Yarrow Portfolio

DAVID YARROW PORTFOLIO

THE CURATED COLLECTION

ABOUT YARROW

David Yarrow was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966. He took up photography at an early age and as a 20-year-old found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, David took the famous picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other sporting events. Many years later David established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and the last nine years have been career-defining.

David’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following amongst art collectors. His large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. He is now recognised as one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

David’s position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation. As the European ambassador for Nikon, David has been integral to the company’s most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017 he shot LVMH’s “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In March 2022 David became an ambassador of Berenberg Bank. In the spring of 2020, David was appointed a Global Ambassador for Best Buddies –one of America’s most established children’s charities. In 2020, David became an ambassador for African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work in the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser.

1992

SANTA CLARITA // 2021

Joe Pytka’s 1992 Pepsi Ad with Cindy Crawford is iconic; indeed, it is probably one of the most celebrated commercials of all time. So much so, that there have been many retakes and parodies. As we all know, it featured a 26-year-old Crawford pulling up to the Halfway Café in a red sports car wearing a white tank top and jean shorts. Two young boys stare as the supermodel buys a Pepsi from a vending machine and drinks it down.

For some time I had yearned to do my own interpretation of the advert with a still photograph and I secured Cindy’s involvement, who in turn secured Pepsi’s approval (given the implicit tribute, why would Pepsi say “no”?). The Halfway House has not changed at all from 1992 and neither really has Cindy. The rest of the props were easy to replicate.

The issue was the two boys who were never in the same frame as Cindy in the advert and would be even harder to acknowledge or incorporate into one photograph whilst maintaining the narrative. The idea I went along with was to use wolves instead – that way I could introduce a new angle without losing the integrity of the adaptation.

I wanted the supposed wolves to be looking keenly towards Cindy and the only way that could work in my set was to have them approaching her from behind. Since the roof was down in the car, it made sense for them to have stealthily sneaked into the back seats whilst she went about her business. There is the necessary hunger and yearning in their disposition.

Cindy looks fabulous and makes the image which we all agreed had to be in colour. I must make mention of Peter Savic – the legendary hair stylist who worked with Cindy on the original commercial. How lucky am I that 29 years later he came back to the Halfway House for the reunion and styled Cindy’s hair again?

DYP would like to make it clear that the “wolf ” in the image is actually a domesticated Tamaskan dog – which have similar facial characteristics to Wolves.

AIN’T MY FIRST RODEO

TEXAS // 2021

The mythical cowboy, whose image has been shaped by history, fiction and folklore, is unquestionably America’s predominant symbolic native son. For many people across the world, a cowboy is the most American thing they can think of. For that we should be thankful. Much better this noun than a Big Mac or even an Apple Mac.

Texas is the home of the cowboy and it is also the home of the longhorn. It was the birthplace of the great cattle drives north to the Kansas railroads in the 1870s and the names of the State’s leading sports teams leave us in no doubt as to the pride in the region’s heritage.

The cowboy and the longhorn remain part of today’s Texas and in West Texas we have built up a strong network of contacts who are now happy to allow us to drop into their daily lives. Filmmaking in my mind is a team sport – we are always reliant on the help and excellence of others. We have invested time in the communities of western Texas and we are now slowly reaping the rewards.

This was not an easy frame to take, as the big steer is turning towards my default flat position on the ground. There is quite an adrenaline rush at that level of proximity and this is not something to try on your own. I had seasoned cowboys on the ground right beside me.

I had no expectation of Ryon Marshall – my go to Texan cowboy – being in pin sharp focus. It was not necessary for the narrative to hold up. What mattered was that the steer was flying and that the face and eyes were pin sharp.

The composition is fortunate, as it does look as if Ryon is flying. Anything is possible with him, as it certainly isn’t his first rodeo.

DAVID

EL TORO

SEVILLE, SPAIN // 2024

The Miura Cattle Ranch was established in the province of Seville in 1847 and is part of Spanish national heritage. Tradition has it that bulls of the Miura breed are the most dangerous and the lineage is revered for being large, fierce and cunning.

The ranch was originally owned by Don Eduardo Miura Fernandez and his descendants still have ownership of this fabled place. It was a visit to the Muira ranch that inspired Ferruccio Lamborghini to make a bull the symbol of his industrial empire and in his novel Death in the Afternoon, Ernest Hemingway wrote glowingly about the strain of bulls raised by Don Eduardo Miura’s sons.

