It is, of course, where Spielberg shot Close Encounters of a Third Kind immediately after the release of Jaws in 1975. More poignantly, it is sacred land for Native Americans, and at dawn, before our early morning shoot, John and his wife - Tamara Stands and Looks Back, spent some time there praying.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ At around 8.30 am, the low hanging clouds lifted above the iconic geographical landmark and shafts of light lit up our canvas. We had our moment. Later that day, when I showed Chief John Spotted Tail this image, he shed a tear and I am proud to admit I did too. It was one of the most privileged days I have ever had in the field. ~ DAVID YARROW

Acrylic on Canvas 32"h x 42"w

It has been said that the Crow have a mythical connection with the horse. “I hear from the Ancient Ones, the horse has always been with the plains people. They were essential to life; for hunting and scouting, for guarding and moving camp. Everyone was connected to the horse. The warrior, the lookout, the young ones, and the old ones.” - Kevin Red Star 60" x 48"

LARGE 44” x 101” Framed: 59” x 116” STANDARD 30” x 67” Framed: 45” x 82” West Texas, 2021 This photograph was taken in 2021, but I sense it could have been taken in 1870. We are drawn to filming locations exuding a palpable sense of timelessness thus offering optionality on the narrative. The more remote the location, the greater the possibility for us to remove the “now” and let our imagination jump into any era over the last six or seven generations. West Texas is my West World and that is why this bleak, mournful and unforgiving canvas has such a grip on me. It is part of America that time most certainly forgot. No wonder film makers have long been lured here. Cowboys and cattle are not a new story; the partnership is one of the most enduring symbols of post-Civil War America and that is why they visually complement this landscape so effortlessly. We knew what we wanted to do here, but working against the light with this amount of dust is a low percentage game. Dust can be a cameraman’s friend as it defies gravity, but there is a tipping point when it becomes his foe. On this frame, the lead drover is just out of the dust storm allowing for detail and the full benefit of the back light. The rest of this particular series was of no use at all. That is what we mean by a low percentage game. I am in awe of the cowboys with whom we work in West Texas. They are the real deal and nothing is too much trouble for them. They have manners, work ethic and a sense of duty. Texas is often mocked, but I think we can learn a great deal from cowboy culture. It has been a privilege to photograph this series. I am excited to return to the UK after 108 days of filming in the Wild West of America. ~ David Yarrow

Durango, Colorado, USA - 2021 Sizes Large – 52” x 100” Unframed, 71” x 115” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - 37” x 71” Unframed, 52” x 86” Framed - Edition of 12 This is a special photograph for me and my cognitive processing has rarely played a bigger role in taking a picture. This period saloon scene in Durango, Colorado was a big ask and I don’t think I could have made this a couple of years ago. I sense that I have learnt from my mistakes and my work has improved in dimly lit rooms like this one. This is so much more of a challenge than photographing an elephant in Kenya and the stakes are much higher. With the talent involved, we had at least $100,000 of daily rates on site, I guess it’s a case of “go big or go home”. It is a high risk game, but this kind of shoot excites me more these days. There were so many moving parts and so many talented people not to let down. I was exhausted when I hit my bed, but I think we achieved what we set out to do - a character rich, wild west bar scene filling every inch of the frame. It is also not a scene in any bar, but the Diamond Belle saloon in Durango, Colorado. Perhaps the most authentic and celebrated 1890 bar left in the Wild West. The key was to compose the scene with the most menacing looking characters closest to the camera. I will always have the subject closest to the camera in focus and therefore the three leads at the table are core to the image. The balcony at the back, which is such a key feature of the Diamond Belle, adds another layer to the photograph and that was always the intent. ~ DAVID YARROW

Oil On Canvas 60" x 120" “Evolution of the tribe and the painting itself is evolving at the same time. It’s the busiest painting I’ve ever done. Normally I don’t like busy paintings, but with this one, I make an exception because the whole theme is being busy, and the many layers of being busy. It’s almost like a kaleidoscope, it keeps shifting … the more you look the more you will see. In fact, this is one of my lifetime masterpieces, that’s what I consider it.”

Original Painting, 24"x30"

South Africa, 2022 LARGE 56” x 79” Unframed 71” x 94” Framed Edition of 12 STANDARD 37” x 52” Unframed 52” x 67” Framed Edition of 12 Over the years, I have marginally tweaked my approach to filming lions at Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary in South Africa. Lying flat in my cage in the grasses, I now accept that in their winter, at first light, I am going to get dirty and cold. I want to shoot 20 degrees either side of the rising sun to get some backlight without too much flair. The key variable for me, however, is for there to be a real sense of engagement and that does mean that we need to work close and put full faith in both Kevin and the sturdiness of his cages. Immersive photography of big cats is not a high percentage game, and we accept that we fail more often than we succeed. The upside is, when everything does work, especially with a handsome male lion like Yame, the rewards are high. I would be the first to say that in photographs such as this, the credits go to Kevin, the lion and the high- performance camera. I come in equal fourth with the laundry service. ~ David Yarrow

Large – 56” x 84” Unframed, 71” x 99” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - SOLD OUT Telluride, Colorado, USA 2021 As we search the length and breadth of America for shooting locations, we are drawn to roads that lead the eye but are then halted by something monumental. This formula offers a closed end theatre from which to tell stories. The best urban example of this is perhaps La Salle Street in Chicago, which concludes with the Chicago Board of Trade. It is one of the most iconic views in any American city and, of course, Chicago is the showcase of American architecture. Sam Mendes made full use of this in “The Road to Perdition”. Forrest Gump Point in Monument Valley is the American West at its majestic best and offers the same narrative of a journey’s end, albeit amidst the towering monoliths of Arizona. But perhaps my favourite setting for this box office effect is the old mining town of Telluride resting at 9,000ft in the mountains of southwestern Colorado. I would contend that looking east down Main Street on a clear day is one of the most visually thrilling sights in all of America. There is a timelessness to the street with the grandest and most imposing of backdrops. Of course, Telluride is now a glamorous Ski resort and my instincts were to shoot here in the winter; the mountain pops with the snow and if the weather cooperates, there can be the whitest of canvases to play with at street level. The problem for film makers is that the main street of Telluride can only be shut off from the public on a Sunday morning and only then for a couple of hours. We arrived on set a few days before and the weather got warmer and warmer. The snow in Main Street became slush and then disappeared totally. Saturday was spent sunbathing and cursing our luck, but then at about 5pm, storm clouds started to gather and by 8 pm, there was a full-on blizzard. We were overjoyed, but also concerned that if the storm continued until the morning, the mountain would be hidden and the moment lost. Without the mountain, there is no picture. At 6.45 am, with the team in position, some breaks appeared in the cloud and then around 7.15 am, I had my moment. We could not have wished for more. This picture is up there for me. Perhaps luck is, indeed, the residue of design. - David Yarrow

