Telluride, Colorado – 2023

Archival Pigment Print

“Norman Parkinson’s photographs of his soon to be wife at an airfield in Nairobi, Kenya in 1951 have stood the test of time and certainly form part of the history of fashion photography. He was one of the original storytellers in his craft.

We brought this 1943 plane into Telluride, Colorado with a view to telling new stories and, like Parkinson some 70 years ago, I wanted to play on the alchemy of metallic beauty and female beauty.

The plane – which participated in D Day in 1944 before it was converted to a DC3 – looked striking at 9,000 feet and the cold winter light allowed its beauty to be fully celebrated. The pilot positioned the plane at an angle to allow me to have a definitive sense of place. There are few airfields in the world as breath-taking as Telluride, which was, of course, the reason we were there. There is a grandeur in the San Juan mountains that I have long been drawn to.

Glamour came late to Telluride: it was only developed as a ski resort in the 1970s and even then, it was proud of being Colorado’s best kept secret. But a hipster counterculture took root and Telluride morphed sharply from a tough mining town to a resort whose mere name evokes imagery of sex, drugs and rock and roll. It was quite some transition and Telluride became in vogue for Angelenos. The bond is now cemented and the town’s annual film festival highlights Hollywood’s 50- year love affair with the community.

Josie Canseco, my model for that cold morning, was made for the role of the bohemian Telluride party girl. I am not sure what’s in her suitcase, but I am sure she was ready for some fun in the mountains.” – David Yarrow