Marvel
South Africa – 2022
“This is the one black panther with whom I have a chance to take an immersive head on shot. I have access through my relationship with The Lion Whisperer – Kevin Richardson.
I am was in a heavy metal cage to take this image and lying on a bed of mud. My camera was already filthy and in the seconds after this photograph was taken, it was covered in splash water. This all happened before 6.30 am and I was home and in a hot shower before breakfast.
It is all about going the extra mile and doing all one can to be below the eyes of the cat and be in place before the sun gets too high. The rest is down to luck and a small bit of experience working in sports photography. I say that as black panthers move quicker than any athlete I have filmed.”
Available Sizes
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 61" in (142.24 cm x 154.94 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 76” in (180.34 cm x 193.04 cm)
STANDARD: ALL EDITIONS ALLOCATED OR SOLD. Please contact us for more details.
- Image Size: 37” x 40" in (93.98 cm x 101.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 55" in (132.08 cm x 139.7 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.
Norse
Skogafoss, Iceland – 2022
“Skogafoss in southern Iceland is a familiar destination for us, we have filmed there a few times over the years and know its potential and also its challenges. The waterfall is aesthetically without equal in Europe and the backdrop offers the chance of an arresting photograph, especially as the foreground gives a platform on which to add narrative. The waterfall itself is of little interest to me; it is photographed thousands of times a day by good photographers with good cameras. It must be used as part of the story, not the whole event.
The riddle is how to manage the distance between the camera and the point of impact of the huge volumes of water that smash onto the ground. To work too close risks not just losing perspective, but having spray, quickly rendering the camera inoperable. To work further away is more practical, but then the distance compression can dumb things down and lose the sense of immersion and importantly the scale.
We now know our spot and our lens choice, but this was the first time we had put it to the test in the snow, when Skogafoss becomes a three-sided winter vortex; a bit like a deep freeze with the front door removed. It certainly requires a few hand warmers and a load of towels to survive even 10 minutes.
Tourists started to arrive at around 9 am, which meant we were wrapped before most people were up, but that is often the way in Iceland. We had a small window and we used it well.
This photograph should really be credited to the horse farmer who finished off being absolutely drenched. They make them tough up in Iceland; he didn’t complain once and found the whole experience rather entertaining.
When I looked at this image for the first time on a big screen, I saw the seagull soaring half way up the waterfall. I had no idea that it was there at the time and I think it lends further sense of scale to an extraordinary location. That is pure luck.”
Available Sizes
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 61” x 56" in (154.94 cm x 142.24 cm)
- Framed Image: 76” x 71” in (193.04 cm x 180.34 cm)
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 40” x 37" in (101.6 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Image: 55” x 52" in (139.7 cm x 132.08 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.
I’m Not Fxxxing Leaving (B&W)
I’m Not Fxxxing Leaving (B&W)
Los Angeles, California – 2022
“Over the last three years, we have undertaken two different homages to Martin Scorsese’s wonderful black comedy – The Wolf of Wall Street and on both occasions worked with the real wolf, Jordan Belfort. Pleasingly they have been hugely popular pieces.
In 2022, we returned to a dealing room to film the most challenging of the ideas; the “I am Not Fxxxking Leaving” scene. The concept was clear in my head, but I was wrestling with the execution, as, in a still image, it is impossible to have both the speaker and the crowd facing the camera. The idea of the back of Jordan’s head being at the front of the frame had no appeal, meanwhile excluding him from the picture altogether would weaken the narrative.
But the crowd was simple to preconceive; an energy charged orgy of 1994 brokers celebrating the defiance of their leader. I wanted explicit references to the excesses of the era and the film and this demanded a testosterone jammed dealing floor hosting flying dollars, ticker tape, rubber dolls, call girls and marching bands. I always think that it is counter intuitive to downplay parody. We even managed to sneak in a Steve Madden shoe box.
The trick with Jordan was to have him on a big TV screen facing the same way as everyone else, this way the full story could be told without valuable inches being occupied by the back of Belfort’s head. The ticker on CNBC reminds us how much the DOW has risen since those crazy days of Stratton Oakmont.
I want to thank Josh and Matt Altman and their team from The Altman Brothers for fully embracing their roles as extras. They brought exactly the energy that was needed that morning. Everyone had to play their role to perfection, otherwise the vibe was lost.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of Edition size: 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 47” x 102" in (119.38 cm x 259.08 cm)
- Framed Size: 62” x 117” in (157.48 x 297.18 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 35” x 77" in (88.9 cm x 195.58 cm)
- Framed Size: 50” x 92" in (127 cm x 233.68 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 Lion's Den
The Lion’s Den
South Africa – 2022
“The Wolf of Main Street – taken in 2015 – started my storytelling adventures as a photographer and in retrospect it was a pivotal moment in my career. I enjoyed the cognitive process and making a picture as opposed to taking it and the result resonated with an audience that was, perhaps, a little tired of my literal work.
I don’t think it pays to be too earnest and photographs that ask questions, rather than give answers, appeal to those who prefer to interpret rather than be taught. The wolf on the bar offered more authenticity than generic wildlife work and that served as a prompt to me.
