The Usual Suspects II
Montana – 2024
Archival Pigment Print
“The first time that I set foot in Montana, I knew I was in a very special place. It was not just the majesty of the scenery, it was the characters that lived there. I have long had a visceral attraction to the Wild West and no state embodies the final frontier of America more than Montana. In the hills in the winter, there is a sense of timelessness. The clock seemingly broke about 100 years ago.
Over the last few years we have been fairly relentless networking up in a village in the mountains. I have been there 7 times and we have invested emotionally as well as financially in order to be able to tell stories with the camera. This week – on Robbie Burns night – appropriately enough – we had our reward. There was no point attempting this without a solid base of locals that genuinely wanted to help.
I know this bar in the mountains inside out and the locals know me. Everyone wanted a role in the shoot, but we had to be selective. I wanted ex-convicts, wolf wranglers, wannabe Davey Crocketts and crazy old mountain men that are drunk by 11 am. But it needed more – the barmaid had to have the right look – as she would be pivotal to the image – as would the chosen mountain man. It would be a key juxtaposition. I found the girl – Roxanna Redfoot (what a name) – from Dallas and she was brilliant.
The wolf I could rely on – I have worked with him before and so long as he doesn’t tire I had a chance. But there is no light in the bar – so it as all seat-of-the-pants stuff technically – there was no margin for error in focus. A flash gun would destroy the emotion and sense of place.
As I expected, most of the photographs were not sharp or someone messed up (including me). The composition was always however bang on. I just needed one stroke of luck – 1 / 125th of a second that would capture Montana. I think we nailed it!
“The Usual Suspects”…indeed.”
-David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12, 3 AP, 1 EP
- Image Size: 56″ x 99″ in (142.24 cm × 251.46 cm)
- Framed Image: 71″ x 114″ in (180.34 cm × 289.56 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12, 3 AP, 1 EP
- Image Size: 37″ x 66″ in (93.98 cm × 167.64 cm)
- Framed Image: 52″ x 81″ in (132.08 cm × 205.74 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 Bills (Colour)
The Flying D Ranch, Montana – 2021
The concept of this photograph has been on my wish list for many years. A group of male bison charging through heavy snow, directly towards a camera is certainly a rare sight and it always seemed a bridge too far from almost every perspective. The question has always been where and how could this epic scene unfold in front of a camera?
Yellowstone National Park was never going to be the answer. This sort of collective behaviour does not tend to happen in the park and if it did, there would be zero chance of being in the right place at the right time to film it. It is difficult to break new ground in Yellowstone.
In 2020 an American artist, John Banovich, an exceptional talent and good friend, suggested that I approach Ted Turner to see if I could gain access to his stunning 180 square mile ranch – Flying D – saddling Yellowstone and neighbouring Big Sky. This remarkable place is nine times the size of Manhattan and showcases Montana at its most stunning best.
John’s wonderful painting of a group of running bison adorns the wall of the main reception of the exclusive Yellowstone Club and he took his inspiration from spending time at Ted Turner’s ranch. I recognised that this was a link worth pursuing. Flatteringly, a few months after my initial approach, the Turner team agreed to collaborate in the hope that we could raise money for Ted’s conservation initiatives.
Ted Turner is one of America’s biggest landowners and also one of its most acclaimed conservationists and he reintroduced both bison and wolves into Flying D, one of his three Montana ranches. In mid-winter, his team of ranchers will herd some of the 5,000-resident bison into areas where feeding is easier and this controlled activity creates an opportunity to work a situation. Just like cowboys herding their cattle in Texas, the skill sets of the Turner ranchers in deep snow are a privilege to watch.
The difficulty is that bison in this vast ranch are more skittish of humans on foot than their Yellowstone cousins, who see thousands of tourists every day. I therefore needed either to be camouflaged or out of sight as they made haste in my direction. Luckily the Flying D team knew of a group of rocks behind which I would be obscured from the bison’s line of sight.
After many a failure, and some adjustments to the approach, one gorgeous winter morning in February, we achieved what we set out to do. It was a real team effort and I want to thank John Banovich and the whole Turner Corporation team at the Flying D.”
– David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 100” in (93.98 cm × 254 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 115" in (132.08 cm × 292.1 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 25” x 67” in (63.5 cm × 170.18 cm)
- Framed Image: 40” x 82” in (101.6 cm × 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.
Where's My Lunch? Last Orders II
Montana, USA – 2018
“The Jersey Lilly is the most authentic and isolated “Final Frontier” saloon bar I know in America. Based in the town of Ingomar, Montana (population 12), it is a long way from anywhere. In fact, there is no store or fuel within a 45-minute drive north, south, east or west. It truly is the “last chance saloon”.
