The Girl in the Feathered Hat (Colour)
Monument Valley, Utah – 2023
“When this 1958 Testarossa arrived on set on the Arizona/Utah border, I was struck by its curvaceous beauty. Our initial leaning was to shoot head on and we did exactly that, but when I saw the car in profile, its length and ground hugging architecture was visually arresting. I knew that I had to play on this and where better to do this than in Monument Valley – John Ford’s favourite playground? He kept returning here as he knew he had found a topographic stage without equal. In his own words “it afforded him an extra character for free”.
John Ford was a stickler for horizons and camera angles. Anyone who watched the Fabelmans, specifically the last scene, will know what I am getting at.
I am a lucky man. To be filming with this car, in this most grand of settings, with the female powerhouse that is Brooks Nader, is like getting the first, second and third at the Kentucky Derby. When I set the shot up, I wanted to glorify the length of the car and the vista behind stirred the alchemy that gave us this celebration of life on earth.
It is a beautiful world. Ferrari gets it, John Ford got it and I am learning all the time.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 38" x 103” in (96.52 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 43" x 118” in (109.2 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 29” x 77” in (73.66 cm x 195.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 43” x 92” (109.2 cm x 233.7 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.
The Girl in the Feathered Hat
Monument Valley, Utah – 2023
“When this 1958 Testarossa arrived on set on the Arizona/Utah border, I was struck by its curvaceous beauty. Our initial leaning was to shoot head on and we did exactly that, but when I saw the car in profile, its length and ground hugging architecture was visually arresting. I knew that I had to play on this and where better to do this than in Monument Valley – John Ford’s favourite playground? He kept returning here as he knew he had found a topographic stage without equal. In his own words “it afforded him an extra character for free”.
John Ford was a stickler for horizons and camera angles. Anyone who watched the Fabelmans, specifically the last scene, will know what I am getting at.
I am a lucky man. To be filming with this car, in this most grand of settings, with the female powerhouse that is Brooks Nader, is like getting the first, second and third at the Kentucky Derby. When I set the shot up, I wanted to glorify the length of the car and the vista behind stirred the alchemy that gave us this celebration of life on earth.
It is a beautiful world. Ferrari gets it, John Ford got it and I am learning all the time.” – David Yarrow
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 38" x 103” in (96.52 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 43" x 118” in (109.2 cm x 299.7 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 29” x 77” in (73.66 cm x 195.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 43” x 92” (109.2 cm x 233.7 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 (B&W)
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.
Don’t Worry Darling
DON’T WORRY DARLING
Palm Springs, California – 2023
“The desert resort of Palm Springs – nestling in the Coachella Valley of California – is not just a town, it is seen by some as a metaphor for how to live life. Its mere name evokes imagery of “desert modern” architecture, Slim Aarons pool parties, retro styling and endless vapid leisure. Hollywood found a sister location in this resort and was drawn to its shared values of celebrity, health, new wealth, and sex.
Palm Springs is the antithesis of the industrial “rust belt” of America and became a haven for those wanting to escape from their past or to enjoy a better life because of their past. It is no surprise perhaps that much of the Chicago mob money from the 1970s found its way down to Palm Springs.
My idea was to take a single frame encapsulating this hot and colourful utopia. But there was no room to be earnest, I simply wanted to be long of parody, colour and symbolism. Too much wealth, leisure time and shopping can bring vacuous traits.
Like film makers before me, I homed in on 1950s styling as I sensed that this was the era that defined the
post war growth of the resort. I had the Ferrari and the police cars and from the first day of scouting in Palm Springs, we knew our street location and we knew our timing of roughly one hour after sunrise.
Our lead was the celebrated Alessandra Ambrosia – the super smart Brazilian model who can play any role ascribed to her. She “killed it” that morning and makes the image. Who knows who is being arrested in the background, but it doesn’t look like it’s particularly interfering with her morning.
This photograph is deliberately saturated in colour to evoke the gauzy, saccharine pleasures of the town. Is it really paradise or is it a parody of itself?”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Framed: 56” x 84” in (142.2 cm x 213.4 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 99” in (180.3 cm x 251.5 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 60” x 56” in (152.4 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Size: 75” x 71" in (190.5 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 12 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 40” x 37” in (101.6 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Size: 55” x 52" in (139.7 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.
