The Amalfi Coast
Atrani, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone”. – John Steinbeck, 1953.
Steinbeck nailed it, but on his travels, he often did, and his observations are timeless. What was true in 1953 remains true 70 years later. The Amalfi Coast is the great creator’s aesthetic masterclass and, in this most spiritual of places, there can be no accommodation for those failing to give thanks for their brief tenancy. We are blessed to be here and this coveted corner of Italy reinforces the compass that always points to the celebration of life.
I wanted to take a picture not only to evoke a sense of joy but one rich in Italian narrative. There needed to be some visual chaos but at the centre of it I wanted to convey an easy admiration for the best things in life. There is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying the beautiful things: whether it be cuisine; fashion or people and Italians seem to be more comfortable with this default position than most.
I chose Atrani for this photograph partly because it is timeless and partly because the stairs off the main square lead the eye and the windows frame the subject. It is a wonderful canvas from which to work and it is no surprise that big Hollywood projects such as Ripley and The Equaliser 3 have recently been filmed in this small gem of a town.
Brooks Nader is a star and I often work with her. She is not only striking, but she emotionally engages in every role I ask her to play. She is also great fun to be with. This was not her hardest role, she just had to be herself.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 64” in (142.2 cm x 162.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 79” in (180.3 cm x 200.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 42” in (93.98 cm x 106.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 57” in (132.1 cm x 144.8 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.
The Road to Amalfi
Atrani, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“A corollary of life on the road, is to build up a mental collection of favourite journeys. Most roads only offer a perfunctory way of getting from A to B, but then there are the gems where the journey itself becomes the main event. My home country, Scotland, has the A82 through Glencoe; America has the stretch through Monument Valley, Highway One and many more; Iceland has its entire ring road and then there is the Amalfi coastal road in southern Italy.
It is almost incumbent on any movie director filming in the area, to emphatically locate the destination by celebrating the road. That is instructive as it suggests that to ignore the means of travel is to forget a prop.
The road is terrifying and breathtaking as one: hugging the cliffs on one side and offering vistas of the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other. John Steinbeck wrote of the terror of winding through the Amalfi Coast on a road that “corkscrewed on the edge of nothing”, clutched in his wife’s arms who was “weeping hysterically”. Every hairpin bend is a prelude to a new visual feast, and none more so than the bend heading west before Atrani. I knew, at some stage, this bend would find itself in front of my camera.
My leaning was to style a 1970s period shoot with a model capable of capturing the effortless grace and sexuality of Italian models of the time. She had to own the scene without impairing the visual feast behind her. American Supermodel, Brooks Nader, works with us regularly and knew exactly what I wanted from her. It all had to come together in the few moments when the police kindly closed the road; this was not a set for deliberating.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 64” in (142.2 cm x 162.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 79” in (180.3 cm x 200.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 42” in (93.98 cm x 106.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 57” in (132.1 cm x 144.8 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.
Tommy Tommy Tommy
Ischia, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“I have enormous admiration for Anthony Minghella, the British writer and director who the world lost far too early in 2008. His attention to detail in movies such as The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley was palpable, as was his passion for personal location scouting. He was much loved by almost all those he encountered in his work, however fleeting that encounter may have been. He was just 54 when he passed.”
I travelled to Ischia and Procida in the Gulf of Naples, largely to pay homage to him and visit some of those cult locations from The Talented Mr Ripley. The beach scene at Bagno Antonio in Ischia, where Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley first deliberately encounters Dickie and Marge, was wonderfully crafted and it was so refreshing to hear from locals that the cast immersed themselves into the culture of one of the world’s most timeless of places.
After filming for three weeks in the area, I thought we had the resources to play a small parody on that specific beach scene. The visually arresting Castello Aragonese is, of course, still there, as are the owners of the beach club with whom Minghella collaborated. They could not have been more accommodating to our crew and I guess it brought back some fond memories for them. It’s not often you go to a beach bar and see faded personal pictures of Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and most of all, perhaps, Anthony Minghella glued to the wall. Ischia is a special island with a unique domestic vibe and when we left, we did so comforted by the knowledge that we would return as soon as possible; it is that good.