Montana, USA - 2020 Framed Size Large: 71” x 111” - Edition of 20 Standard: SOLD OUT We have all, at one time or another, entered a bar and immediately felt out of place. At the most extreme level this can evoke a sense of trespassing. This was very much the narrative behind this photograph. To be greeted by an overtly territorial crew with menace and attitude. But for the story to work, two things had to coalesce as one - the characters and the interior. I like playing with the cold, it adds a visceral layer to the story and in this case, it hints at an outpost on the final frontier. Surely the further off the beaten track we travel, the greater the chance of being the outsider. This is a frame that exhausts every inch available in the camera and that was my intent. There were so many characters I wanted to include, but I was also reluctant to lose the mood of the frozen saloon. The icicles on the frosty bison with the snow laden television playing True Grit were key assets that needed to be seen to amplify the sense of cold. Our key asset was, of course, Cindy Crawford and she had to have sovereignty of the joint. She can play a badass very well and that was her ascribed role. It is not easy for everything to come together in such a tight setting as one tension spot can ruin the whole pastiche. It’s akin to camels and the eye of the needle. The wolf ’s paw on this occasion came very close to Cindy’s shot glass, but we got away with it. The wolf is actually a domestic dog breed called tamaskan - he is not 100% wolf, but that mattered little, as he merely added to the sense of trespass. The only reason to linger in this bar would appear to be the landlady. Maybe she could be won over? Who knows, but she certainly owns the image. - David Yarrow

Oil On Canvas 58" x 58" “When I came across photographic portraits of members of the Blackfoot tribe of Canada, I saw in their faces the innocence to their fate and way of life. Their strong poised faces revealed a personal magnificence that reminded me of my 100% Cherokee grandmother and inspired me to paint their portraits blooming with colorful character.”

Oil On Canvas 24" x 18" “A boat passed by my art studio on the Missouri River in Cascade, Montana. The sound of an outboard motor is a strange intrusion to the peace and quiet of the river. Most boat traffic is silent drift boats in compliance with the river’s wishes. The osprey and I shared a moment of resentment for the loss of peace and quiet.”

Acrylic / Mixed Media on Canvas, 38" x 48"

Leadville, Colorado - 2022 LARGE 79” x 56” Unframed 94” x 72” Framed Edition of 20 STANDARD 52” x 37” Unframed 67” x 52” Framed Edition of 20 The famous Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, Colorado is a treasure trove of a bar inside and the facade also takes some beating as an authentic wild west location. Leadville is America’s highest town and, like many old Colorado mining towns high in the mountains, it has largely escaped modernity and is all the better for it. This is a working town that doubles up inadvertently as a one stop film set. To walk down the main street is to enter the world of Taylor Sheridan. The saloon proudly declares the date of its birth on the outside - 1879 - and my idea was to go forward 100 years to the 1970s when the famous Colorado ski resorts near Leadville such as Vail and Aspen were gaining traction with the stars of Hollywood. I wanted to pair 1970s ski fashion with what remains of the final frontier and see how the union played out. My sense was that the glamour could be accentuated by the contrast with what sat behind. I had a card in my hand in having my fellow Brit, Cara Delevingne, as my muse and with Cara almost anything is possible. She is one the world’s leading models for good reason and styling her is a joy not a chore. The final photograph is elevated by the snow and the snowfall. Falling snow adds another character into a still image for free and on that freezing Monday morning the intensity of the falling snow was just about right. Too heavy a snow fall can create trouble, but we were not compromised visually that day - which was lucky. I am sure someone at some stage has taken a picture like this outside the Silver Dollar Saloon, but I have yet to see it, so perhaps we got there first with this idea. It was certainly a first for Cara. ~ David Yarrow

Durango, Colorado ~ February 2023 ~ First Images! Large 56" x 60" Unframed; 71" x 75" Framed; Edition of 12 Standard 37" x 40" Unframed; 52" x 55" Framed; Edition of 12 “Other nations have tried to check the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions”. It was in 1845 that John Louis O’Sullivan, a popular columnist, articulated the long-standing American belief in the God-given mission of the United States to expand across North America all the way to the Pacific Ocean. In so doing he coined the term “Manifest Destiny”. There was a sense of unbridled purpose. Nothing would get in their way: forests would be cut; mountains carved and railroads built. 60 million bison were culled and replaced by cattle. Native Americans faced an existential crisis. Some tribes, of course, fought, whilst others negotiated. There was heavy loss of life on both sides and there is irony now that this period of nation building is deeply uncomfortable for many current day Americans. What created the wealthiest country in the world is not something to celebrate. Railroads were an integral part of the Manifest Destiny and undermined the sovereignty of Native nations. Their construction threatened to destroy indigenous communities and their cultures as the railroad expanded into territories inhabited by Native Americans. But for all that, encounters between steam trains and Native Americans were not necessarily as Hollywood has depicted. There was not much conflict and indigenous people mostly watched the railroad construction with a degree of fascination. Indeed, some found themselves drawn into a closer relationship with settlers because of the commercial opportunities that came with railroad construction. There was collaboration and often Native Americans offered protection from bandits. 19th century artists often depicted Native Americans as passive contextual narrative in railroad images; they are present but only to frame the story, not make the story. They simply establish the scene. This was my intent one cold February morning at Horseshoe Bend on the famous Durango & Silverton Railroad high in the San Jose Mountains. The Native American is not on the bend to attack, he is there simply to proudly show his presence. It is for the viewer to imagine how the next five minutes unfolded. A great deal of logistical teamwork enabled this opportunity that cold sunny morning and the result is a strong photograph. As always it is a big team effort to create work like this. ~ David Yarrow

South Africa - 2022 Large – 56” x 61” Unframed, 71” x 76” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard -SOLD OUT This is the one black panther with whom I have a chance to take an immersive head on shot. I have access through my relationship with The Lion Whisperer - Kevin Richardson. I am was in a heavy metal cage to take this image and lying on a bed of mud. My camera was already filthy and in the seconds after this photograph was taken, it was covered in splash water. This all happened before 6.30 am and I was home and in a hot shower before breakfast. It is all about going the extra mile and doing all one can to be below the eyes of the cat and be in place before the sun gets too high. The rest is down to luck and a small bit of experience working in sports photography. I say that as black panthers move quicker than any athlete I have filmed. ~ David Yarrow