Roy's
Amboy, California – 2023
“This photograph of Cindy Crawford, walking on Route 66 in front of a landmark 1950s motel, smells of Americana and that, of course, was my intent. We were not able to close the road down and had to wing it slightly at the end of the day, but “stolen” images are often the best.
There are many constituent parts to this image and I am, as usual, reminded again, just how good our respective teams are when working under pressure. Not only is it 100 degrees outside; we are on a main road deep in the Californian desert and there are tourists swarming the area around Roy’s not quite believing their luck at seeing Cindy and yet we managed to pull this off. Just a fraction of a second, but that is all it takes.
It was a 20-hour day that day, but one of the best we have had together and a huge amount of the credit
goes to our production teams. It’s the small things like Cindy’s hair that make such a difference to this photograph and the forecourt of Roy’s is no studio, it’s a working gas station. I raise my glass to Cindy’s hair stylist – the legend that is Peter Savic. I know working in an arid and sometimes windy desert is not his preferred environment, but he is a total professional.
The perspective offered by a standard lens is pleasing to the human eye as that is what we are used to day in day out; the camera lens sees what we see. But there are challenges in this frame as I needed to include both her feet and the Roy’s sign and yet I could not afford for her face to be too far from the camera. Only a few angles were going to work and then we also had the props behind.
But she knows exactly what she is doing and how to help me with my job. That’s why she is who she is.”
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 57” x 56" in (144.8 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 72” x 71" in (182.9 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 38” x 37" in (96.52 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Image: 53” x 52" in (134.6 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.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Amboy, California – 2023
“I think visiting a potential film location for the first time is akin to a first date or a first experience at an acclaimed restaurant. It is all so unfamiliar and there is no guide as to where to start. The sensory overload can be intimidating and it takes time to distill and be oneself. Most second dates are better than the first and those who like a restaurant on their first visit will tend to enjoy it even more on the second and so it goes on. If this wasn’t the case, the brain is not the organ we give it credit for being. We are all incremental learners and we enjoy and leverage familiarity.
The first time I visited this railway track in the hot Californian desert, I knew it had visual potential, especially if I shot late in the afternoon and directly against the light, but I needed a month or so to let the cocktail of what I could do marinate in my own mind.
My predilection is to avoid the static or the mundane and planes, trains and cars in a still can look frozen. A plane defies gravity so that helps in a single image, but I knew the car and the train could not join it. I don’t envy Formula 1 photographers; it’s such a difficult sport to take stills of. My visual leaning was to have a sense of movement elsewhere and that’s where the idea of dust being kicked up from railway workers offered a solution. The light would be my partner.
Once the premise is there, it is about scalpel sharp precision in the detail. Let’s not have any car – let’s have a vintage 1953 Ferrari and let’s not have any girl holding the image together, let’s have Cindy Crawford – perhaps America’s most loved and celebrated model.
The styling in this shot was excellent and I thank Nicole Allowitz for being so good at her craft. This photograph is as much a testament to her as it is to me. The railway workers are so on point, as, of course, is Cindy. She is a given.
It is possible that some of my work over the last 10 years – particularly with wildlife – has been imitated and filmmakers have every right to do so. I celebrate a good picture like everyone else and there are some very able cameramen out there. But I don’t think this photograph is going to be imitated in a hurry and this gives me a little smile.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Framed: 56” x 69” in (142.2 cm x 175.3 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 84” in (180.3 cm x 213.4 cm)
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 56” x 68” in (142.2 cm x 172.7 cm)
- Framed Size: 71” x 83" in (180.3 cm x 210.8 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 45” in (93.98 cm x 114.3 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 60" in (132.1 cm x 152.4 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.
South By Southwest (2023)
South By Southwest
Amboy, California – 2023
“Hitchcock’s acclaimed 1959 espionage thriller – North by Northwest – has long being a prompt for me; especially the sequence in which the fleeing Cary Grant is chased down by the crop spraying plane. It was cinema ahead of its time and I admit to watching that sequence more times than would be considered normal.
During COVID, we played on this storyline near my home in Devon, but in 2023 I drew up a more ambitious story that would be played out in the isolated desert community of Amboy, California. We had scouted the area intensely and knew our angles, our light and most of all the landowners.
The premise was to style the set as if we were indeed in the late 1950s and we recognised that we had a strong backdrop, as Roy’s Cafe is one of the treasure trove authentic landmarks of Route 66. From Roy’s looking east, the Mother Road stretches straight to the horizon in a way that plays to our preconceptions of Americana road trips. We then brought in a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder as the lead car and dressed the background with a Ford pick-up from the late 1940s.