I arrived in Seville to meet the Miura family knowing little about Andalusian culture other than watching Anthony Bourdain make the same trip in his series Parts Unknown. I have never been to a bull fight and have no such intention; I think I would find it too barbaric, but equally I respect local cultures and the bull is integral to the soul of this most unique and wonderful city.

We were introduced to one of the most revered of the matadors in Spain – Eduardo Davila Miura – who, of course, is another descendant of Don Eduardo Miura. Wandering around the inner streets of Seville with Eduardo and sampling Bourdain’s favored tapas bars, was akin to walking down the King’s Road with David Beckham. I was left in no doubt that he is a national treasure.

But it was the Miura Ranch that I wanted to photograph and, of course, these enormous, esteemed bulls. I want to thank the Miura family for their collaboration and Alexander Fiske-Harrison for making the necessary introductions and facilitating the partnership, including with the bull itself. This project was new territory for everyone involved.

The ranch workers were fastidious on my safety and that of the bull we photographed that day. I am so pleased that they are delighted with the result. It was not a normal morning and this was certainly not a normal bull. It was all quite terrifying, but I would stress that I was working with the best ranchers in the business. This is not something to go and try in a nearby field.

BLAZING SADDLES

UTAH // 2021

This photograph was a spontaneous behind the scenes shot taken early one winter morning high up in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. The cowboys we had on set were simply keeping warm, not playing to the camera. When I looked at my camera files later, I realised that we had something very strong and our galleries were very keen for the work to be released and shown to the public in America and Europe. This was never our intent, and it is the first time this situation has arisen in ten years.

The grandeur of the American West is well known and well photographed. In our minds, stunning landscapes should complement the shot, not be the shot. Layered narratives have become core to my style, we like to make a frame sweat. This image is certainly a validation of that approach.

99% of my released work is printed in monochrome, but this print works better in colour. I looked back at some of the other work we have released in colour and they all have one thing

in common; my shots with tigers, orangutans and now this image all have the colour orange in them. Orange is not a normal colour in my work, but when it features, a colour print is often preferable. A black and white print simply doesn’t cope well with orange.

On this occasion, the orange flames from the fire are such a core component of the story that to print this in monochrome would dumb down the narrative. I am all for the reductive qualities of monochrome, but we always want to tell the best possible story.

There is a lot going on in this image and we know it emotionally connects with those in America drawn to the lore of the West.

GANDALF

SOUTH AFRICA // 2019

This white lion named after Tolkien’s character “Gandalf”, is one of the most formidable lions within Kevin Richardson’s famous sanctuary. Kevin is comfortable walking with most of the lions under his care, but Gandalf is not one of them. His relationship with every lion is different and I suspect that Gandalf has been one of his biggest challenges. Nevertheless, I wanted to take a tight portrait of Gandalf – where my eyes were exactly at his eye level. Thanks to Kevin’s extraordinary ability to work lions, Gandalf positioned himself in the one place that my idea could succeed and then he stood and stared me down.

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BOOK OF DANIEL

ICELAND // 2022

Good creative ideas are only as good as the execution and when I conceived the idea of a literal photographic depiction of Daniel in a cave with wild lions, I recognised that pulling it off in the field would be as examining a production challenge as anything we had undertaken.

The fact that we ended up with this image – a career highlight – is testimony to the skills of many South Africans with whom we collaborated on this project, none more so than Kevin Richardson, The Lion Whisperer. It was his behavioural understanding of specific lions within his famous sanctuary that gave me the confidence to even consider emotionally and financially investing in my mad idea. We have worked with each other for over eight years now and have developed a mutual trust. To build a cave and work from within that cave with wild lions is not a brief for a nascent relationship between artist and lion whisperer.

We both agreed that pivotal to the success of the final image was that the lions we worked with should be interacting with each other and not me. If they were looking at me in the front of my heavy-duty cage, it would suggest encroachment and the involvement of another party. There were no third party witnesses to Daniel in the cave, other than spiritual ones.

The lighting was also key and we needed time to look at various options to create the shaft of light. Without a light shaft, the sense of being in a cave would be diminished as opposed to amplified. It was this feature that would also add to the biblical vibe of the photograph which was essential; after all, we were working from the Bible. The low trajectory of the winter sun in Kevin’s sanctuary was in our favour and suggested that

between 9 am and 10 am the light shaft could have the right angle so long as the hole in the cave’s ceiling was accurately positioned.

The plan was that Daniel was the final piece in the jigsaw and we would only bring him in when all else was done, albeit I had a precise position for him in my mind. Kevin’s lions would not show any mercy to our modern-day Daniel and we would never suggest that this image was anything less than two pictures combined.

