The Eiger
Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland – 2025
Archival Pigment Print
“Anthony Bourdain once said “It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and what’s happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there – with your eyes open – and lived to see it.”
In 1840, the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes opened its doors for business in the fabled Kleine Scheidegg pass in Switzerland. Sitting proudly at nearly 7,000 feet, with the notorious Eiger mountain towering above it, this grand old hotel has, for 185 years, offered unparalleled bedroom visuals. Its decor and design have an Agatha Christie vibe and its location a James Bond one. Anyone with a visual sensibility recognises immediately that there is nothing remotely normal about this place. Its existence is testimony to Swiss ambition and engineering prowess eight or nine generations ago.
I had pondered and iterated for some months as to how to do justice to the location. There were a few easy decisions such as filming in the winter and to position my camera far enough back from the right-hand wing of the hotel to give the structure room to breathe and, in so doing, convey a necessary sense of isolation and scale. I knew that the end frame demanded perfect compositional balance.
I sensed that an old European roulette table would not only play on risk taking well, but it would also double down on the James Bond vibe that the setting evokes. I wanted to reinforce the message that is not only a hotel where guests have literally and metaphorically lived on the edge, but also a destination that attracts those who live fast paced and glamorous lives.
The missing link in this layered story were the protagonists and I knew that they would be critical to the whole piece. If they fell short, the picture would fail. It was that simple. David Gandy is a bankable asset in any picture, that is why he has been the face of Dolce and Gabbana for so many years and, for a still camera, there is a very creditable 007 look. Meanwhile, our old Austrian friend Nadine Leopold – with her femininity, grace and intelligence – adds to any story.
My sense was always that this vignette needed to be taken as close to twilight as possible; the sense of impending darkness would add drama and certainly complement the styling.”
-David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 76″ x 56″ in (193 x 142 cm)
- Framed Image: 91″ x 71″ in (231 x 180 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 51″ x 37″ in (130 x 94 cm)
- Framed Image: 66″ x 52″ in (168 x 132 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.
Bodega Bay
The second from my series that is a play on Hitchcock’s masterpiece – The Birds. The photograph places British models David Gandy and Bella di Lorenzo in a banged up 1961 Sunbeam Rapier with the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop. I know the area well and the image was easy to preconceive, but damn hard to capture.
The topography of the coast here in Devon is not dissimilar to the film location of Bodega Bay in northern California and I found a road location that would work well with the morning light. I wanted a big sky and a layered narrative, so I knew long before we shot that I would be working with a wide-angle lens from the car bonnet, with limited depth of field. I rather liked the fencing behind as well – so reminiscent of the opening scene in Jaws – 2 iconic horror films rolled into one.
David is a total professional and Bella is an intelligent young star who can assume a role quickly, so the problem was always going to be the gull. They are not shy in this part of the world and regularly dive bomb our dog. But getting seagulls to dive bomb Bella – in the way they did with Tippi Hedren in the movie – was a challenge, especially in a limited time period.
The answer was to shoot twice and remove the models from the second shot and indeed the photographer. There was still much to do in terms of the gull’s trajectory and the placing of the remote-controlled camera positions. We learnt quickly, however, that seagulls can be very focused when a piece of bread is brought into the equation.
The eye to eye contact is bang on – better than we could have hoped for and I think everyone did a very solid job. It’s a wrap!
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE
- 71 × 79 in (180.3 × 200.7 cm)
SMALL
- 52 × 57 in (132.1 × 144.8 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
