The Daily News
Proof again that Cindy Crawford is gold dust for a photographer. She looks quite sensational in this “film noir” piece taken at the very location made famous by her Pepsi commercial in 1992.
My idea was to build a 1950s set and shoot at night; not just to add drama and contrast, but also to legitimize the period evening glam look. One I knew Cindy would excel in.
In the weeks running up to the shoot, I played around with a few possible narratives and I was drawn to the concept of a film set within a film set. I had long admired Peter Lindberg’s work for the Breitling Squad campaign which also played on this theme and I also knew how Hollywood always enjoys work showcasing itself. The nod to Peter Lindberg was apposite as he and Cindy often collaborated together to great effect.
It dawned on me that those with cameras could be press men as opposed to film makers and the narrative could lean on the intense media interest Hollywood stars have long received. Since the Press tend to hang as a pack, I could play on that and throw in a wolf. The premise was that the vignette should live and breathe cinema.
My instincts were that Cindy should be enjoying the attention and her face should glow, not scowl. Over the years I have learnt that she is very comfortable playing a role and the look certainly works here.
The still cameraman in the photograph is Dimitri Dimitrov – Sunset Tower’s much loved and celebrated Maître D. He has had so many cameo roles in Hollywood over the years and I did not want to miss out. Cindy and I were delighted to have him on set – as were my family who adore him.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20
-
Image: 56” x 84"
-
Framed: 67” x 95"
STANDARD - Edition of 20
- Image: 37” x 55"
- Framed: 48” x 66"
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.
Mars Attacks!
Sea of Cortez, Mexico – 2021
Every year in the early summer, thousands of mobula rays congregate in the Sea of Cortez off the coast of La Paz in Mexico. On calm days at sea, a spectacular courting ritual unfolds during which the rays show off by jumping several metres out of the sea. It is one of the most surreal sights to witness anywhere in the world. In the ocean, mobula rays look as one would expect, but when flying through the air, they look like aliens or spaceships. They are quite literally a fish out of water. I have no preconception as to what a “Mars Attack” might look like, but this is hopefully the closest I will get to it.
There are a few dilemmas on this location for the filmmaker. Firstly, the action often takes place 90 minutes from port and the light and the activity are at their best in the hour before sunset. We also discovered that the wind picks up after the sun sets. Secondly, I wanted to be as low as possible and this ruled out hiring larger more comfortable boats.
There was no way we would sacrifice content, so we had no choice but to spend a few dark evenings returning home in quite rough seas in a small fishing boat. But that was still the right trade. There are no shortcuts in this gig.
I took a great deal of frames over the week, but it is such a low percentage assignment that just three or four did justice to the spectacle. It requires quick reactions and – as always – good fortune. Much depends on the alertness and manoeuvering skills of the captain of the boat. I was fortunate to work in La Paz with my fellow Londoner – Luke Inman – who now lives in the city and knows the sea and sealife there as well as anyone. He hired the boat captain – Tony Ruelas – and this picture is as much his as it is mine.
What a planet we live on.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Standard
- Image Size: 37” x 54"
- Framed with a 3” Mat: 48” x 65"
- Framed with a 5” Mat: 52” x 69"
Large
- Image Size: 56” x 82"
- Framed with a 3” Mat: 67” x 93"
- Framed with a 5” Mat: 71” x 97"
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.
The Snow Patrol 2021
2021
During our travels in America, we have learnt a great deal about cowboys. The difference between someone who can ride competently and a true working cowboy may ostensibly appear marginal, but in extreme conditions a chasm appears.
To work a horse in -20 degrees, in two feet of fresh snow, whilst holding a weapon in one hand, appearing totally at ease, is a bridge too far for 99% of riders. So, on this set in Norwood, Colorado we knew we had to work with the best of the best.
Ty Mitchell on the left is as authentic a Texan cowboy as they come and it is no surprise to us that he will soon be on set for three months with Martin Scorsese. I don’t think Scorsese will be disappointed with any aspect of Ty’s character. It will not be Ty’s first rodeo, Anthony Bourdain featured him when Parts Unknown visited West Texas and Marfa.