Colorado, USA - 2021 Available Sizes (Framed Size) Large: 71” x 104” Standard: 52” x 74” Available Editions Large: Edition of 12 Standard: Edition of 12 Andy Warhol reminded us that “art is whatever you can get away with” and photographers should never be afraid to introduce humour into their work. I do not want to take myself too seriously and if I can use creativity as an antidote to the dangers of working in a literal straight jacket, I most certainly will. The trouble with being led by creative forces is that more often than not, we cannot find the narrative or the idea. It is the equivalent of writer’s block. I can go weeks without an authentic idea that holds promise and feasibility. Ideas don’t tend to come on cue, they often arrive in the middle of the night. This concept excited me from the day it was conceived. The Schmid Ranch, high up in the mountains of Colorado, was Tarantino’s location for The Hateful Eight and when we visited the location in early 2021, I saw the potential of building a set around which to work. The ranch saddles a truly spectacular amphitheatre. In 2021, there is no more contemporary or talked about asset to own than Bitcoin and the majority who own it, hold on to it with great conviction. I sensed that there was room to play a little parody in a wild west setting - Red Dead Redemption was going to tackle cryptocurrency head-on. The final frontier was a tough place where the rule of law was light and valuable possessions would not be lost without an often deadly fight. The lead character in this narrative was clearly not going to give up his asset easily - his loss would be someone else’s gain. I wanted to create a palpable sense of trespass and Ty Mitchell was the perfect character to play the role of the unyielding owner. He plays menace to perfection (though in real life he is a lovely man). Clearly, even in the Rockies in 1880, there were no sellers of Bitcoin. - David Yarrow

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, 24" x 30"

Oil on Canvas, 48h x 48w “This painting depicts a special hideout of mine known locally as Beaver Meadows near the little cowtown of Augusta, Montana. As I neared the end of the painting, I added one more eagle to avoid an even number. A rancher neighbor when seeing it, used a ranch term for a cow and her calf accompanied by a twin or possibly an orphan calf —and said ‘A pair and a spare.’ Nothing could improve on that.”

Durango, Colorado ~ February 2023 Large 69" x 56" Unframed; 84" x 71" Framed; Edition of 12 Standard 46" x 37" Unframed; 61" x 52" Framed; Edition of 12 When we shoot in the winter, weather plays a large part in our planning, but given the speed at which weather can change, it does not pay to be too prescriptive too far out from shooting days. But we continually check weather patterns and within 36 hours of a shoot, we tend to home in on a certain plan. There are, I guess, four or five weather possibilities in the winter: melting snow and sunny, which is horrid; cold and sunny, which is better but restricts filming time; a snowstorm, which is exciting, but can impair detail or, ideally, the end of a big snow fall. In the Rockies, I guess there are about a dozen days a year when a big storm passes through and clears, leaving behind a winter wonderland and kind gentle light. This is the film maker’s big opportunity, provided the props are in place and access is still possible. It is always challenging, but these are the days we wait for. They don’t come that often. We know the Durango to Silverton steam train well and have built up a strong friendship with the owner Al Harper and his wonderful team of engineers in Durango. I sensed there was an opportunity at this jaw dropping location made famous by its appearance some 50 years ago in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. We were in town and waiting as the storm system pushed through. It had lasted 36 hours and left 18 inches of new snow in the San Juan Forest that the old steam train cuts through. We had to operate fast, as the light was picking up all the time and both teams worked quickly to get everyone in position early in the day. The Native American and the horse had the toughest job - that was no easy brief that day. When I look at this photograph, I feel some sense of pride, it is a hell of a shot. But not pride in myself, pride in all the people that made it happen. A real team effort. ~ David Yarrow

LARGE 40" x 98" Framed: 55" x 113" STANDARD 27" x 66" Framed: 42" x 81" Alaska 2021 I think two elements often need to coalesce to create a memorable bear image in Alaska; proximity to a big brute of a bear in the first place and then a transcending level of context. I have come close before, but never emphatically nailed it. We have had far more failure than success. Then in mid-August 2021 I had my moment. These types of portraits demand a wider narrative and the snow and the mountains give a very clear nod to life in the final frontier. I still can’t quite believe our luck, but then again, we have put in the hours up here over the years. I am crystal clear in my mind who I have to thank for this capture; our mountain guide Connor Ketchum. We had worked with him before and knew that his instinctive reaction and control of the river boat were of Olympic standard. He knows the fast-flowing river and its varying depth well and can manœuvre his boat with speed and sensitivity to a bear’s behaviour. Without his skill we would never have had the bear in this position with the mountain range behind. The pebble beach above the river bank offered a wonderful stage for the bear to visually “pop” against a stunning backdrop, but we had to get there in seconds and Connor achieved this with grace and precision. Most importantly of all, by turning the engine off and drifting into position, the bear’s behaviour was unaffected. He just walked regally towards us in his role of “Boss of the river”. Had his path altered as a result of our presence, there would have been no picture. The game was won by speed and stealth. In the summer of 2021, we used bush pilots over a dozen times in Alaska and had some disheartening days. That is the nature of the game, but on our final day we had this two-minute encounter at the edge of the world. It made everything worthwhile and we thank our friend from Arkansas - the legend that is Connor Ketchum. Without him there was no photograph and we are again reminded of the people that help us on a daily basis. ~ David Yarrow

LARGE 56” x 87” Framed: 71” x 102” STANDARD 37” x 57” Framed: 52” x 72” Iceland, 2020 The production company we work with in Iceland is the lead operator in the country - True North. Their client roster is a tour de force of movie studios in Hollywood and we fully acknowledge that photographs such as Punk would not be possible without them. It is not as if we can turn up at the Glacial lagoon in Jokulsarlon two hours before sunset and hope that one of the most aesthetically blessed horses in the country will be charging towards us through the water and ice. The odds of that are long. But even when some things are assured, there is work to be done. To create the mood I was looking for, I needed to match the horse’s dynamism with an ethereal serenity, which is not easy as action images tend to work against a state of calm. I knew I was going to get wet, as my position had to be at ground level. Any elevated position would be immediately obvious and the sense of immersion would be gone. I also wanted as much depth of field as possible to amplify the sense of place, but we had a good amount of light to work with, albeit with the setting sun at 11am. Nevertheless, the “execution of idea” risk was material, even with the best Nikon gear. The horse’s head makes the image - adding fire and energy to the arctic backdrop. Horses are easy to photograph and are over photographed, but I have not seen many images like this. David Yarrow

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Frame is a gold shadow box that adds 1.5" to each side. 24"x18" The crane totem on this shield would give protection against the enemy. The detail of the four inverted U’s represents the horse’s hooves. When a horse was captured or stolen, this symbol would be added to the shield, tipi, or even painted on a horse, showing others how many horses this warrior had taken from the enemy..