Good things take time and I always knew this would be a three-day project for me on location. The predictability of the winter weather in the region was a key asset; the cloudless skies gave us identical light day after day and that then gave us optionality and time.

But for others the project was a month, not three days, and I am full of gratitude for the artistic skills of those that made the cave and the attention to detail of the production team led by Theuns De Wet in Johannesburg and Tom Williams in London. From start to finish, this was a team effort and all involved will, I hope, share my pride in the final outcome. I know Kevin does, and that is always the acid test.

There is absolutely nothing in this image I would change and it is authentic for sure. I doubt the idea can ever really be copied, but good luck to anyone that gives it a go. The cave has gone.

Normally our work is in black and white, but I just can’t decide whether I prefer the colour option, so on this occasion there are editions of both.

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DAVID

THE DREAM

Iceland is so raw, so geologically angry and so unique that a visiting artist is truly tested to do it justice. On location, intense cognitive processing is required to examine how best to convey the enormity of the visuals that greet the eye throughout daylight hours. The shorter the distance between the brain and the eye, the greater the chance of working towards an image that is as awesome as the location. I think we may have finally achieved our goal. I am very happy with this image.

I have been fortunate enough to visit Skogafoss waterfall many times over the years and I am in no doubt that it offers the best opportunity for a creative narrative of any of Iceland’s numerous waterfalls. It may not be the widest, or most thunderous, but the immediate foreground is the most easily accessible. From the riverbed below, the visual is dramatic and clean. This is “Game of Thrones” country and from the right angle - and I have explored most of them over the years - it is perhaps the finest backdrop I know in Europe.

Prior to 2018, I have, for various reasons, never nailed the preconceived image. The main reason being that it is technically and logistically a challenging assignment and I have not been good enough. It is a real test of balancing working distance against lens choice and I have made a few errors in the past. The smaller the lens, the better. It is always the case even if the spray from the waterfall soaks both you and your gear.

An issue with filming in Iceland is that whilst permits are easy to obtain, exclusivity is not. Waterfalls such as Skogafoss will not normally be closed off to the public if filming is taking place. As a result, the only time to have exclusivity there is before the tourists arrive in their droves, which is normally from 8 am onwards. But in the early morning, the waterfall, which is tucked tightly into the cliffs, is always in shadow and often a good two stops of exposure darker than the open areas 200 yards away.

There are always compromises here. On this occasion, we were able to work longer into the morning as the high winds had prevented many tourists from taking days trips from Reykjavik. Nevertheless, it was still fairly dark, so I knew my depth of field would be marginal but as long as the subject matter is sharp, I think this actually helps the image. I don’t think I have ever taken a picture before in which the subject is less than 1% of the image and yet everyone’s eye is immediately grabbed by that one point. That was always my intention. I have had this image in my mind for a few years.

NORSE

Skogafoss in southern Iceland is a familiar destination for us, we have filmed there a few times over the years and know its potential and also its challenges. The waterfall is aesthetically without equal in Europe and the backdrop offers the chance of an arresting photograph, especially as the foreground gives a platform on which to add narrative. The waterfall itself is of little interest to me; it is photographed thousands of times a day by good photographers with good cameras. It must be used as part of the story, not the whole event.

The riddle is how to manage the distance between the camera and the point of impact of the huge volumes of water that smash onto the ground. To work too close risks not just losing perspective, but having spray, quickly rendering the camera inoperable. To work further away is more practical, but then the distance compression can dumb things down and lose the sense of immersion and importantly the scale.

We now know our spot and our lens choice, but this was the first time we had put it to the test in the snow, when Skogafoss becomes a three-sided winter vortex; a bit like a deep freeze with the front door removed. It certainly requires a few hand warmers and a load of towels to survive even 10 minutes.

Tourists started to arrive at around 9 am, which meant we were wrapped before most people were up, but that is often the way in Iceland. We had a small window and we used it well.

This photograph should really be credited to the horse farmer who finished off being absolutely drenched. They make them tough up in Iceland; he didn’t complain once and found the whole experience rather entertaining.

When I looked at this image for the first time on a big screen, I saw the seagull soaring half way up the waterfall. I had no idea that it was there at the time and I think it lends further sense of scale to an extraordinary location. That is pure luck.

HIGH NOON

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK // 2021

Mount Moran in the Tetons offers as good a mountain backdrop as I know in America. In the winter, in particular, it has a grandeur that is difficult to match.

