Any Given Sunday
Paradise Valley, Montana – 2023
“To tell a story in a single photograph tends to require layers to the image and a carefully composed set. When I first saw this gallows, high in the mountains of Montana, I knew I had a prop, but the story around it would need some thought. There needed to be a twist.
Ostensibly, filming a public hanging in a frontier town is not the most appealing of concepts. If there is no context it could all be a little dark and macabre. Our starting premise in all that we do is to entertain rather than shock; we want to be playful long before we want to be earnest.
My revisionist take was to play on the idea that in this merciless and uncompromising era, there would be someone embracing the fact that justice had been done with the demise of the criminal. That person would be the lead in the image, rather the camera being focused on the gallows itself.
We chose American model Brooks Nader as the saloon girl who, for whatever reason, chose to celebrate the impending death. Brooks is smart and knew exactly how to play the role and introduce sexuality into a scene that otherwise could be all too sombre. I told her my camera was about to dive into the pages of a western storybook and all that really mattered was her look – it had to be right. She was perfect for the role that cold January morning.
My sense is that these occasions were all too frequent in the loosely governed Wild West. Despite the church in the background, nihilism was at the core of civilization in this part of the world in 1890 and death was not an event in itself. Any given Sunday, something could happen and it would not normally be that good.
It looks like, on this Sunday, it was about to all kick off. If the real life Brooks Nader was in charge, the saloon would have a busy afternoon.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 43” x 102” in (109.22 cm x 259.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 58” x 117” in (147.32 cm x 297.18 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 77” in (93.98 cm x 195.58 cm)
- Framed Image: 47” x 92” (119.38 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.
1895
Paradise Valley, Montana – 2023
“I am drawn to historic pictures of the American West; indeed, I have been far too indulgent in building my own collection of Edward Curtis images. He was such a tough and resourceful operator and his body of work is humbling for all those who now work in the same field.
Photographs of frontier or gold rush towns from the late 19th century have had a particular draw on me. There is so much information to take in, despite cameras being in their infancy. They offer a much-needed insight into daily life of nation building.
For some time, I have aspired to take a cinematic revisionist still of a wild west town and when we found this location in Western Montana, I was like a dog with a bone; I could not let go. My goal was not just to photograph the town and its people, but to convey a sense of the final frontier. This required an elevated position to offer contextuality and enable me to tell a story of a community on the edge.
The “push west” is a good hunting ground for storytellers because of the topography that hosted it and the characters that lived it. They add layers to any narrative as do the winter conditions that often dressed the stage. I knew that I wanted to make this picture when there was snow everywhere – there was no other way.
There are many people to thank for helping me pull this off – all the extras, the costume houses and my production team. Photography like this is not a singular trade, it is a big team effort and those around me made my job relatively easy.
I can look at this picture for a long time and that was always the intent.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 50” x 100” in (127 cm x 254 cm)
- Framed Image: 65” x 115” in (165.1 cm x 292.1 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 74” in (93.98 cm x 188 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 89” (132.08 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.
Buffalo Joe's
Big Timber, Montana – 2023
“This is one hell of a saloon. Nicolas Cage recently held court here in a scene from the 2023 movie The Old Way. I was visually drawn to the two-tiered structure and the staircase connecting one to the other and I knew it could offer another layer in which to tell a story of life in a wild west bar.
I don’t think I am saying anything original when I say that focus is the key word in the vernacular of photography. Focus should deliberately include or it should deliberately exclude . When working in minimal light conditions like this old saloon, the starting premise is to know that 90% of the frame will be out of focus and to be excited rather than worried about it. It is an advantage not a disadvantage.
I think this photograph is made by the very limited depth of field not hampered by it. The cowboys in the back are pivotal to the story, but they can have anonymity as they are contextual. Meanwhile the girls and the wolf must be sharp as they lead the story. That was the hard bit, as the wolf has a spring in his step.