Durango, Colorado ~ February 2023 Large 63" x 56" Unframed; 78" x 71" Framed; Edition of 12 Standard 42" x 37" Unframed; 57" x 52" Framed; Edition of 12 In the mountains of America, my experience is that the really cold conditions tend to be on cloudless days first thing in the morning, particularly at sunrise when the temperature briefly dips. Operating when it is frigid is a real examination, not just of one’s hunger to get the shot but one’s fluency with the camera. Handwarmers are such a wonderful invention. This morning, up on the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad, was one such occasion. The storm had cleared and was replaced by a cloudless sky and frigid temperatures. At sunrise we were down to around -15°F or -26°C and these conditions offered so much potential for the filmmaker as everything froze - from human beards and human breath to horse breath. I am always nervous of boring people and anything in a picture that defies gravity tends to work for me as it adds energy and dynamism. The props I had that morning gave every chance to fully embrace this modus operandi - especially if my camera was pointed directly either side of the rising sun. My cowboy - who is a dead ringer for Rip from the Yellowstone Series - is a charming Texan called Cole Nallion rather than Cole Hauser who plays Rip Wheeler. Cole worked as a cowboy extra and handler in another Taylor Sheridan series - 1883 - and it is easy to see why he and Sam Elliott got along. This one split second image caught my notice straight away as there is an anonymity to his face. We don’t need to see his eyes, because this is not a story about him per se, it is a story about the loosely governed wild west, where cowboys like him often made a living from doing shady things. He is playing to a genre before he is playing himself. The photograph has a Red Dead Redemption feel to it and the bigger it is printed the more powerful the emotion it elicits. It’s a bad ass moment. ~ David Yarrow

Durango, Colorado ~ February, 2023, at the Diamond Belle Saloon. LARGE 56” x 91” Unframed; 71” x 106”; Framed Edition of 20 STANDARD 37” x 60” Unframed; 52” x 75”; Framed Edition of 20 I am not ashamed of the fact that I often have an audience in my mind when I take a shot. In this case in the Diamond Belle Saloon in Durango, Colorado, my instincts were that it would appeal more if the frame was busy because my experience with this famous old wild west bar is that it is always something of a gathering place for all those who like a drink. It is how bars should be and is celebrated as such. I want the audience to say; “I wish I was in that bar that night” or even “we need more interesting people in our bar”. This frame sweats and that was always my intent. Anyone close to my camera had to be characters out of a story book and play to the lore of the wild west. I want to exaggerate not dumb things down as that helps the storyteller. In a staged image such as this, there is no need to ask permission to be creative; in fact, it is a necessary precondition. Cara Delevingne’s face is so strong and powerful that I knew there was no room for another girl on her same focal plane, but there would be room for a black wolf and then a menacing poker player. The background could then look after itself, but I wanted to pay homage to the saloon girls who are synonymous with the bar. Cara loves this image - which always matters to me. She is a gift for a photographer and not to fully capitalize on her eyes and her vibe would be a rookie error. ~ David Yarrow

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Frame is a gold shadow box that adds 1.5" to each side. 24"x30" The horse motif on this shield is a reference to Hispanism (the Latino culture’s influence on other cultures' language, art, literature, etc) The eagle feathers and inverted U’s (representing the hooves of captured horses) all speak of this warrior's bravery and daring. The dark background creates a contrast for the bright feathers and light colored shield.

Oil on Canvas, 32h x 24w “I received the invitation to be a founding member of the C.M. Russell Skull Society of Artists while working on this portrait. I was so honored, that I decided to make my subject a fellow member too by adding Charlie Russell’s iconic bison skull to the painting.”

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Frame is a gold shadow box that adds 1.5" to each side. 24"x20" The Crow were travelers, with no permanent villages unless encamped. When they did, the tipi played a central role in their lives. Families gathered to work together, eat together, celebrate together and pass on stories and history. Each tribal group has its own customs of tipi construction and embellishment. These differences can be subtle or obvious. Perhaps it’s the number of poles used and their placement when assembled, or the elaborate decorations or lack thereof. Although it wasn’t taboo, it also wasn’t the custom among the Crow to decorate their tipi.

Los Angeles, California - 2022 Large – 56” x 70” Unframed, 71” x 85” Framed – Edition of 20 Standard - 37” x 46” Unframed, 52” x 61” Framed - Edition of 20 Spielberg once said “a good idea almost always starts off as a bad idea, that’s why it takes so long”. I am drawn to filming road stories as the road can direct the viewer and the implicit journey is an allegory of the journey of life; we are all on our own road trip. Sunset Boulevard does not split landscapes with the majesty and grandeur of the deserts of the South West, but it is up there for me as one of the most exciting stretches of road in America. It is the heart of movie land and the massive billboards on the strip in West Hollywood leave the driver in no doubt that they are in the entertainment capital of the world. My favourite filming location on the boulevard is looking west on the border of West Hollywood and Hollywood. In part because I can give a nod to one of the most famous hotels in the world without killing the compositional balance and in part because the famous vertical billboard, so often used by Marlboro in the old days, is in the heart of the image. It is a special part of Americana and I am surprised that American icons have not been filmed more often in this location. I guess one reason is that it’s a very busy road and shutting it down for filming is not easy. The idea of shooting here needed work and refinement. We needed a lead, we needed to close the road down and then we needed a creative idea around which to wrap everything. My choice of lead was easy; Cindy Crawford is made for this shot. The closure of the road restricted our window to a Sunday morning between sunrise and 8 am, which meant a 4.30 am wake up. But Cindy is the most punctual, professional and willing of all the stars with whom we work. The creative processing was the key. I decided that we could go back in time to an era when Hollywood was free rolling, liberal and fun and all the props would emphatically play to that moment in time. It was the love and peace summer of 1975. Cindy’s team of stylist Nicole Allowitz; hair stylist Pete Savic and make up star Sam Visser are one hell of a crew and she looked absolutely fantastic. My job is easy with her on board and as always, we had a blast. I wanted a mid 70s vibe and Cindy’s team and my production team delivered. I am pleased that one of the greatest films of all time - Jaws - takes care of the Marlboro billboard. As its iconic director said “good ideas take time”.