The lake below this section of the Tetons is frozen thick in midwinter and offers the perfect stage on which to tell stories, but we are always mindful that on a good day, the whole scene become too bright within 45 minutes of sunrise. Images like this require very early starts and we are always in position well before dawn.

The Native Americans were introduced to horses by early Spanish immigrants and they adapted quickly to the optionality and mobility given to them by horses. The Comanche in the south became a feared and dominant tribe largely because of their horsemanship skills.

This frame – taken on a very cold morning in Wyoming – simply pays homage to a tested partnership that played a material role in shaping 19th century American history.

CHICAGO

CHICAGO // 2019

I prefer to work with big alpha animals – elephants have a greater pull on me than mice.

This is true also with birds and this has drawn me towards the American Bald eagle – a magnificent and emblematic creature with an astonishing wingspan of up to seven feet.

The difficulty is capturing imagery that captures fresh detail – the world is not short of images of this bird – indeed they adorn homes in America from the White House down.

The starting point for me was always going to be the wings – their size and textural detail. However, the more I worked on this project in Alaska, the more I was disappointed by my “in flight” work – I struggled to do the wings justice. The problem was simply that in flight, the wings do look big, but there is a disconnect to anything that gives real scale – a “big sky” does not help as it excludes much of what could help define and give context.

I travelled to the fishing village of Homer – a great place to spot great Bald eagles, especially in the winter and spring and sure enough there were a great number of eagles on the beach. It was then a question of getting sufficiently close to work with as small a telephoto as possible. Instinctively, eagles will tend to take off away from an intruder, not towards him and to engineer the effect captured I had to use decoys to encourage the eagle’s first wing movement in my direction.

Finally, it came off – and I think this is indeed a fresh image of a bald eagle. What remarkable wings and all the more remarkable at take-off.

CONTENTMENT

LOCATION

// 2010

18 YARROW DAVID

THE ROLLING STONES

WELLS, NEVADA // 2023

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.

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.

ROUTE 66

HOLBROOK,

ARIZONA // 2022

Route 66 – The Mother Road – will always be a symbol of America’s post war freedom and geographical mobility. It evokes imagery of roadside motels, diners and 1950s Cadillacs. America is the home of the road trip and Route 66 is its poster child.

Much of the road that ran from Santa Monica through California, Arizona, New Mexico and then north to Chicago has either disappeared or been supplanted by interstate highways, but good sections of it do remain, as do the towns that grew up servicing the needs of those on the road.

In the autumn of 2022, I scouted for shooting locations in California and Arizona that would emphatically offer a Route 66 vibe and I found it to be a challenge. So many of the motels and diners along the route are either abandoned or worse still have become rather kitsch tourist attractions. To find a set that was both authentic and operational seemed mutually exclusive.

But then I stumbled across the town of Holbrook – 100 miles east of Flagstaff in Arizona. There are some real gems in this small town and none more so than the Wigwam Motel that saddles up right next to Route 66.

We went to see the owner – a charming man called Clifton Lewis – and he agreed to allow us to film in the courtyard outside the reception. It was ideal for what we were looking for.

The Wigwam Motel is still operational and was fully occupied the night of the shoot, so some of us stayed in a properly rundown motel around the corner. My room rate was $56 which I felt was perhaps $50 too expensive. But it was all so worth it. Holbrook is as good a canvas on which to tell a Route 66 story as I know; to drive through sections of the old town is to go back 60 years.

I chose Josie Canseco as the lead on this project as I knew she could wear a glamorous 1950s vibe very well. I was right and this photograph is as good as I could have imagined when I started exploring the creative concept.

Have you slept in a Wigwam lately?

THE HAPPY BEAR

ALASKA // 2017

Borana in Kenya offers some of the most raw and dramatic scenery in East Africarolling plains are interspersed with forests, steep hills and craggy rock faces. The most famous spot of all is, of course, Pride Rock of The Lion King fame. For the 2019 remake, the Disney crew spent eight weeks filming in Borana - quite an investment of time for an animated film. Last week I was very honoured to be asked to shoot the new Land Rover Defender on this location - it is a filmmaker’s El Dorado.

In 2007, the Dyer farming family made a decision to commit all retained earnings from commercial activities on Borana to support the increased costs of conservation. Borana and Lewa together now boast the most successful rhino conservancy in Kenya. Poaching is a thing of the past in this part of Kenya and much of the credit belongs to second and third generation farming families like the Dyers and the Craigs in Lewa,

who know what they are talking about. As I grow older, I recognise the importance of knowing what I am talking about.The success of Kenyan farmers in Borana brought new residents from Europe and even more horses. But not just any horses - champion racehorses. To photograph them at altitude in Borana was a great thrill - their muscled bodies set against the plains below offer the artist every chance.

