Bad Asses (Colour)
Kanaan Desert, Namibia – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“This eye grabbing photograph has been in my head for many years. We have taken our fair share of bad ass pictures of girls in cars in America, but I always wanted to extend my reach to Africa and introduce a Mad Max type narrative. Rather than working in the mountains with snow, as we often do, it was time to work in the desert with sand.
I knew my girl for the shot – Cara Delevingne – and I knew that the hugely respected Naankuse Sanctuary in Namibia often work their cheetahs with film crews, and then I also knew the Kanaan desert well. But I needed a central prop to hold the whole idea together. I needed something of substance.
I had long deliberated over building a bar marooned in the middle of the desert. Not just a two-dimensional facade of a bar, but an actual functioning bar, with lights, cooling machines and entertainment.
I confess that there was quite a bit of talking to myself about the risk reward ratio and I became all to mindful of Walt Disney’s famous advice of “stop talking and start doing”. I like to have creative courage and be bold.
So, I threw my fears away and we built our bar in the desert. It is so damn good that we are going to keep it there for tourists to visit and perhaps have a cold Namibian lager. It was not a small building job and six lorries full of wood and corrugated iron made the eight-hour trip south from Windhoek. I have never worked with a more willing bunch of people in my life than the Namibian production team and they had earned the right to be very proud of The Desert Inn.
In a tableau photograph like this, I want to be greedy and broaden the story: the barman and the bushman on the far right are the little details that help. Cara looks sensational and, of course, that split second pose from the cheetah makes the photograph what it is. It is a bad ass shot for sure and it is also a bad ass bar.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 49” x 103” in (124.5 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 64” x 118” in (162.6 cm x 299.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 78” in (93.98 cm x 198.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 93” in (132.1 cm x 236.2 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Bad Asses
Kanaan Desert, Namibia – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“This eye grabbing photograph has been in my head for many years. We have taken our fair share of bad ass pictures of girls in cars in America, but I always wanted to extend my reach to Africa and introduce a Mad Max type narrative. Rather than working in the mountains with snow, as we often do, it was time to work in the desert with sand.
I knew my girl for the shot – Cara Delevingne – and I knew that the hugely respected Naankuse Sanctuary in Namibia often work their cheetahs with film crews, and then I also knew the Kanaan desert well. But I needed a central prop to hold the whole idea together. I needed something of substance.
I had long deliberated over building a bar marooned in the middle of the desert. Not just a two-dimensional facade of a bar, but an actual functioning bar, with lights, cooling machines and entertainment.
I confess that there was quite a bit of talking to myself about the risk reward ratio and I became all to mindful of Walt Disney’s famous advice of “stop talking and start doing”. I like to have creative courage and be bold.
So, I threw my fears away and we built our bar in the desert. It is so damn good that we are going to keep it there for tourists to visit and perhaps have a cold Namibian lager. It was not a small building job and six lorries full of wood and corrugated iron made the eight-hour trip south from Windhoek. I have never worked with a more willing bunch of people in my life than the Namibian production team and they had earned the right to be very proud of The Desert Inn.
In a tableau photograph like this, I want to be greedy and broaden the story: the barman and the bushman on the far right are the little details that help. Cara looks sensational and, of course, that split second pose from the cheetah makes the photograph what it is. It is a bad ass shot for sure and it is also a bad ass bar.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 49” x 103” in (124.5 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 64” x 118” in (162.6 cm x 299.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 78” in (93.98 cm x 198.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 93” in (132.1 cm x 236.2 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Pappy + Harriet's
Pioneertown, California – 2024
“There are few bars in the world that truly justify being labelled as cultural institutions: especially if they are marooned in a dusty, windy desert. But Pappy + Harriet’s, which has been hosting world class musicians in quirky Pioneertown on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park in California, can legitimately be tagged in that manner. Pioneertown is essentially a fake 1880s frontier town, but it is about as real as fake towns go.