“I am a teller of stories, a weaver of dreams. I can dance, sing, and in the right weather I can stand on my head. I know seven words of Latin, I have a little magic, and a trick or two. I know the proper way to meet a dragon, I can fight dirty but not fair, I once swallowed thirty oysters in a minute. I am not domestic, I am a luxury, and in that sense, necessary.” – Anthony Minghella”- David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 93” in (142.2 cm x 236.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 108” in (180.3 cm x 274.3 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 62” in (93.98 cm x 157.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 77” in (132.1 cm x 195.6 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.
La Dolce Vita
Positano, Italy – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
Positano – the poster child of Italy’s Amalfi Coast – is best viewed from the sea. It is only from the water that its spectacular cliff hanging location is visually showcased and there is a palpable and most necessary sense of place.
This is the Italy that is loved across the world: for the pleasures and indulgences; its effortless style and its traditional values. We live in a beautiful world and the Amalfi coast reminds us of the need to retain that state of mind as firmly as any coastal region on the planet. It has a unique and visceral allure that can run very deep into the sensibilities of travellers and locals alike. The coastal communities can cast a spell and visitors extend stays, whilst locals seemingly never leave. There is generational continuity down here from fishermen to taxi drivers. It is difficult to conceive of a book being written about strong local communities across the world and Neapolitans being excluded.
When I was scouting in the bay off Positano in the spring, I was struck by the beauty of the light just before sunset. The view looking west to town is always intoxicating, but when the sun disappears behind the mountains, it darkens quickly and a new mood descends on the community. House lights come on and, rather like mobile phones at a Coldplay concert, their random formations add a new layer to the canvas.
My research suggested that there was a 15-minute window in the evening when there was just enough light to shoot from the sea, but it was dark enough for the town to be a “sky full of stars”. Shooting from a boat is never easy, but at twilight it is a particularly low percentage practice as the camera is working at the edge of its capabilities. The trick was to shoot over more than one night and wait for a calm ocean. Cameras have also become immeasurably more capable in low light, so the cameraman has more opportunity.
I recognise that one photograph cannot bottle up and fully embody the sensory overload evoked by Italy, but for those that connect with La Dolce Vita at its most indulgent level, this may not be far off their Italian ideal. It’s a dreamy photograph and that was always the intent.
I want to thank Kelsey Merritt who took time out of the Paris shows to work with me that day. She played the role of the quintessential Italian beauty with grace, confidence and intelligence.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 79” in (142.2 cm x 200.66 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 94” in (180.3 cm x 238.76 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 52” in (93.98 cm x 132.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 67” in (132.1 cm x 170.18 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.
Rear View Mirror (Colour)
Lake Tahoe, California – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“I am a student of the Alfred Hitchcock brand of storytelling and there may be something rather Hitchcockian about this narrative. The beautiful girl, driving an equally beautiful car, through the most extreme of winter passes, with a wolf perched high above analysing the situation. All the assets in play seem to complement each other, but only one party is perhaps alive to all the facts – the wolf.
Tall snow berms like the ones in the photograph are not easy to find these days and our research led us to Lake Tahoe in late April. The Sierra Nevada Mountain range still gets hefty 3-foot snowfalls in March; perhaps as much as any ski area in the world and this is where we focused our efforts.
Meanwhile, the 1953 250MM Ferrari, is a precious car and we needed to be very sure there was easy access to this location. So I guess we were being greedy as we wanted deep accumulations of snow, along with fresh snow on a newly ploughed road and then, somehow or other, the means to get the Ferrari in position on the bend in the road. We have little appetite for doing banal things that come easy.
When we arrived, the height of the berms offered an opportunity to use the black wolf we sometimes bring on set. It was not a preconceived idea and we remind ourselves that it is good occasionally simply to adapt to circumstance as you find them.
As always, we thank Brooks Nader for being such a laugh to work with on set – as well as being on point in her role playing.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 60” in (142.2 cm x 152.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 75” in (180.3 cm x 190.5 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 40” in (93.98 cm x 101.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 55” in (132.1 cm x 139.7 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.
Rear View Mirror (B&W)
Lake Tahoe, California – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“I am a student of the Alfred Hitchcock brand of storytelling and there may be something rather Hitchcockian about this narrative. The beautiful girl, driving an equally beautiful car, through the most extreme of winter passes, with a wolf perched high above analysing the situation. All the assets in play seem to complement each other, but only one party is perhaps alive to all the facts – the wolf.