I want to thank Michael Spencer for all his support and help over the years. No man knows more about old colonial Africa and no man has given back more - it is integral to his soul to be loyal to his roots and in Borana he has found his spiritual home. Michael and Sarah’s stunning racehorses add another dimension to one of my favourite places in East Africa.

T’CHALLA

SOUTH AFRICA // 2022

This white lion named after Tolkien’s character “Gandalf”, is one of the most formidable lions within Kevin Richardson’s famous sanctuary. Kevin is comfortable walking with most of the lions under his care, but Gandalf is not one of them. His relationship with every lion is different and I suspect that Gandalf has been one of his biggest challenges. Nevertheless, I wanted to take a tight portrait of Gandalf – where my eyes were exactly at his eye level. Thanks to Kevin’s extraordinary ability to work lions, Gandalf positioned himself in the one place that my idea could succeed and then he stood and stared me down.

THE SNOWMAN

WILSALL, MONTANA // 2023

Of course, we have worked in this room many times before and I know my light, my angles and the minimal depth of focus. We called last year’s photograph of the mountain men at the bar The Usual Suspects as that is exactly what they were. Some of those men rarely leave the warmth of The Pioneer Bar in Virginia City throughout winter - in fact they hibernate there. It proved such a popular image and has sold out across the world - in some cases raising huge sums for charity.

So, when we went back this year, we thought it would be fun to have an additional crew member - Cindy Crawford. The word juxtaposition is over used in narrative, but I think we can get away with it here. The old boys may drink a bit and smoke a bit of weed, but they were on their very best behaviour that day - which is essentially still medieval. We had to call the image The Unusual Suspects as a nod to her presence.

The composition, which I could control, had to be spot on, but there is no way that I could control the wolf. It is a low percentage game this and we only came away with one shot - but we got it. Cindy looks fantastically glamorous and a little “bad ass” in her role, but, as always, it is the mountain men that take away the Oscars. Roxanna Redfoot did a grand job too.

As with all three of the selected images from the shoot with Cindy Crawfordproceeds from the sales of the limited edition prints will go to charities supporting children with cancer.

OVER THE SEA TO SKYE

LOCHCARRON, SCOTLAND // 2017

My primary goal that squally morning, high on the hills above Lochcarron, was to take a portrait of a big stag that would have a sense of place. It was important therefore to work with a lens wide enough to offer enough background detail that those familiar with the region could identify Skye in the background.

That side of the quest was less of a challenge than getting close enough to a big stag. They are skittish at best, but they were familiar with my fixer – Colin Murdoch – and that was the break that I needed.

When the moment came with this 12 pointer, it was imperative to have my focus pin sharp on his head – without that, there would certainly be no picture. The other

important factor was that I wanted the stag to look regal and not nervous. Whilst camera focus is under my control, the posture of the stag is largely down to “the gods”. I just had to make myself as small and unthreatening as possible.

I first saw this image as a big print in our gallery in Paris and it grabbed the eye. There is not much I would really change. Even a few Parisians recognised Skye in the background.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

This photograph, printed in the London Times on Saturday July 2nd, was taken only four days earlier in South Sudan.

In retrospect, my photograph Mankind, taken in the same country in 2014, was a stepping stone for me. It was authentic, it had a biblical scale to it and could be looked at for a long time. Haunting and hellish one minute and serene and ethereal the next. I knew it would be a mistake to go back and try to copy what I did eight years ago; it would hint at a lack of creative progression and courage. I needed to do better and offer a new story, to go backwards would be damaging at many levels. I had been preoccupied by that fear for some time and I knew I had to be bold when I returned at the end of June 2022.

The Lakes areas of South Sudan is just about on a map, but way off the grid for most. It is the most basic of existences and the only material source of employment is the cattle camps. In 2014, I filmed near the town of Yirol in a camp on a Nile tributary, but this time I wanted to travel further into the interior and find an even bigger camp on the way to Rumbek. My premise was to play on scale and my leaning was always to go bigger not smaller. The Dinka tribe are the world’s tallest people, their cattle camps are the biggest of their kind and the cattle horns are Jurassic. This is a place to play on the word “big”.

SOUTH SUDAN // 2022

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