To his right, Michael Malone is a local rancher from Colorado and he immediately impressed us with his understated confidence and ability to play to a role. I fancy he could ride a horse sidesaddle whilst totally stoned and I sense such a challenge may have been put to the test once or twice. We welcomed him to the team with open arms.
In my mind, the key variable in this photograph is the light. On a sunny winter’s day, with snow on the ground, I believe the best light is actually in the first three or four minutes when the sun raises its head and touches the subject. 10 minutes after sunrise is too late as the sun is
too harsh on the subject.
In those initial minutes, the sun can be behind the camera and give the cameraman huge flexibility. In this case, the flexibility I needed was a very fast shutter speed.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 90” in (142.24 cm x 228.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 105” in (180.34 cm x 266.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 59” in (93.98 cm x 149.86 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 74” in (132.08 cm x 187.96 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.
High Noon
Grand Tetons, Wyoming – 2021
“Mount Moran in the Tetons offers as good a mountain backdrop as I know in America. In the winter, in particular, it has a grandeur that is difficult to match.
The lake below this section of the Tetons is frozen thick in mid winter and offers the perfect stage on which to tell stories, but we are always mindful that on a good day, the whole scene become too bright within 45 minutes of sunrise. Images like this require very early starts and we are always in position well before dawn.
The Native Americans were introduced to horses by early Spanish immigrants and they adapted quickly to the optionality and mobility given to them by horses. The Comanche in the south became a feared and dominant tribe largely because of their horsemanship skills.
This frame – taken on a very cold morning in Wyoming – simply pays homage to a tested partnership that played a material role in shaping 19th century American history.”
-David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56" x 84" in (142.24 cm x 213.36 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 99” in (180.34 cm x 251.46 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37" x 56" in (93.98 cm x 142.24 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 71" in (132.08 cm x 180.34 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.
More Usual Suspects
2021
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 50” x 100” in (127 cm x 254 cm)
- Framed Image: 65” x 115” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 67” in (93.98 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.
Apache
West Texas – 2021
In the 16th century, the Apache migrated south to the Texas Panhandle from what is now Canada. There they eventually encountered Mexicans; Western settlers and of course the Comanche – the most feared of the native American tribes.
The Apache wars with the US army spanned three decades of the 19th century, but it was ultimately the Comanche who pushed them further south towards the border with Mexico. Consequentially, the Apache settled the furthest south of the all Native American tribes.
In my search for the setting for this portrait, I looked for features that would readily locate the elder and his horse.
There needed to be a sense of place to lend weight to the narrative. We found this escarpment rising above cactus rich scrubland only about 40 miles north of the Rio Grande in West Texas.
The photograph was taken just a few minutes after sunrise. Out there in South West Texas the light can get a little too harsh before most folk are out of bed. As it was, we were back home by 10 am.
We want to thank our new friend Mo Brings Plenty for his help in this project.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Standard
- Image size: 37" x 50"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 48" x 61"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 52" x 75"
Large
- Image size: 56" x 76"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 67" x 87"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 71" x 91”
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.
Lakota
Montana, USA 2020
My default position is always to glorify the subject – I am at heart a romanticist. Chief John Spotted Tail of the Lakota is not a hard subject to work with as much of the glorification is a given, bit we still needed the right horse, the right light and the right landscape.
We worked together initially in Wyoming, but I always wanted to photograph him in Montana too. The valley running south of Ennis to West Yellowstone offers stunning visuals and that was our focus. We determined the best light to be first thing in the morning and if we shot into the light looking east towards Big Sky, I knew we could have a strong frame.
Images shot directly against the light need a full tonal range and much of the credit for bringing out the shadow detail must go to my editing partners in Los Angeles. They and Chief John take the credit for this powerful photograph.