Founded in 1982, Pappy + Harriet’s has hosted many celebrated music acts taking time out from nearby music festivals such as Coachella and Stagecoach. Some are coming to simply chill and catch the vibe, but that vibe can then be so seductive that they end up performing impromptu on stage: McCartney, Sting, Robert Plant and Patti Smith have played here, along with rock bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Dead Kennedys.
The crowd is a magical cocktail of cowboys, bikers, old-timers, creative artists and musicians and it is this assembly that has elevated a dusty old roadhouse into a joint whose status is secure. There is nowhere quite like it and it is a known destination.
On the day I was shooting in Pioneertown, I happened to be speaking to an old friend who is the President of Live Nation’s European division and when he found out where I was, his voice was excited as if I was on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Much of the credit for the continued allure of this famed honky tonk must, of course, go to the founders – Harriet and her husband Claude “Pappy” Allen. He passed in 1994, but his keen artistic eye still stamps its authority on the interior details of the bar. That was important to convey in this image. After Pappy’s passing, the ownership changed hands a few times and now operates under the loving care of “J.B.” Moresco and Lisa Elin. I want to thank them for their kindness on the day of this crazy shoot. The joint is in good hands for another generation of lovers of life”. – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56" x 99” in (142.2 cm x 251.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 99" x 114” in (251.5 cm x 289.6 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 65” in (93.98 cm x 165.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 80” (132.1 cm x 203.2 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Minturn Saloon
Minturn, Colorado – 2024
“The railroad and mining community of Minturn – which dates to the 1880s – allows for some raw grit to saddle up to the shiny neighbouring resort town of Vail. The contrast between the two places is astonishingly stark, given that they are only three miles apart. Whilst Vail was styled by architects and designers on Alpine Bavaria, Minturn was styled by grizzly prospectors looking only as far as the next day.
Vail was built 80 years after Minturn and when the contractors finished a day’s shift, they would head west to the Minturn Saloon. It was the place to go and 60 years on, despite some remodeling and ownership changes, it remains exactly that. All those who know Vail, know the Minturn Saloon. Rather like the Woody Creek Tavern in Aspen, it has fostered a strong patronage over the years and when the doors open at 3pm, the bar fills at a speed to suggest that this is a special and loved destination. As always it is the people that make the places and this bar attracts a rich variety of clientele.
Part of the saloon’s appeal was that it was directly accessible by skis, by car, by foot and by horse and it therefore became something of a vortex at the end of the day. By the 1970s, the Minturn not only attracted cowboys, builders and miners, but the new bohemian hipster crowd from over the hill.
I am always drawn to the visual contrasts afforded to a filmmaker when a wild frontier destination is fused with glamour. This was the premise for this story. I saw a chance to play with the cold winter light that day and the result works pleasingly well in colour.
Alessandra Ambrosio is one of the leading models in the world and it was a pleasure to work with her. She certainly killed her look and showed why she is at the top of her game. We would also like to thank Austin Akers for the use of the beautiful 1956 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56" x 71” in (142.2 cm x 180.3 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 86” in (180.3 cm x 218.4 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 47” in (93.98 cm x 119.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 62” (132.1 cm x 157.5 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Russian Roulette
Crested Butte, Colorado – 2024
“The most authentic old saloons of the Wild West should still evoke a sense of unease in any first-time visitor. Even if it is only fleeting; the vibe should be territorial and uncompromising. All eyes are on the visitor and those eyes are menacing and judgemental. Of course, these days, it is all for show and friendships are soon made, but there is an overriding sense that bad things did once happen here. It would be very disappointing to enter a frontier bar to learn that nothing immoral had ever occurred under its roof.
The lore of the American West would suggest that in the olden days, bars were loosely governed and behaviour was unpredictable. Life was cheap, and entering a bar at the wrong time could be a fatal mistake. It was Russian Roulette and the default position was to be armed and wary.