The two saloon girls were directed to have a look of menace and that’s exactly what they gave me. It’s difficult to play that look and keep your femininity and hats off to Brooks Nader and Holly Graves. All 20 people in the saloon did great and that’s what makes the frame sweat.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 85” in (142.2 cm x 215.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 100” in (180.3 cm x 254 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 56” in (93.98 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 71” (132.1 cm x 180.3 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.
Deadwood
Big Timber, Montana – 2023
“As we continue our journey across the length and breadth of America, there is one place that we keep returning to with a frequency that hints at a very strong bond. That place is Montana. For film makers it offers so many canvases on which to tell stories; from majestic “Big Sky” scenery to marooned saloons where the walls talk of the olden days.
Over the years we have established deep friendships in the state with locals who can help either as extras or in logistics. I feel we have the full tool kit here and it shows in our work.
I am not alone in feeling a visceral sense of belonging when I step outside Bozeman airport. As the great American writer John Steinbeck wrote of Montana:
“For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyse love when you’re in it.”
This photograph, taken with American model Brooks Nader, makes me smile. It’s The Crazy Mountains in the background and as all those who know Brooks will testify, she operates just outside sanity. But she is smart, adorable and the camera loves her.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 48” x 102” in (121.9 cm x 259.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 63” x 117” in (160 cm x 297.2 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 79” in (93.98 cm x 200.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 94” (132.1 cm x 238.8 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.
Montana Baby
Big Timber, Montana – 2023
“As we continue our journey across the length and breadth of America, there is one place that we keep returning to with a frequency that hints at a very strong bond. That place is Montana. For film makers it offers so many canvases on which to tell stories; from majestic “Big Sky” scenery to marooned saloons where the walls talk of the olden days.
Over the years we have established deep friendships in the state with locals who can help either as extras or in logistics. I feel we have the full tool kit here and it shows in our work.
I am not alone in feeling a visceral sense of belonging when I step outside Bozeman airport. As the great American writer John Steinbeck wrote of Montana:
“For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyse love when you’re in it.”
This photograph, taken with American model Brooks Nader, makes me smile. It’s The Crazy Mountains in the background and as all those who know Brooks will testify, she operates just outside sanity. But she is smart, adorable and the camera loves her.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 98” in (142.2 cm x 248.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 113” in (180.3 cm x 287 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 65” in (93.98 cm x 165.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 80” (132.1 cm x 203.2 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.
Shangri La
Big Sky, Montana – 2023
“There is no ski resort story like Big Sky, Montana. The growth in the whole community is staggering and it is now established as one of the premier ski towns in the world. The proximity of the legendary Yellowstone Club brings elite professional sports stars, Hollywood and seemingly most of the leading business figures of the day. Big Sky is the home of the over achiever and sometimes it makes the Davos economic summit look second tier.
As we continue our ski series in America and Europe, we thought it was time to shoot here and play to the glamour that its huge ski area and its clubs and hotels attract. It is America’s new Shangri La.
It is an oddity of America that so many of the nation’s great ski resorts are in frontier mining towns such as Aspen, Telluride in Colorado or in cowboy country like Big Sky in Montana.
I thought that cowboy hats would combine well with the vintage styling that day and both girls – Holly Graves and Jenna Grimes – did a fantastic job in extremely cold conditions up by the Montage Hotel in Spanish Peaks. We were fortunate that it had snowed the night before which lent some abstract shapes to the background.
The wolf (Tamaskan) seemed an appropriate addition to the set. After all, Yellowstone National Park is on Big Sky’s doorstep, and he is a metaphor for many a man who would have enjoyed that ski trip.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 95” in (142.2 cm x 241.3 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 110” in (180.3 cm x 279.4 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 63” in (93.98 cm x 160 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 78” (132.1 cm x 198.1 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 Girl with the Golden Gun
Paradise Valley, Montana – 2023
“Mae West was the star of many a giddy western. The Hollywood legend, known for her breezy sex appeal and her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, gave us so many great quotes, two favourites being “is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?” and of course “between two evils, I generally like to pick the one I never tried before”.