My fixer in Montana spoke to the owner – a cowboy rather splendidly called “Boots” – and he agreed that we could use the interior and exterior for filming on a Monday and Tuesday in the early summer – when the bar itself would normally be closed. Permits were also secured with the local authorities to allow us to film in the bar with a tamed bear.
I did a reconnaissance the previous Saturday – a good three hour round trip from Billings, Montana – to check the light and the bar’s interior. It was clear that there was potential to tell a “wild west” story, but equally I would have very little depth of field in any photograph I took – the window light was okay, but not overly generous. I was drawn to the number of animal heads on the wall and in particular the massive bison in the top corner seemed a great prop to play with, albeit I needed a composition to show it off.
Roxana Redfoot from Dallas, Texas is a star – she is smart, as well as striking and can play any character role. On this occasion, her role was within her comfort zone – a sassy and smokingly sexy saloon bar maid with a no-nonsense approach to over eager customers. The customer, Adam – a 1000 lb brown bear – is not normally aggressive but working with him is far from easy – as he does not speak English. Roxanna showed no anxiety and was theatrical and focused from start to finish. Her eyes had to tell a story.
For my part, I had a preconception and an image in my head. It was vital to me that both the bear’s head and Roxy’s head had to be equidistant from my camera lens – which probably meant that they had to be looking at each other. I knew that we would have a limited window of opportunity as Adam was not going to play the role for long – he gets bored easily. Luckily the rabbit behind the bar kept him focused for longer than I expected.
The vast majority of shots did not work for one reason or another – my focus, the bear’s head position or the interaction between the two characters. But this one image is a gem. The American Wild West – you cannot beat it as a canvas on which to paint a playful vignette.“
-David Yarrow
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.
It's Closing Time
Montana, USA – 2015
“This staged image, taken in Nevada City, a ghost town high up in the mountains of Montana, is a favourite of mine. I wanted as much of the facade of the bar in the image but I also wanted to be as close to the mountain lion as possible. The best solution was to work with a wide-angle lens about 10 feet from the bar entrance and to hope that we could entice the lion out of the bar and straight towards me.
The set up was great fun and we were blessed with exclusivity and full cooperation from the local Montana Government. The strength of this picture is as much to do with access as it is about photography – without local permits and support, I could not possibly bring a mountain lion into a treasured historical building.
When I look at this picture, I do smile when I think that whilst there is just a lion and a few lit candles in front of the camera, there were at least 15 people behind and to either side of me. It was a far busier set than it looks – good images like this require time and a team effort.”
-David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 87” in (142 cm x 221 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 102” in (180 cm x 259 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 57” in (94 cm x 145 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 72” in (132 cm x 183 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.
White Chicks
Telluride, Colorado – 2024
“The main street in Telluride, Colorado holds the attention of anyone with a visual sensibility; it is as good as it gets for a mountain town. There is a final frontier timelessness and then there is the grandest of mountains bossing all that happens below. Not much has changed in the last 100 years and I doubt much will change in the next 100 either.
My idea in this parody of the movie with same name, was not to disrupt the almost perfect symmetry of the view looking east. Indeed, with the right styling and the right talent, I could enforce that sense of balance in all layers of the image; the street allows for that opportunity.
The use of space is core to storytelling with a camera, but so often we do fall short, for one reason or another, in maximising the potential. That makes photographs like this more rewarding. The lines and the composition work.
There are so many people to thank for helping that cold Sunday morning in Telluride: the town and its mayor; the snow handlers and indeed the whole crew. But I want to specially thank the Josie and Holly and their respective teams who did a first-class job. It is not easy to look that hot when the temperatures are that cold.”
– David Yarrow
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Print Size: 56″ x 83″ in (142.25 x 210.82 cm)
- Framed Size: 71″ x 98″ in (180.35 x 248.92 cm)
Standard: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Print Size: 37″ x 55″ in (94 x 139.7 cm)
- Framed Size: 52″ x 70″ in (132.1 x 177.8 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.
Frozen Mountain
Spanish Creek, Montana – 2024
“This photograph, taken in the Spanish Creek region, near Bozeman, Montana, is made by the 18-inch snowstorm that had died out only 12 hours previously. It was late February and locals said that this was the biggest storm of the winter: so we were fortunate to be on site and fully prepared. The snow cover here tends to be less substantial than up towards Big Sky and we needed that snow cover. Whilst there is no more important variable in our planning than rigorous attention to trusted weather forecasts, we sometimes have to acknowledge that luck plays a big role. This was a lucky day.