Available sizes
Large - Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 80” in (142.24 cm x 203.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 95” in (180.34 cm x 241.3 cm)
Standard - Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 53” in (93.98 cm x 134.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 68” in (132.08 cm x 172.72 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.
A River Runs Through It
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA – 2021
Ansel Adams brought the majesty of Snake River and the Tetons into the homes of Americans in 1942. So there is no real commercial merit in a photographer travelling to this sensational destination in Wyoming and taking a loose landscape image on a tripod. They may take a beautiful image, but manifestly they would also be 79 years behind the curve. Teton National Park is an imperial amphitheatre deserving not only our attention, but also our respect, and we are rather late in the game in documenting its magnificence. New images of the Eiffel Tower rarely make a Sotheby’s auction.
My strategy in the Tetons was to play with what we had and be authentic in the additives. We threw around many ideas and then threw most Out. The most authentic suggestion was the idea of working with a native American in a 19th century canoe on Snake River itself. The concept was sound, but the execution was hampered by the fact that the most scenic stretches of the river are three miles further east from the mountains than I would like. On a standard lens, the peaks lose some of their sense of enormity. But there is one stretch of water where the river runs parallel and much closer to the mountain base. The river banks are a little higher and block the base, but this was a small price to pay for the improved proximity between the canoe and the mountain range.
In good light, this was always a late afternoon location, and the January temperature that day was low. I knew I was going to get wet and cold as the camera needed to be on the river’s surface and that meant me being deep in the river in normal ski clothing. The lower the camera, the more the mountains were amplified, and the canoe would also then be flat to my camera. The picture was all that mattered in those 10 minutes, not my comfort.
Haatepah in the canoe was so game and did an extraordinary job.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 97” in (142.24 cm x 246.38 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 112” in (180.34 cm x 284.48 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 64” in (93.98 cm x 162.56 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 79” in (132.08 cm x 200.66 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 Shift
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Standard
- Image size: 37" x 42"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 48" x 53"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 52" x 57"
Large
- Image size: 56" x 63"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 67" x 74"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 71" x 78”
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.
Bonnie
Creede, CO, USA 2021
The old mining village of Creede sits in a tight box canyon 9,000 feet up in the Southern Rockies of Colorado. An imposing vertical cliff face bullies main street and adds to the sense of ‘a town at the end of the line’. Creede plays to the lore and mythology of the wild west and consequently is awash with tourists during the summer. However, in the mid-winter, the place has an abandoned look to it and this was always going to be the best time to film. It would be a bridge too far to try to close the town down in July.
We had been throwing around ideas as to where to stage a Bonnie and Clyde story and chose Creede, not just because the high street is little changed from the 1920s, but because the locals, including the sheriff and the council, were fully supportive of our concept. To a man, the town folk of Creede were committed to helping us bring the project to fruition. For two days, our crew and extras seemingly doubled the winter population of Creede and the one restaurant in town was at capacity most of the time.
Fine tuning the composition was a challenge as ideally, I wanted Bonnie – played by Cara Delevingne – to be as big a part of the image as possible, but I also needed the buildings on both sides of the street to frame the narrative in the middle. Working with wide angle lenses risks making a loose image and I was determined not to fall into that trap. We had not dragged everyone up to this cold final frontier outpost to create a mundane image.
My goal was to create one single vignette to emphatically celebrate the heavily mythologised story of Bonnie and Clyde. It therefore had to be rich enough to inform, whilst remaining simple and cinematic. The final result is a great credit to all involved – Cara, her team, my production team and the many extras.
Faye Dunaway played Bonnie in the original film and she was my reference for Cara, who played the role immaculately, as I knew she would. Meanwhile, we will never know whether the driver in the car gave his best Warren Beatty impersonation – perhaps that’s just as well.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Standard
- Image Size: 52" x 56"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 63" x 67"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 67" x 71"
Large
- Image size: 71" x 77"
- Framed with a 3" mat: 82" x 88"
- Framed with a 5" mat: 86" x 92”
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.