Brooks Nader is a modern-day Mae West and she was perfect for our wild west shoot in Montana. Playful, intelligent and sassy, Brooks is such a joy to work with and the camera loves her. My direct was to style her as a dolled up saloon girl with authority and attitude, as well as carrying her usual level of sexual provocation. As directs go, that was probably one of the easier ones Brooks has been given.
The idea for this shoot was to play with both the interior and exterior of the saloon because that would widen my narrative and give a fuller sense of place. As interior design photographers know, this is never an easy task, as the light differential is material.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 73” in (142.2 cm x 185.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 88” in (180.3 cm x 223.5 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 49” in (93.98 cm x 124.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 64” (132.1 cm x 162.6 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.
Watergate
Virginia City, Montana – 2023
“We know this bar well and know that in the middle of the day there is enough window light to work with. In our experience that is most unusual for an inside shoot, especially when we need to freeze a moving animal. That is why we keep returning to the Pioneer Bar high in the mountain of Montana, it is quite simply the best saloon bar we know in the whole of the US.
We mix things up in our storytelling at the Pioneer and some ideas work and some don’t. This one is, however, gold dust. My fellow Brit Charlie March did a grand job as the rakish cowboy at the bar; he holds court in a manner that suggests he is there everyday and doesn’t really care too much about what is going on in the outside world. As long as he could have a smoke and a whisky, Nixon could do whatever he wanted. Watergate was not going to impinge on his day.
Life also goes on as normal elsewhere in the bar, the barman pours a beer whilst cowboys fight. My story was that this is a town cut off from current affairs and all the better for it. The wonderful reality is the fact that Virginia City is exactly like that. They really don’t care what happens in Washington so long as it doesn’t affect them. The folk up here probably couldn’t spell woke and they certainly don’t know what it means.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 55” x 101” in (139.7 cm x 256.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 70” x 116” in (177.8 cm x 294.6 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 68” in (93.98 cm x 172.7 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 83” (132.1 cm x 210.8 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.
BLACKFEET NATION
Blackfeet Nation
Montana, USA – 2022
In the 17th century, the Blackfeet settled in the region that is now Montana. Previously, they resided in the woodlands north and west of the Great Lakes, but pressure from British traders pushed them west. They eventually acquired firearms and horses and became a formidable example of the classic Plains Indian culture.
Ravaged by smallpox and constantly struggling with the challenges of extreme winters, low bison numbers and relative isolation, the Blackfeet had great fortitude and are often now referred to as the “Real People” of Montana.
The Blackfeet’s tribal headquarters are in the town of Browning in the extreme North West corner of the state. The celebrated Glacier National Park may sit to the west and with it comes smart resorts like Whitefish, but Browning has little refinement – it is a grim and remote frontier town that is avoided by most travelers. It’s all a bit sketchy up there – especially in the winter.
However, within 20 minutes of Browning, the Blackfeet enjoy some of the most majestic scenery in America, and it was this that drew me to the location. It was always going to be a winter shoot, as the snow added in another character for free.
So in January 2023, we made the road trip north from Bozeman – it’s a long way, and the sense of adventure intensifies towards the Canadian border. This is a remote and isolated corner of America, and relative to other reservations in the US, I sense that filmmakers have had a light footprint around Browning.
The tribal elder, Dutch Lunak and his horse Rain Man make for a powerful combination. The Blackfeet take the greatest joy in celebrating their heritage, and Dutch wears his look well. I wanted a face that conveyed dignity, wisdom and sovereignty, and I think he gave me all three.
On the way home from Browning, Dutch took us to his favourite saloon in the village of Dupuyer (census population 86). Buffalo Joe’s is a gem of an establishment, and quite soon, this picture will be on the wall.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 12:
- Image Size: 71” x 96” in (180.3 cm x 243.8 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 12:
- Image Size: 52” x 69” in (132.1 cm x 175.3 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.