Tall snow berms like the ones in the photograph are not easy to find these days and our research led us to Lake Tahoe in late April. The Sierra Nevada Mountain range still gets hefty 3-foot snowfalls in March; perhaps as much as any ski area in the world and this is where we focused our efforts.
Meanwhile, the 1953 250MM Ferrari, is a precious car and we needed to be very sure there was easy access to this location. So I guess we were being greedy as we wanted deep accumulations of snow, along with fresh snow on a newly ploughed road and then, somehow or other, the means to get the Ferrari in position on the bend in the road. We have little appetite for doing banal things that come easy.
When we arrived, the height of the berms offered an opportunity to use the black wolf we sometimes bring on set. It was not a preconceived idea and we remind ourselves that it is good occasionally simply to adapt to circumstance as you find them.
As always, we thank Brooks Nader for being such a laugh to work with on set – as well as being on point in her role playing.” – David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 60” in (142.2 cm x 152.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 75” in (180.3 cm x 190.5 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 40” in (93.98 cm x 101.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 55” in (132.1 cm x 139.7 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.
Ferrari II (Colour)
Amboy, California – 2023
Archival Pigment Print
In the 1950s, the Californian Dream made Route 66 the most famous road in the world. “The Mother Road”, as John Steinbeck described it in The Grapes of Wrath, became the route of flight for the American Middle Class; a trend accelerated by the rapidly evolving Californian economy and the opening of Disneyland in 1955.
The stretch of road heading east near Amboy in the baking Californian desert showcases the Route 66 journey as it once was. The sense of scale offers the filmmaker a valuable tool kit and I have been drawn to this outpost for many years. It is a commitment of time to get there, but one that many road trippers make because of the iconic Roy’s Motel and Cafe which serves as the one identifiable landmark in a barren desert.
Amboy is a known known and I worried how I could break new ground because like all spectacular vistas in the US, it has been well photographed. The challenge is not in getting there, but in transcending when one does.
I called upon a Hong Kong friend who is a passionate investor in vintage cars and owns one of the most lauded and valuable collections in the world. I explained the shoot concept and he graciously offered up one his most coveted treasures – the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spider. It was one of only 12 built in the world and when one comes up at auction, they sell for more than a London townhouse. His team was kind enough to transport this fabled Ferrari 1,000 miles across the country, but at least when they arrived, they understood the opportunity. It was going to be a trip well made.
The design of the Ferrari was perfect as its low windscreen allowed my lens direct access into the faces of the girl (the wonderful Daniela Braga) and the wolf. They could then hold centre stage and let all the other constituent parts play off each other.
The goal of this shoot was to play on the metaphor that is Route 66. It encapsulates the American Dream, as it was the road of freedom and ambition. Go West, work hard, stay focused and enjoy the very best of lives.
We styled to the mid 1950s and I told Daniela to exude a sense of positivity. She should look, as Nat King Cole suggested, that she was “Getting her Kicks on Route 66”.
Hard not to in that Ferrari.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 59” in (142.2 cm x 149.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 74” in (180.3 cm x 188 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 39” in (93.98 cm x 99.06 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 54” in (132.1 cm x 137.2 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.
St Tropez
St. Tropez, France – 2024
“Brigitte Bardot enjoyed using her Albatross speedboat in St Tropez and we sensed that if we could source a vintage one, it would be a useful prop for this parody; it played emphatically to the era and the location. We did find one, but it had to come all the way from Goodwood in the UK.
The buildings in La Ponche have a weathered timelessness that I knew would serve us well and then I just needed a composition to showcase a sense of place and a sense of a very specific woman. Nadine Leopold has a breezy nonchalance that made her ideal for the role and we both knew the head angles could offer some anonymity. I have worked with Nadine before and she is a delight.
It is not easy to make someone look like someone else and to do it in a way that is nether cheap nor gratuitous. My leaning was to photograph her out of the boat as that would give us the most scope to build a wider narrative and even include some determined paparazzi on the shore.
The aluminum structure of the boat’s hull threw off some useful reflections when facing the rising sun and as this detail started to show itself, I adapted my plans and Nadine’s position. It never pays to be too prescriptive.