Summit Arizona, 2022 Large 56” x 88” Unframed 71” x 103” Framed Edition of 12 Standard 37” x 58” Unframed 52” x 73” Framed Edition of 12 Editions are available in both color and black & white. The modern and enlightened narrative on post- Civil War meetings between cowboys and native Americans homes in on communication as opposed to conflict. Of course, the truth was somewhere between the two and the Comanche in particular were not renowned for holding summits with those traveling west. The work of Charlie Russell, the celebrated American painter of the wild west, has certainly influenced me as he understood how the grandeur of the American West added an extra character for free into his frontier storytelling. He also was sympathetic to the depiction of Native Americans and his work more often embodied a sense of peace not aggression. Given the amount of time he spent living with The Blackfeet Nation in Montana in the late 1880s, this is instructive. There could be no more jaw dropping backdrop for this meeting than Monument Valley; it is the beating heart of the South West. But to take this photograph was a big logistical exercise and we wonder whether we may have broken new ground here. The route up the escarpment to the south is just too steep for most horsemen. I can’t find anything quite like it and that is always a good moment. It was a cold morning at that altitude, even in October and the light snow cover adds an additional layer to the story. It is very much my kind of photograph. ~ David Yarrow

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA - 2021 Large – 56” x 81” Unframed, 71” x 96” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - SOLD OUT This is a beast of a bison. I will leave others to decide if it is a monster of a photograph, but it is as good as I can possibly do. His size, the mountain on the left, the snow laden forest on the right and the virginal snow in the foreground all coalesce in the most fortuitous manner. Meanwhile, the early morning sunlight allows for every detail on the bison’s face. This portrait was taken with a 35mm lens, the best portrait lens I know and this image is proof as to why. Setting the remote up was not that challenging as the massive bull was some distance from me at the time, but we then had to hope that we’d got both the maths and the bison’s direction of travel right. But this was down to luck more than judgement and this one image is perhaps the reward for the multiple of times we have failed. It is moments like these that offer the reason for using remotes, rather than just playing it simple and working with a telephoto. To me this photograph just shouts “Yellowstone”, America’s oldest National Park and one that in winter is an artist’s dream. There is simply no place like it on earth. It’s a very difficult image to replicate and I hope it will stand the test of time. ~ DAVID YARROW

Alaska, USA - 2021 Sizes Large – 56” x 84” Unframed, 71” x 99” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - 37” x 56” Unframed, 52” x 71” Framed - Edition of 12 The spit at Homer, Alaska, has two great attributes. It hosts one of the great dive bars in America - The Salty Dog - and it also offers a chance to get reasonably close to the bald eagles that fish on the shoreline. Their textural beauty always attracts me and the closer one gets, the more one can understand why the expression 'eagle eye' is on the money. They simply don't miss a trick. ~ David Yarrow

Iceland, 2018 Image - 55 x 37, Framed - 70 x 52 Edition of 12

Montana, USA - 2020 Available Sizes (Framed Size) Large: 71” x 99” Standard: 52” x 70” Large: Edition of 20 Standard: Edition of 20 The Pioneer bar in Virginia City has offered so much to us over the years and we are acutely conscious not to overplay our hand here. After all, there are many other weathered saloons in the West. We don’t want to be repetitive in our story telling. That would be lame. Equally, for our work, The Pioneer is emphatically the best bar known to us. It has depth and the wagon wheel on the ceiling is ideally positioned. More importantly, it is home turf for us and last year I was honoured to receive “The Freedom of the City”. I have the key in my briefcase. The owner of The Pioneer partners with us rather than simply permiting us and that is a material difference. But when we go back each winter, it is important to bring a new variable to offer the chance of an image that can transcend. There is no point going backwards. My new variable this time was Cara Delevingne and her established team of stylists and hair and make-up artists. To bring such a celebrated and relevant woman as Cara to Montana is fresh ground. Put her in front of the Eiffel Tower and it is a new look on the Eiffel Tower. I gave her team a directive for this shot: bad ass; sexy; sovereign; 1920s but still very much Cara. They absolutely nailed it, as did she. The hat made a huge difference. I can’t think of any other woman in the world I would prefer to play this role. These are not easy images to execute as there is such limited light. Depth of field and shutter speeds are therefore compromised. Cara would always be sharp - that was easy - then we had to hope for some luck elsewhere. Cameras have improved so much over the years in terms of ability to work in low light. I could not have done this 10 years ago. But you are pushing the camera right to the edge of its capability. She owns this shot. - David Yarrow

Los Angeles, California - 2022 Sizes Large – 56” x 77” Unframed, 71” x 92” Framed – Edition of 20 Standard - 37” x 51” Unframed, 52” x 66” Framed - Edition of 20 To be able to incorporate the sign of Chateau Marmont in an image offers a great opportunity for a storyteller as it is perhaps the most notorious hotel in the world. If the walls of this grand old building on Sunset Boulevard could talk, they would offer a monologue of deliciously naughty tales to make us all ask whether we could have attacked life a little more hedonistically. If licentious behaviour was to be celebrated, the Chateau would host the evening. To tell a tale around this institution and be conservative in the creative processing would be a mistake; the location should be ex- ploited to the full. This mid 70s styled picture, featuring the iconic Cindy Crawford, is a Chateau Marmont parable with a wry twist. In the UK we have many numbers of pubs called “The Fox and Hound” and here, arriving at the hotel entrance in LA, is the ultimate “Fox” - Cindy, with the most excited of hounds. I remember that Sunday morning shoot well. Cindy looked fantastic and her team of Peter Savic (hair); Sam Visser (make up) and Nicole Allowitz (styling) are the best in the business, as of course is Cindy. I, as always with her, had the easy job and we were wrapped by 8.30 am, which, by all accounts, is only just after bed time at the Chateau.

Montana, USA - 2020 Large: 71" x 101" Framed - Edition of 20 Standard: SOLD OUT This old railway carriage was built in Montana in 1902 and operated until 1968. It now lies abandoned in the ghost town of Nevada City and serves as a reminder of the busier days in the mountains. At today’s value, when mining came to an end in 1922, some $2.5bn of gold had been extracted from the region. The state of Montana played an integral part in Gold Rush history. I first visited the train in 2015 and immediately saw its potential for a staged shot. Half the window areas are open to the elements and in the winter the snow often overwhelms the decaying interior. In the following years, we took a few pictures but, in many ways, these were a dress rehearsal for November 2020. We knew our light and our angles. Taking the female icon Cara Delevingne to a unique site like this, so far from anywhere vaguely on the map, was an opportunity not to be wasted. This is not a job for the precious, the carriage is fragile, and getting on board was not easy. But Cara, as I know from working with her previously, is not precious, she is game for anything that is creative and authentic. The camera loves her and the styling - in an old buffalo skin coat - deliberately plays to a timeless story. She pings out of the train. Sometimes an artist creates something that can’t be copied and I think this is one such work. We would like to thank the Nevada City Outdoor Historic Museum for collaborating on this project. ~ David Yarrow

