Select Your David Yarrow Statement Piece

Aspen, Colorado – 2023 | 52×76″ Framed | Edition of 12

This is not just any ski resort; this is the unmistakable playground of Aspen – the most famous ski resort in the world and one where the slopes and the old silver mining town fuse as one.

They look like they have co-existed seamlessly for centuries in much the same way as the golf course at St Andrews sits in harmony with the down that it made famous. The reality is, of course, that this photograph celebrates a far newer relationship than the marriage in Scotland, but both unions will continue in perpetuity, passed down from generation to generation. Aspen is a vortex of pleasure and misadventure few can escape from and this spectacular vista is part of its unique appeal.

Whatever lies ahead for Aspen, no generation will probably have more fun than the free loving hipsters of the 1970s who made the town a Bohemian hot spot. The once sliver mining town, nestling at 9,000 feet, became an unlikely Rock and Roll town drawing established and aspiring creatives from every corner of the United States. It may have been a growing haven for the Hollywood elite, but it welcomed talent and bad behavior more than it did wealth. I have a sense that the 1970s Aspen was as loosely governed as it was back in 1880 when it was a frontier mining town, that would be quite an achievement.

The model – Kate Bock – reminds me a little of Heather Graham in Austin Powers in this throwback shot, taken late one winter afternoon from Hunter Creek Road. She plays a confident hippy, flying solo with ease and was made for this kind of shot. Meanwhile, the yellow of the Porsche works well against the flat winter light. We knew this story was best told in color.

Telluride, Colorado – 2023 | 40×92″ Framed | Edition of 12

This is not just any ski resort; this is the unmistakable playground of Aspen – the most famous ski resort in the world and one where the slopes and the old silver mining town fuse as one.

They look like they have co-existed seamlessly for centuries in much the same way as the golf course at St Andrews sits in harmony with the down that it made famous. The reality is, of course, that this photograph celebrates a far newer relationship than the marriage in Scotland, but both unions will continue in perpetuity, passed down from generation to generation. Aspen is a vortex of pleasure and misadventure few can escape from and this spectacular vista is part of its unique appeal.

Whatever lies ahead for Aspen, no generation will probably have more fun than the free loving hipsters of the 1970s who made the town a Bohemian hot spot. The once sliver mining town, nestling at 9,000 feet, became an unlikely Rock and Roll town drawing established and aspiring creatives from every corner of the United States. It may have been a growing haven for the Hollywood elite, but it welcomed talent and bad behavior more than it did wealth. I have a sense that the 1970s Aspen was as loosely governed as it was back in 1880 when it was a frontier mining town, that would be quite an achievement.

The model – Kate Bock – reminds me a little of Heather Graham in Austin Powers in this throwback shot, taken late one winter afternoon from Hunter Creek Road. She plays a confident hippy, flying solo with ease and was made for this kind of shot. Meanwhile, the yellow of the Porsche works well against the flat winter light. We knew this story was best told in color.

Serengeti, Tanzania – 2020 | 52×59″ Framed | Edition of 12

During most summers, the Serengeti in Tanzania is defined by the traffic and some of the serenity of these endless plains can be lost. It is = considered the crown jewel of the East African game reserves and – in my view – deservedly so. But that status comes with a price – tourists and jeeps – hundreds of them.

But not so during the Covid 19 pandemic of 2020. We took one of the first international flights in and unsurprisingly found virtually no one to be here. The swab testing logistics may be a little tiresome, but the light footprint is offering unprecedented opportunities to work alone in the field. In the vastness of the Eastern Serengeti, there are currently few humans and a huge number of lions. For those that are here, conditions for film making are perfec

We sat with this stunning big male lion on the Utafiti kopjes from sunrise one morning. No other jeeps were anywhere in the region and so when he moved, we could adapt quickly without being inconsiderate to the line of sight of others. At about 7.45 am he saw a potential prey and with his eyes full of intent, he set off from the rocks above us. I had my chance, when he was still higher than my camera.

The angle and the line of the rock face work for me, but the real bonus is his rockstar aesthetics. He would not look out of place headlining at Glastonbury with The Cure. It’s an apposite name for 2020.

West Texas, Texas – 2023 | 57×61″ 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 energized. 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.

Los Angeles, California – 2023 | 52 x 66″ Framed | Edition of 12

This photograph is a small love letter to the city of Los Angeles. For all its vapidity, superficialness and elaborate coffee orders, there is no denying its pre-eminence in the entertainment world. It is a place where creatives go to be challenged, humbled and occasionally propelled forward. As the comedian Steve Martin once said “the key is to be so good they can’t ignore you”.

Sunset Boulevard is the spiritual heart of West Hollywood and that makes it one of the most famous stretches of road in the world. There are not many places where a road itself is a tourist attraction, but Sunset is exactly that. It is not just a perfunctory means of getting from A to B, it is a visual feast from the ground level tarmac to the Californian sky above. The enormous billboards that lean down from above create a two-sided amphitheater that informs drivers of all that is present.

I have long found a visceral connection with Sunset Boulevard. I would go as far as to say it might be my favorite stretch of road in the world. It is possibly a subconscious prompt to get better at what I do and never to accept the average. Hollywood destroys the mundane and the callow and that is no bad thing.

This is a dog-eat-dog world and they certainly love their dogs in LA. There are more pet shops these days in the city than newsagents. One day, just before we were closing a section of Sunset Boulevard for a Sunday morning shoot, we were having lunch in Il Pastaio – my family’s favorite Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills – and our concentration on the menus was broken by the sight of three Pomeranian dogs arriving in their own scaled down Lamborghini. The only passengers were the dogs and it was being driven remotely down the street by their owner who was out of sight. Only in LA – we all thought – and I knew what needed to be done. It was time to rip up our plans for the Sunday and adapt.

I want to thank the dogs – Rocky, Apollo and Napoleon – for being so easy and gentle to work with. But most of all, I want to thank their owner Anne Frankel who is rightly so proud of her boys. She bought two of these dogs on the passing of her husband and I see the love they have for her and vice versa. They are adored by all who meet them.