The goal was to take a picture with an unambiguous sense of place and sense of a specific era. This is St Tropez – the most idyllic and storied resort in the world and the place that Bardot called home.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56" x 87” in (142.2 cm x 221 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 102” in (180.3 cm x 259.1 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 57” in (93.98 cm x 144.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 72” in (132.1 cm x 182.9 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.
Brigitte
St. Tropez, France – 2024
“I knew that to try and celebrate Brigitte Bardot’s St Tropez with a series of photographs would be to travel on a road littered with potholes. Whilst the idyllic charm of this most famous of seaside towns has a sense of permanency that touches only a very few communities, we would be trying to tell a story of an iconic woman without her being there. Parody or not, that is a dangerous game for a visual artist.
Locations were always going to be a central building block to this project and there were some important decisions to be made in a town that can be very busy. Early on we homed in on one area – La Ponche. It’s such an emblematic part of St Tropez: it was here that Roger Vadim rolled his cameras in “And God Created Woman” in 1958, the movie that made Bardot – his then wife – a world-wide sensation. With its narrow, cobbled streets and wider aesthetic splendour, La Ponche is the spiritual heart of St Tropez.
The harbour has several other attributes: it hasn’t changed much since 1958, it isn’t crowded with tourists at 6.45 am and furthermore, it is visually elevated in the first half hour when the sun rises from the east. It is also a practical location for an early morning shoot. La Ponche Hotel, where Bardot stayed during the making of the movie, is still very much in operation and became our own HQ for the shoot.
Gunter Sachs started romancing Brigitte Bardot in the mid 60s, she was often seen on his Riva Aquarama – Dracula. It is a boat that embodies the glamour and style of 1960s St Tropez and luckily through a long friendship with Gunter’s son Rolf, we were able to borrow Dracula for the shoot. That was a big break.
The hardest part of the jigsaw, however, was finding a balance between the model’s necessary anonymity and the sense that she could pass as Brigitte herself. We have worked with Frida Aasen before and felt confident that she could play the role prescribed. Frida had done her homework and understood her head angles and then it was simply hoping we would get one glimpse when it all aligned. She had to look the part.
I smile when I look at this photograph, in part because I sense some reward from the homework, the planning and then the spontaneity on the day. It all happened very quickly and long before most people in St Tropez were awake.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 51" x 103” in (129.5 cm x 261.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 66" x 118” in (167.6 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 75” in (93.98 cm x 190.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 90” in (132.1 cm x 228.6 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.
Le Club 55
St Tropez, France – 2024
“I have huge admiration for Patrice de Colmont – the owner of the legendary Le Club 55 on Pampelonne beach near St Tropez. My fondness for him is not a self-serving emotion derived from being allowed to shoot at this club, nor is it simply because he continues to work as hard as he does to be charming and efficient to a daily clientele that in peak summer can exceed 800 covers. It is more because Le Club 55 has retained a unique vibe for decades. That is some trick for a famous restaurant and one achieved by so few. The credit for that must go to him and his daughter Camille.
Patrice has a cool insouciance that trickles down to his clientele and in so doing pays homage to the club’s roots. In 1955 Roger Vadim and his film crew who were shooting the love scenes for “And God Created Woman” mistook the driftwood furniture that Patrice’s father had laid up on his beach for a public restaurant. And so it was that Le Club 55 was born and the film’s lead – Brigitte Bardot – soon to be the world’s most famous woman – found her base camp.
There is, of course, an indulgence in life at Le Club 55, but it is accompanied by a chilled nonchalance that cannot be bottled. So many destination venues are ultimately ruined by the clientele that want to be seen there: it is the money that eventually wins the day, but here in Pampelonne, that effortless and visceral authenticity remains sacrosanct.
Here in the most idyllic part of the French Riviera, is a club that will always be sovereign and I sense that the behaviour is self-policed. In some ways it reminds me of Augusta, Georgia: the clientele may be very different, but the guiding principle is a deference to the past.
I wanted the picture to tell a story of people protecting their story, their beach and their club.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 51" x 103” in (129.5 cm x 261.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 66" x 118” in (167.6 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 75” in (93.98 cm x 190.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 90” in (132.1 cm x 228.6 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.