This tableaux is a giddy ode to these saloon bars dotted around frontier towns in the Wild West. It was taken in Kochevar’s Saloon, in the old mining town of Crested Butte, Colorado. The walls of Kochevar’s – which include a century old roulette table – are a rich museum to the American west. If those walls could talk, they would no doubt tell many a story of character rich women, gambling feuds, drunken outlaws and cowboy capitalists. It was a place singularly characterised by the disposable moral fibre of its clientele.
It was such fun to do this shoot and I thank Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio for playing the saloon girl with good energy: despite the nearby presence of a 1000lb bison”. – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56" x 76” in (142.2 cm x 193 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 91” in (180.3 cm x 231.1 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 50” in (93.98 cm x 127 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 65” (132.1 cm x 165.1 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Kochevars, Crested Butte
Crested Butte, Colorado – 2024
“Nestling in at 9000 ft and with only one road out in the winter, the former coal mining town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado is not mainstream. But what it lacks in accessibility, it makes up aesthetically. It is an amphitheatre of pristine, uncluttered grandeur that reminds me somewhat of the Dolomites in Italy. This is one hell of a location and well worth the trip.
It is only 18 miles, as the crow flies, from Aspen, but by road in winter it is a 202-mile journey. Such is the nature of the topography in Colorado. I think it is rather appropriate that there is such a distance in winter between the most famous ski resort in the world and the small community that is now dubbed “The last great Colorado ski town” because they couldn’t be more different. At the last census, only 1700 people claimed Crested Butte as home, but it is a known known destination.
What both places have in common, however, is a mining past and with that goes dive bars that have stood the test of time. In Crested Butte, the infamous watering hole is Kochevar’s, established by Jacob Kochevar back in 1886. He seemed an interesting man with a keen eye for what his customers were looking for – women.
In its early life it was transformed from a brothel to a bowling alley, to a bar. Not many bars can lay claim to that level of adaptability at such an early stage in their history.
But perhaps the bar is most famous for housing Butch Cassidy and the Wall Gang. Butch left his gun, which is now displayed proudly inside the saloon. No better place, therefore, to bring my bunch of morally impaired misfits.
We did, however, acknowledge that the joint had history with femininity and what fun it was to bring one of the world’s most celebrated supermodels – Alessandra Ambrosio – to the bar at the end of the road”. – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56" x 88” in (142.2 cm x 223.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 103” in (180.3 cm x 261.6 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 59” in (93.98 cm x 149.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 74” (132.1 cm x 188 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Village People
Manhattan, New York – 2023
Half of the proceeds will go to John McEnroe’s philanthropic endeavors.
“McSorley’s Old Ale House in the East Village is one of the most celebrated Irish bars on the Eastern Seaboard of America. Founded in 1854, it seemingly hasn’t changed much in 170 years and if the walls could talk, it would – “to be sure” – be one very long monologue.
The interior is a museum of the Irish in Manhattan and the joint has such a discernible vibe that Martin Scorsese and his crew did their press briefings for The Gangs of New York in the front bar. In the Great War, young soldiers heading to Europe in 1917, left a turkey wish bone on a wire above the bar; the bones of those who never returned still hang there in front of various JFK memorabilia.
The pub has been in the same Irish family hands for three generations and I was honoured to discover that the current custodian – Gregory – was a collector of my work. Naively, we tried to visit him on St Patrick’s Day, but couldn’t get within 200 yards of the pub. The next day, we had more luck and I was charmed not just by Gregory, but by the whole vibe of the joint. It is a truly special place and I knew I had to film there.
I didn’t have long to wait for the opportunity as John McEnroe – one of the most loved and talented of all American sporting legends and a truly uncompromising New Yorker – had agreed to be filmed by me in the city. Although the McEnroes are of Irish origin and therefore McSorley’s seemed like an appropriate destination, the reason that the location made sense went far deeper than that; John personifies the gritty, uncompromising New Yorker who fights for what he believes to be right – he always has. My leaning was the sawdust laden floors of McSorley’s offered a far more appropriate platform to film this blunt, quintessential, street fighter than some smart Upper East side Italian restaurant or cocktail bar. We were going Irish and tough.