Seven years on and it was time to raise the bar literally and metaphorically. I wondered whether we could play on the expression – The Lion’s Den – by introducing a lion into my bar series. The only place where this production would be possible was at Kevin Richardson’s lion sanctuary in South Africa; we have partnered for eight years and the collaboration has been mutually beneficial.
The Dinokeng reserve north of Pretoria is a long way from my comfort zone of the mountain bars of Montana but the premise was the same, tell a bar story offering contextuality in both decor and clientele. I wanted the vibe to be emphatically colonial sub-Saharan Africa.
However, Kevin has no bars on his property and we knew that we had no choice but to build one. The positive was that he felt one of his favourite lions under his care – BobCat – would enjoy the adventure of a new attraction in his acreage. Provided I was safely in a cage, I could try and capture Kevin enticing Bobcat along a bar like a catwalk. If we were successful, we could then introduce a cocktail of characters once BobCat – like Elvis – had left the building.
Bobcat behaved exactly as Kevin suggested and had little interest in leaving his new playground. He was having way too much fun. Shooting at night, however, gave us the luxury of time and we called in the rest of the cast when Bobcat went home.
I look at the end result of that day and ask myself – who would not want to have a drink in this “Lion’s Den”? It has absolutely everything a good bar should have and, of course, an adult male lion bossing it.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of Edition size: 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 46” x 102" in (116.84 cm x 259.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 61” x 117” in (154.94 x 297.18 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image: 35” x 77" in (88.9 cm x 195.58 cm)
- Framed: 50” x 92" in (127 cm x 233.68 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.
Cheetahs
Cheetahs
Namibia – 2022
“Most artists are on journeys to unknown destinations; it is the journey itself that is important. As Robert Louis Stevenson said “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
On my own journey, I am drawn not just to what is authentic but what is fun. The more fun we can have on set, the more chance that energy permeates through the work and others can have fun too engaging with the results.
I have no wish to be too earnest or pompous in my art; the holy grail is simply to produce work that holds the viewer’s attention and hopefully elicits some emotion.
The Cheetah’s Gentleman Clubs dotted around America may not be at the enlightened end of the performing arts food chain, but they retain a presence and a popularity.
Cheetah’s in Las Vegas is perhaps the most famous strip bar in America and was the inspiration for the late 90s film Showgirls directed by Paul Verhoeven, who also directed Basic Instinct.
I knew I had access to the cheetahs of the animal kingdom in Namibia and it struck me there could be an opportunity to visually marry the animal with the association. Our mixed species bar series started way back in 2015, but we had yet to find the narrative for a cheetah. My intuition was that the set should not have a glitzy Vegas vibe, but rather a rough and tumble Namibian desert aesthetic.
The desert bars I know in Namibia are basic and dusty. Some have makeshift walls of corrugated iron and wooden stick roofs that allows for dappled daylight to enter the boxed room. This was my visual prompt for the set outside Windhoek and then all we needed was a cheetah. We were in the right place, as Namibia has more cheetahs than any other country in the world.
I think everyone enjoyed their day on location in Namibia. It’s sometimes the small things that make the difference and I love the sets of white teeth that can be picked up in the distance. I can’t speak for the club in Vegas, but this bar looks like a good place to spend a few hours at the end of a hot day.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 52” x 102" in (132.08 cm x 363.22 cm)
- Framed Image: 67" x 117" in (170.18 cm x 297.18 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 34” x 67" in (86.36 cm x 170.18 cm)
- Framed Image: 49" x 82" in (124.46 cm x 208.28 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.
Raising Arizona
Monument Valley, Arizona – 2022
“When filming in Monument Valley in the spring of 2022, I asked our Navajo Guide whether there was a possibility to shoot from the rock structures to the south that stand high above the amphitheater of mesas and monoliths. It struck me that this position of height could offer an extraordinary back drop of what is the beating heart of Southwest America.
He said it was possible, but that we would need permits and we would also need to camp up the mountains if we wanted to shoot in low light – the 15-mile journey by powerful 4-wheel drive from Kayenta is a challenge and can take up to 3 hours. There are no roads and the vehicles must face terrain that makes most off-road Land Rover car adverts look lame.
My plan was to film cowboys at the top of the escarpment and offer a layered photograph featuring one of America’s great vistas. I have seen many pictures of Monument Valley, but never this composition. That excited me, after all, originality in a place as well documented as this, is critical. John Ford got here long before me.
We chose the most experienced West Texan cowboys we knew and they traveled west to Arizona with their lead horses. But we then encountered a massive and unexpected problem – the cowboys – who are as tough as old boots, felt the ride up the cliff face was too challenging for their horses. That offers some context as to why the end photograph here is authentic; it is a problem to get horses up to the top.
Our unlikely solution was to ask the Navajo locals to ride their mustang horses up the mountain. After-all, it’s their land and only they know the safest route to the top. Some dollars changed hands and they agreed to collaborate. The Texan cowboys meanwhile hitched a lift in the 4-wheel drive and were teased by me for not being up to the challenge.