I think that any portrait of a bull bison, in which this enormous and emblematic animal is perpendicular to the camera, must be more kinetic than a head on portrait, simply because there is no sense of engagement. The bison is behaving as normal and not reacting to my presence because I was hidden behind a rock. He may have smelt me but he did not see me.
It’s the small things that can sometimes elevate a picture. In this case, it’s his eye detail and then immediately below his face, the blades of grass caked in frozen snow. There is an emphatic sense of the cold, which is what I always strive for in my bison work. A similar portrait shot in summer would lose zest and a powerful narrative. Fresh snow is certainly a photographer’s friend”. – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 40" x 103” in (101.6 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 55" x 118” in (139.7 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 30” x 78” in (76.2 cm x 198.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 45” x 93” (114.3 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.
Rodeo
Rodeos are events for the community as much as they are events for the individual performers. No matter the riding skills and bravery of the competitors, they are only part of the story, not the story itself. The action is simply the reason for the gathering and it is ultimately the gathering that is remembered. Rodeos are a celebration of a way of life and are an integral part of Americana. Some States such as Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Colorado would lose much of their identity without these local gatherings.
When working on this idea therefore, I knew that a single frame would fail if there was not a sense of occasion and a wider context. This normally requires a wide-angle lens and this can work against capturing the action in an immersive and detailed way. The champion riders have a formidable skill set and my sense was that this should be celebrated as well.
To offer both context and detailed action within a ring, is a challenge and looking over scores of old rodeo images, most photographs tended to achieve one or the other, but not both. The only way I could see around the riddle was to work from a cage inside the ring and hope that the action would come close enough to my wide-angle lens. To work from outside the ring would leave any image very loose unless I was incredibly lucky.
In my mind photography is often about collaboration; it is indulgent to consider it to be a singular profession and the credit for this photograph goes to the nearby community and its rodeo team, as much as it does to the person behind the lens. Every single person played a role and that is why the image can be looked at for a long time. Some of the facial expressions are fantastic and there is a palpable sense of place.
I remain in awe of the bull rider that day; that is quite a skill to possess.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 42” x 103" in (106.7 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 57" x 118” in (144.8 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 30” x 74” in (76.2 cm x 188 cm)
- Framed Image: 45” x 89” (114.3 cm x 226.1 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.
The Snowman
Wilsall, Montana – 2023
When working with bison, a big bull in the cold with a winter backdrop and sense of place, is always what I would like to have in front of my camera. The reality is, that this has to be earned, and there will be many more failures than successes. That is the way it should be.
In Montana, which hosts most of our bison shoots, the weather can fluctuate so quickly in the winter. To have a cold morning with fresh snow on the days penned in to work is often a big ask and we know from experience that the best solution is time and patience.
When we talk about cold, we are not talking about 32°F or 0°C, that is a fairly lame degree of coldness for the mountain folk of Montana. We are talking about it being frigid – like -10°F or -23°C – that is when the magic can happen.
This morning, north of Livingston, Montana, the textural clues in the bison’s beard hint at extreme conditions. That is what we always look for as it adds character to the most stoic and primeval of beasts. 1700 pounds of flesh standing in front of the camera is enough of a visual jolt to allow the cold to be briefly forgotten.
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 66” x 56" in (167.6 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 81” x 71" in (205.7 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 43” x 37" in (109.2 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Image: 58” x 52" in (147.3 cm x 132.1 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.
Snow Monster
Western Plains, USA – 2023
“I only photograph bison in the snow. It is their toughness that defines them and their thick coats seem to make so much more sense on a bitingly cold winter’s day. They are not the easiest of animals to film and every year in Yellowstone there is at least one incident of a bison charging a park visitor who has got too close or has been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This picture was taken in the plains of America, as opposed to somewhere heavily regulated like Yellowstone and the big bull moving speedily in my general direction offers a different and fresh perspective from my previous work with this beast of an animal. These type of immersive, ground up photographs are only possible when working in collaboration with seasoned ranchers and we would not recommend this angle of view in most bison situations. They are unpredictable animals and when spooked, they can be deadly.
I like to convey size and scale in all that I do. I always feel a need to communicate clearly whatever the subject and this approach is embedded in the creative processing.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 71” x 56” in (180.3 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 86" x 71" in (218.4 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 47” x 37” in (119.4 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Image: 62” x 52” (157.5 cm x 132.1 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.