McEnroe’s most famous rebuke to an umpire was the “you cannot be serious” line and I thought those words somewhere in McSorley’s – no matter how incongruous they would be to the rest of the décor – would complement John well. I asked him to bring his Gibson guitar and not a tennis racket, as music now defines him as much tennis and besides, we did give a nod to his rival Bjorn Borg in the photograph.
We were on a creative roll now and I sensed we could add further to the visual overload. The band Village People seemed like a good additive, after-all, we were in the Village and they were of the McEnroe Borg era. Then, since we were playing to a sense of community, I thought we may as well throw in a lady of the night. Luckily Vivian from Pretty Woman was on hand to help.
It is a bar full of Village People, which is what McSorley’s presumably was in 1854. McEnroe looks pure Rock and Roll bad ass. To anyone that says, I would not want to be in that bar, I would simply reply “You cannot be serious.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 90” in (142.2 cm x 228.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 105" in (180.3 cm x 266.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 59” in (93.98 cm x 149.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 74” in (132.1 cm x 188 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Reservoir Dogs
Durango, Colorado – 2023
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.
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 56" x 91" in (142.2 cm x 231.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 106" in (180.3 cm x 269.2 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 37" x 60" in (93.98 cm x 152.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 75" in (132.1 cm x 190.5 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Buffalo Joe's
Big Timber, Montana – 2023
“This is one hell of a saloon. Nicolas Cage recently held court here in a scene from the 2023 movie The Old Way. I was visually drawn to the two-tiered structure and the staircase connecting one to the other and I knew it could offer another layer in which to tell a story of life in a wild west bar.
I don’t think I am saying anything original when I say that focus is the key word in the vernacular of photography. Focus should deliberately include or it should deliberately exclude . When working in minimal light conditions like this old saloon, the starting premise is to know that 90% of the frame will be out of focus and to be excited rather than worried about it. It is an advantage not a disadvantage.
I think this photograph is made by the very limited depth of field not hampered by it. The cowboys in the back are pivotal to the story, but they can have anonymity as they are contextual. Meanwhile the girls and the wolf must be sharp as they lead the story. That was the hard bit, as the wolf has a spring in his step.
The two saloon girls were directed to have a look of menace and that’s exactly what they gave me. It’s difficult to play that look and keep your femininity and hats off to Brooks Nader and Holly Graves. All 20 people in the saloon did great and that’s what makes the frame sweat.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 85” in (142.2 cm x 215.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 100” in (180.3 cm x 254 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 56” in (93.98 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 71” (132.1 cm x 180.3 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Watergate
Virginia City, Montana – 2023
“We know this bar well and know that in the middle of the day there is enough window light to work with. In our experience that is most unusual for an inside shoot, especially when we need to freeze a moving animal. That is why we keep returning to the Pioneer Bar high in the mountain of Montana, it is quite simply the best saloon bar we know in the whole of the US.
We mix things up in our storytelling at the Pioneer and some ideas work and some don’t. This one is, however, gold dust. My fellow Brit Charlie March did a grand job as the rakish cowboy at the bar; he holds court in a manner that suggests he is there everyday and doesn’t really care too much about what is going on in the outside world. As long as he could have a smoke and a whisky, Nixon could do whatever he wanted. Watergate was not going to impinge on his day.
Life also goes on as normal elsewhere in the bar, the barman pours a beer whilst cowboys fight. My story was that this is a town cut off from current affairs and all the better for it. The wonderful reality is the fact that Virginia City is exactly like that. They really don’t care what happens in Washington so long as it doesn’t affect them. The folk up here probably couldn’t spell woke and they certainly don’t know what it means.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 55” x 101” in (139.7 cm x 256.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 70” x 116” in (177.8 cm x 294.6 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 68” in (93.98 cm x 172.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 83” (132.1 cm x 210.8 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.