We all camped up the top that night – 4 of my team, 3 cowboys and 5 wonderful Navajo fixers. The Navajo made a fire and cooked us a steak dinner under the stars; it made for a very special memory.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 46” x 103" in (116.84 cm x 261.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 61” x 118” in (154.94 cm x 299.72 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 34” x 77" in (86.36 cm x 195.58 cm)
- Framed Image: 49” x 92" in (124.46 cm x 233.68 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.
Who's Going to Tell Him?
Antarctica – 2022
Traveling to Antarctica is not easy at the best of times, but during Covid it has been a bridge too far for most sensible people; the 2020 season was impossible and 2021 was extremely challenging. In the last 24 months there have been very few visitors, but even that did not stop Covid infections at some of the scientific bases. Visitors have been unable to get in and some have been unable to get out. It’s been the perfect storm.
We finally made it there last week after our plans in late November were scuppered due to Omicron concerns. My son and I camped for four nights in a modest tent near the German research base at Atka Bay, but the sizeable 25,000 strong Emperor Penguin colony near the base had dissipated with the majority of the adult penguins returning to fish the open sea. The remainder of the colony had moved to the sea ice and unfortunately to a place inaccessible without ropes and harnesses. This would have been a long way to go for nothing.
Fortunately, we had been made aware of this development by the wonderful team at White Desert, so at their recommendation we were joined in Atka by Chamonix mountaineering legend – Sam Beauguy – who would keep us safe on the hazardous treks to the colony. To be fair he “base jumps” for fun, so this was never going to be a challenge for him.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 48” x 99” in (121.92 cm x 251.46 cm)
- Framed Image: 63” x 114” in (160.02 cm x 289.56 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 76” in (93.98 cm x 193.04 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 91” in (132.08 cm x 231.14 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 Baby
Antarctica – 2022
I have sensed for some time, that the art world is looking for more from photographers and I have been warned of the dangers of being too earnest with a camera, which is why I spend less time than I used to working on encounters demanding literal documentation. It is a crowded space and every day sensational natural world images are garnered from around the planet from accomplished wildlife photographers. I am just not sure where that space is going at a time of such abundance of quality content. I certainly don’t see much of it on show at Art Miami and that is a good barometer. Peter Beard was way way ahead of his time.
His mate, Andy Warhol said that “Art is what you can get away with” and I do get his point. It is for the viewer to decide what is dull and generic, not the practitioner, but I know from my own errors that photographs of decisive moments in the field, or indeed simple portraits, can totally fail to engage third parties who were not there at the time. They can work, but the quest for emotional engagement has never been harder. It is a tough crowd out there in 2022. There is “no importance of being earnest”.
These musings leant heavily on me as I deliberated what to do differently this time in Antarctica. Installation art interests me as a storyteller and the opportunities are limitless as it is fresh. We decided to bring some canvases down to Antarctica as they can be erected and taken down in 20 minutes without being invasive; a bit like a tent on the ice.
This preconceived image is lifted by two factors that I could not have influenced. Firstly, the textural beauty of the Emperor penguin; she is so LA and secondly the fact that the weather was tough. It just works and I know it will divide opinion – but that’s what you need – not ambivalence.
(For the avoidance of doubt, our installed art in Antarctica was erected on location under IATA guidelines and without the Emperor penguins anywhere near us. We relied on constant weather conditions and then did the maths on the composite).
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 92” in (142.24 cm x 233.68 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 107” in (180.34 cm x 271.78 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 61” in (93.98 cm x 154.94 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 76” in (132.08 cm x 193.04 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.
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
Montana, USA – 2022
The cowboy is the most enduring symbol of America and cowboy culture remains integral to many US states such as Texas, Colorado and Montana. In filming our anthology to the Wild West, we have had a regular cast of half a dozen working cowboys, all of whom come from these three states.
They are all outstanding horsemen and look the part without much ancillary effort; they are actually not acting at all simply being cowboys. Ryon Marshall from Texas is our go to guy and never lets us down.
We had a load of fun the day of this shoot and the saloon girls arrived with good energy and a willingness to brave the cold. They gave their all to make this picture work. I think they may well have been tucking into the whisky before we shot.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 70” in (142.24 cm x 177.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 85” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 46” in (93.98 cm x 116.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 61” in (132.08 cm x 154.94 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.
It Was the Whiskey Talking
Montana, USA – 2022
Whilst the Wild West was no doubt a heavily mythologized era, there can be no doubt that both the level of wanton violence and whiskey consumption were for real. They also, no doubt, played off each other and my sense is that in the colder frontier towns, the relationship was even tighter.
Scouting for sites around the Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana, I saw some potential with this angle outside the old saloon, if I chose to compress the depth a little. It is though the wolf that makes the photograph; those eyes have an unmistakable intent. Focus is the most important verb in my kind of photography as it serves to either deliberately include or deliberately exclude. In this way, the viewer is directed without the wider contextual story being lost.
My cowboy – Ryan Marshall – does not need to do much more than stand there to add to the image; he may be way out of the focal plane, but we all know exactly the kind of character he is playing. This looks like a formidable saloon.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 79” in (142.24 cm x 200.66 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 94” in (180.34 cm x 238.76 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 52” in (93.98 cm x 132.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 67” in (132.08 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.