Standard, 37” x 50” Unframed, 52” x 65” Framed - Edition of 12 Large, 56” x 76” Unframed, 71” x 91” Framed - Edition of 12 If you missed out on the sold out piece "The Iron Horse", now is your chance to get the second image from this exciting location shoot in Durango, Colorado. THE IRON HORSE II Durango, Colorado, USA - 2021 The iron horse was as vital to the push west in America as the horse itself. The railroads linked the west to the nation as a whole and steam engines added a glamorous component to the wild west visual narrative. In researching my anthology to this period in American history, I was - as a romanticist - drawn towards these railroads. The research led us to the famous Durango to Silverton steam train in Colorado, partly because the track runs through the most dramatic of landscapes, but also because the narrow gauge track service remains largely the same as it was when the railroad opened in 1882. The iron horses themselves are authentic and in excellent working order. We want to thank the owners of the train for collaborating with us on this project. We scouted for two days and then shot for a further two. Some of the staff were kind enough to say that this photograph is the most powerful they have ever seen of this famous train journey high in the Colorado mountains. I don’t know about that, but it is certainly my strongest image for many a month. I knew as soon as I took the picture that we had something and I have many people to thank - in particular the horse owners and cowboys. Positioning horses by a cliff edge with a steam engine coming around the corner requires top professionals and that is exactly what we had. This was not a location for those suffering from vertigo. The key decision was to place a lone outlaw on the right hand of the track giving the frame compositional balance and despite his anonymity, his presence makes the photograph even more powerful. I hope a few of these prints find homes in Colorado - that would make me very happy.

Leadville, Colorado - 2022 LARGE 56” x 71” Unframed 71” x 86” Framed Edition of 20 STANDARD 37” x 47” Unframed 52” x 62” Framed Edition of 20 Westerns are no longer male dominated to the point of parody - indeed it seems that many contemporary directors of the genre now anchor a production around a strong female lead. It is not that enlightened, after all, there must have been many women involved in the push west otherwise we would have had a birth problem at a time of above average mortality. My sense is that the women who ran saloons like the Silver Dollar Saloon, 10,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountain of Colorado would have been tough, uncompromising characters, who dealt with every conceivable issue with steely resourcefulness. Their daily routine would not have been compromised by drunken fights, troublesome prostitutes, crippling snowstorms or even the occasional shoot out. Far from being exposed, they would have dealt with these minor adversities with a wry but steely smile. They bossed the saloon and its patronage seven days a week. Cara Delevingne was made to play the character of a landlady - she is sassy and hardened, as well, of course, as being one of the most celebrated models of her generation. When I took her out in this snowstorm in Leadville - America’s highest town - at minus 15 degrees, I might as well have been taking her for breakfast at Tiffany’s. That is just one of the qualities that makes her a very special person. She wears her sovereignty with a light touch. I think the Silver Dollar Saloon - founded in 1879 - is one of the most authentic wild west bars in America and we were lucky to be there with Cara as a storm rolled through. Having said that, we had been watching the weather forecast for a good week and were fully prepared. ~ David Yarrow

Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 2022 Large – 56” x 102” Unframed, 71” x 117” Framed – Edition of 12 Standard - 37” x 68” Unframed, 52” x 83” Framed - Edition of 12 I think one of the reasons that the Final Frontier holds such a fascination for many of us, is that “The Great Push West” serves as a metaphor for the trials of life. The American West has become a standard by which to measure human endeavour and has an allure because we all warm to stories of the underdog or those that live sturdy lives. There has never been a richer cast of tough underdogs than there was at The Final Frontier and the territory plays to the romanticist. Thanks to filmmakers such as John Ford, much of the Wild West story was played out against the grand majesty of South West America. The vast monoliths in places such as Monument Valley afforded an extra layer of narrative as the enormity of the landscape added further to the sense of human isolation and vulnerability. The concept of this picture has been in my mind for as long as I have been working on our revisionist anthology to the Wild West. I just needed to find the location that offered grandeur, depth and, most importantly, raised elevation in the foreground. This takes time. But finally, thanks to our Navajo location scouts, Cisco and Bega Metzner of the Moab Film Commission, we found this point on the edge of Monument Valley and somehow our cowboys managed to get the horses and wagon down onto the desert floor below. I fancy that was a first. This is Navajo country and we have great respect for the community living there. The Navajo Tribe is the largest American Indian tribe in the United States today, with 175,000 members alone living within their vast reservation. I wanted our lead in this picture to be sovereign and considered, rather than aggressive. We are alive to the fact that The Great Push West was not about discovery, but about “encounters”. Discovery hints at virginal land and, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. ~ David Yarrow

West Texas - 2023 LARGE 56” x 69” Unframed 71” x 84” Framed Edition of 12 STANDARD 37” x 46” Unframed 52” x 61” Framed Edition of 12 In my experience there is no more enduring symbol of Americana than a working cowboy. Cowboys on the ranch are tough and they probably don’t come much tougher than West Texas Cowboys. Our dear friends in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado may disagree, but when our team think of cowboys, we find it difficult to take our visual processing too far away from our experiences in West Texas. What a most unique part of contiguous America, West Texas is and no doubt will always be. I like to shoot against the light most of the time; it lends interest, depth and emotion. But is also tests camera technique and thereafter the whole monochrome printing process, especially when I am filming almost head on into low light. I do this to have the kicked-up dust backlit and energised. 10 degrees further away from the sun may seem small, but the difference is palpable and I prefer to be bold and keep the camera as close to head on as possible. There is always a chance - a glimpse - as my fellow Scot, Harry Benson would say. But it’s best to have low expectations. I started darkroom printing in a converted darkroom at my family home near Glasgow when I was about 15, but I am really no more of a printer, than I am an astronaut and I am deeply lucky to have a 10-year partnership with our extraordinary printers in Los Angeles. We know each other so well and they can turn a decent picture into a great picture. That is a process that must surely be central to a photographer’s heart. ~ David Yarrow

Wells, Nevada - 2023 LARGE 46” x 102” Unframed 61” x 117” Framed Edition of 20 STANDARD 34” x 77” Unframed 59” x 92” Framed Edition of 20 This is a special image for me; in part because it is such a low percentage capture and in part because its dynamism extols the wild nature of mustang horses. The premise was always to have a group of Mustangs running wild towards me in the winter snow, but I knew the chances of truly pulling it off were very low. The project was undertaken at the Mustang Monument Ranch near Wells in Northern Nevada; a vast acreage and a labour of love by its owner - the wonderful force of nature that is - Madeleine Pickens. No one has done more to raise awareness of the plight of the Mustangs in today’s America than Madeleine and no one has done more to offer safe sanctuary. This was always a collaboration with her and I hope sales from this image will eat into the financial burden she bears each year to protect an animal core to Americana. There are over 1,000 mustangs in her care in Nevada and I observed that they do often behave in a skittish and sheepish way, running in big collectives in one direction for no particular reason. The odds of this happening directly towards my camera in decent light were small and our game plan was always to use feeding time as an opportunity to improve those odds. I had my chance late one afternoon in January 2023, but almost all of my images in that five minutes of chaos were cluttered and messy, as is often the case with untamed horses. Images of single mustangs were easier but were never going to cut it as the essence of the place is the collective. It is an extraordinary spectacle when they move as one. But luckily, and it was luck, one split second offered the chance to embody everything I could have wished for and just a little bit more. Not an easy capture and a test of quick thinking in the field. I can almost hear the pounding of the hoofs when I look at it. After some deliberation on what to call this big picture, I went for the Rolling Stones, for reasons that don’t really need to be explained. ~ David Yarrow