But this was mere window dressing and my sense was that in order to transcend, this story required some heavyweight components. Flatteringly, Cindy Crawford agreed to be the main protagonist and I knew she would give Cary Grant a run for his money. Cindy is the best of the best and it is always a huge honour to work with her. Ascribe her a role and a look and she will nail it every time.
But we also needed a plane. Amboy has a tiny runway strip and towards the end of the day, when the traffic
is lighter, a good pilot can flirt with the tarmac of Route 66. I needed a pilot whom I could trust and I found him in Greg Caldwell, who slightly reminded me of the heroic crop spraying pilot from the movie Independence Day. We had worked with him before and there didn’t seem much to trouble Greg – not even his plane’s aerial proximity to a $10m Ferrari or, more importantly, one of the world’s most identifiable and revered women.
There is a film noir feel to the image and I think the relatively flat light helps the rather menacing mood. But the credit lies with both Greg and Cindy who did exactly what I asked them to do .
I guess we may have broken some new ground here as well as a few rules. The BTS video of this shot is worth seeing, it’s one of our better ones.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Framed: 56” x 69” in (142.2 cm x 175.3 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 84” in (180.3 cm x 213.4 cm)
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 56” x 81” in (142.2 cm x 205.7 cm)
- Framed Size: 71” x 96" in (180.3 cm x 243.8 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 54” in (93.98 cm x 137.1 cm)
- Framed 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.
California Dreaming
Amboy, California – 2023
“In the 1950s, many Americans sought new lives in California. Whether they were entire families, aspiring actors or creatives, army veterans or immigrants, the push west was a crowded trade. The two enablers of this increased geographical mobility were the motor car and the US road network, championed by Route 66.
I wanted to tell a story of single- minded ambition along Route 66 and my instincts were that a night shot could make sense because we would then incorporate some motel neon lights to give an emphatic time stamp to this liberating period in American history. Light is integral to all that we do and we shy away from boring lighting.
Roy’s Motel and Cafe in Amboy, California is as authentic a Route 66 landmark as any and the neon lights still work. We brought in a magnificent 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder as the treasure trove prop. Its roofless design would help me tell a more complete story as the driver needed to be seen. Meanwhile, the stunning car interior would hint at a traveller of note and substance. I think this Ferrari is now worth around $10m.
Our model that evening, in the remote Californian desert, was Daniela Braga, who is both beautiful and theatrical. We styled her to the era and I just told her to look free, dreaming of her new life in California as she drove. Afterall, at this point, she was only four hours from Los Angeles.
I have a feeling that when she arrived in LA 70 years ago, the City of Angels would have greeted her enthusiastically. Her and the 1953 Ferrari seem a very natural match up.”
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 61” x 56" in (154.9 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 76” x 71" in (193 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD: 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 132.1 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.
Ferrari (B&W)
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.
James?
St. Moritz, Switzerland – 2023
“Ever since the Bond car chase sequence in Goldfinger was shot in the Furka Pass in 1964, Aston Martins and Swiss mountains have been visually tied. Snow and James
Bond have also been regular bed fellows.
To take a still that plays to a Bond vibe is risky, any shortcomings will be ridiculed by the devotees and we have waited for our moment. There needs to be a strong concept and a strong execution.
This lay-by at the top of the Bernina Pass connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-speaking Val Poschiavo, in the Italian town of Tirano. The Bernina Pass – opened in 1865 – is one of the great stretches of mountain road in Europe.
I managed to get hold of a DB5 from a collector in Zurich and with great care it was positioned by the roadside at dawn. My fellow Scot, Sean Connery, is, of course, sadly no longer with us, but I felt I could tell enough of a Bond story without him, I would just leave the viewer to interpret the scene.
Erica Lawrence from Brooklyn New York played basketball in her youth and it is easy to see why from this picture. She is a good friend and so happy to play this kind of role. I wanted glamour and sex appeal to the point of parody, after all, we are 15 minutes from St Moritz and we have a Bond Car – how could there be any other narrative?”
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 56" x 72" in (142.2 cm x 182.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71" x 87" in (180.3 cm x 221 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 37" x 48" in (93.98 cm x 121.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 52" x 63" in (132.1 cm x 160 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.