Norwood, Colorado, USA - 2021 Available Sizes (Framed Size) Large: 71” x 105” Standard: 52” x 74” Available Editions Large: Edition of 12 Standard: Edition of 12 During our travels in America, we have learnt a great deal about cowboys. The difference between someone who can ride competently and a true working cowboy may ostensibly appear marginal, but in extreme conditions a chasm appears. To work a horse in -20 degrees, in two feet of fresh snow, whilst holding a weapon in one hand, appearing totally at ease, is a bridge too far for 99% of riders. So, on this set in Norwood, Colorado we knew we had to work with the best of the best. Ty Mitchell on the left is as authentic a Texan cowboy as they come and it is no surprise to us that he will soon be on set for three months with Martin Scorsese. I don’t think Scorsese will be disappointed with any aspect of Ty’s character. It will not be Ty’s first rodeo, Anthony Bourdain featured him when parts Unknown visited West Texas and Marfa. To his right, Michael Malone is a local rancher from Colorado and he immediately impressed us with his understated confidence and ability to play to a role. I fancy he could ride a horse sidesaddle whilst totally stoned and I sense such a challenge may have been put to the test once or twice. We welcomed him to the team with open arms. In my mind, the key variable in this photograph is the light. On a sunny winter’s day, with snow on the ground, I believe the best light is actually in the first three or four minutes when the sun raises its head and touches the subject. 10 minutes after sunrise is too late as the sun is too harsh on the subject. In those initial minutes, the sun can be behind the camera and give the cameraman huge flexibility. In this case, the flexibility I needed was a very fast shutter speed. - David Yarrow

LARGE - only 1 left. 48” x 101” Framed: 63” x 116” STANDARD - SOLD OUT Texas 2021 Looking back at my 38 years of holding a camera, there have been a few key moments along the way. Maradona in 1986 being my initial prompt. But it was probably way later in 2014 when I took the picture Mankind in a cattle camp near Yirol in South Sudan that my life changed. To borrow from Eddie Cantor “it took me 30 years to be an overnight success”. There have been many failures along the way. I had recently considered returning to South Sudan to re-photograph that exact location, but a combination of COVID and an uptake in conflict in the country made that impractical. I also always have reservations on reshooting any previous set, it can hint at a lack of original thought. Meanwhile, we had an idea. Our anthology to the “Wild West” - now in its six month of production - had allowed us to become familiar not just with the topography of much of the west, but with many cowboys and ranchers whom we now consider friends. The cowboy is integral to the enduring myth of the Wild West and no more so than in Texas, where the great cattle drives were first initiated. No state played a greater role in the trail drive era. West Texas and South Sudan ostensibly don’t have much in common, but from a filming perspective there are some similarities. The land is flat and arid and in both locations the cattle are special. The horns of the cattle looked after by the Dinka in South Sudan, are magnificent, but the Texas Longhorn is no poor cousin. With the help of two renowned Texan working cowboys - Craig Carter and Ryon Marshall - we spent last week filming near Valentine, not far from the Mexican border. I knew what I was looking for; a frame with depth; so as in South Sudan, I brought a ladder and a frame with contextuality and breadth; so, I knew that any lens with magnification would be a big error (it normally is anyway when a sense of place is integral to the creative vision). I settled on a standard lens, but we had a problem, the dust being kicked up by the drives was intense. If the wind took the dust towards me, there was not just the inability to film, there was a danger of the thundering herd not seeing me. On one initial drive, they came out of the dust cloud just yards from my ladder. Not something I would recommend. So, we worked out the formula, we would shoot against the light and with the herd directly downwind from me. As we rose at 4 am, we prayed the local weather forecast was accurate. The cowboys, led by Ryon Marshall, were magnificent and after 72 hours we got the job done. The closing down party in the desert last Thursday night was something I will always remember. Great food, the most engaging company and, of course, country music. My team left with a warm glow and a real sense of connection with the cowboy culture down there. We can all learn something from it. You gotta love Texas. ~ David Yarrow

Montana, USA - 2019 Sizes Large – 56” x 93” Unframed, 71 x 108” Framed – Edition of 20 Standard – 37” x 61” Unframed, 52 x 76” Framed – Edition of 20 In January 2019, I revisited an old saloon, high in the mountains of western Montana. The Pioneer Bar embodies everything I look for in a final frontier setting and I know my angles and my light here. That day there were some of the usual suspects at the bar and then a rather unusual one in Cindy Crawford. I took an important photograph that day which we consequently called The Unusual Suspects and it became coveted. The cinematic image has now sold out and in so doing, raised over $750,000 for the University of Wisconsin’s Pediatric Cancer Care hospital in Madison; an acclaimed institution long supported by Cindy. It has been my best-selling image of the last two years and I understand why it resonates with so many collectors. The rich “wild west” characters speak for themselves and every face is the right face. For those that own a bad ass bar, this is the badass picture to adorn the wall. Indeed, the photograph adorns my own American style bar back in the UK. In ten days’ time, Cindy and I will be in the Midwest hosting a series of fund-raising events in Madison and Chicago. To build momentum into the weekend, we are today releasing a second image taken one fifth of a second earlier in that bar. The wolf is one step back from the original but his head is right within the tiny focal plane. We have been holding off for the right occasion to release this and now is the time. There are no other shots that worked that day; it is just such a difficult concept to pull off as the focus is everything and there is no margin for error. We hope that this picture will raise another $750,000 over time for a great cause. We know there are buyers already. ~ David Yarrow

20" x 24"

Iceland - 2022 Large - 54” x 101” Unframed, 69” x 116” Framed - Edition of 12 Standard - 37” x 69” Unframed, 52” x 84” Framed - Edition of 12 I suspect that all those who have found themselves in Vestrahorn on the Stokksnes peninsula of south east Iceland experienced an initial sensory overload. I certainly did and having been spoilt by my experiences on this planet, it takes quite something to leave me speechless. The mountain range rises almost vertically from the black beach below and falls away symmetrically on each side creating an astonishing vista. This in an arena where many an Icelandic saga has been played out in the minds of creatives. The dome like sand dunes nestling below Vestrahorn have been owned by the same Icelandic farming family for several generations. Our production team - the ex- cellent True North - had secured us access both to the land and their Icelandic horses who play out their lives in this most majestic of settings. The goal was to shoot with snow on the ground and snow on the mountains as I knew this could offer a further sense of mythology. I am always greedy with my visuals and I wanted a sense of the cold. But the day before the planned shoot, the temperature rose above freezing and my canvas on the ground melted quickly. We went to bed hoping for some luck and whilst it started to snow at dawn, my concern was then that the mountain would not be visible. As we rushed out to the predetermined location, the clouds started to lift and provided the farmer could work his magic with the horse we had identified as our star, there was a chance. This photograph has a sense of place and that was always my goal in Iceland. My work must play homage to the majesty and rawness of the land. It is a place like no other. ~ David Yarrow

Silverton, Colorado, USA - 2021 Large: 71” x 91” - only 1 left Standard: SOLD OUT In post Civil War America, some saw the railroad as a symbol of modernity and national progress. For others, however, the Transcontinental Railroad undermined the sovereignty of Native nations and threatened to destroy Indigenous communities and their cultures as the railroad expanded into territories inhabited solely by Native Americans. As part of my photographic anthology on the wild west, it was always my intent to bring native Indians and a railroad together into an image, but I had no wish to objectify either party. A photograph for instance of a hostile railroad attack by a party of Indians could be labelled as
stereotyping or indeed being blind to the provocation of what was effectively an invasion by American settlers, prospectors and capitalists. We entered this project to tell stories, not make overtly political points. After several scouting trips, I found an ideal location 10,000 feet above sea level on the track near Silverton, Colorado. The train owners told us that this section of the track had never been shot before and that sense of ground breaking always gives me a warm glow. The high cliff face offered a sense of a vantage point and the opportunity for the camera to tell a more passive observation story (albeit with a little attitude). The narrative seems entirely realistic as most of the time the natives would observe the Iron Horses from a safe distance with a mixture of fear; anger but also, I would imagine a hint of bewilderment. The driver of the steam train did a fabulous job with the plume - it was a magical sight to see. - David Yarrow

Monument Valley, Utah, USA - 2022 Standard - 37” x 51” Unframed, 52” x 66” Framed - Edition of 12 Large - 56” x 76” Unframed, 71” x 91” Framed - Edition of 12 Monument Valley is a storyteller’s paradise. The enormity of the monoliths adds an extra character at no expense and that character is a constant throughout a day’s filming. No lunch breaks, loo breaks or touch ups. They are a bankable asset that must be used and John Ford did exactly that in his filmmaking. The issue for a still photographer is that within no more than an hour of sunrise, the light is simply too stark to do the drama of this amphitheatre justice; the vistas become postcard vistas and are dumbed down by breakfast. I would say that the window of opportunity on a clear morning in this part of the world is at best 30 minutes. The idea of using the spokes of the wagon wheel as a means of light diffraction was not preconceived. I just noticed the effect on the wagon as the sun first emerged that cold morning on the Utah/Arizona border. The anonymity within this image works because the identity of the driver is not really relevant to the story. It is more about the isolation and the sense of purpose. I would imagine that in the 1880s any trip like this was done for a reason, not as a weekend jaunt and most journeys were concluded with a necessary haste. ~ David Yarrow

Original Painting ~ Acrylic on Canvas. Northern Plains Indian w/ Bow & Arrows- 60 x 48

Winslow, Arizona, 2022 LARGE 56” x 94” Unframed 71” x 109” Framed Edition of 12 STANDARD 37” x 62” Unframed 52” x 77” Framed Edition of 12 Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner In Winslow, Arizona Such a fine sight to see It’s a girl, my Lord, In a flat-bed Ford Slowin’ down to take a look at me These famous lyrics from The Eagles 1972 smash hit “Take It Easy” are sung every day of every year in bars throughout America. Winslow should not be on any map, never mind in someone’s head, but then the Eagles came along and secured this unremarkable town’s fame. For some months I had laboured over how best to tell this story. Google has changed all our lives, but I still think there is no replacement for a site visit. And so, with no crew or cameras, I found myself on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and just looked and looked. The commemorative statues and the facade with the flatbed Ford offered a good backdrop to which I could add many more men standing in that corner. The sense of place could be a blurred merger of the facade and then my extras. The facade is so good; I particularly liked the couple making out through the upstairs window. The truth is that the sassy girl in the car was just a little too good for the adoring men of Winslow. It was a fine sight to see, but that was where the story ended. Everyone was standing that day - including the girl and her unlikely passenger. Take it easy. ~ David Yarrow

Silverton, Colorado - 2021 Standard framed size: 52” x 72” Large framed size: 71” x 101”

Aspen, Colorado - 2023 LARGE. 56” x 73” Unframed 71” x 88” Framed Edition of 12 STANDARD. 37” x 48” Unframed 52” x 63” Framed Edition of 12 There is no doubt that Aspen is the most notorious, scandal ridden ski resort in the world. Its mere name evokes imagery of heavy partying, glamour and celebrities, which is a little unfair on all those that go up the hill from Glenwood Springs simply to ski. Good things have happened in the town, but so have many bad things, which makes it delicious material for the Storyteller. 70 years after the silver market burst at the turn of the century, Aspen boomed bigger and louder than it ever had before. It was a freewheeling bohemian paradise with rock and roll as important to its very essence as skiing itself. The question was not as much which area to ski, but whether to hang with The Eagles, John Denver or Jimmy Buffett. By the early 70s The J Bar at the storied Jerome Hotel was firmly established as a drinking venue and I have heard stories of bartenders turning a blind eye to high profile figures brazenly doing lines of coke off the counter in broad daylight. It was in keeping with the vibe of the era that Hunter Thompson ran for sheriff and was taken seriously. The rich and famous ran amok in Aspen. I desperately wanted to take a photograph in a prominent place in Aspen that looked as if it had been taken in the hipster days of the early 70s. The car was sourced by connected locals and Nicole Allowitz’s styling of Kate Bock and Josie Canseco was - as always - on point. But I needed a little more and the heavy snowfall give me the chance to make the background timeless. This could be 1973 and what a time everyone must have had, if only they could remember. ~ David Yarrow

Oil on Canvas, 18h x 20w “On a return trip from Jackson through Yellowstone Park, I stopped for a short lunch break beside Yellowstone Lake, and I saw an osprey swoop down and pluck a trout out of the water without missing a wing beat. The title was obvious to me.”