The Longhorn Saloon
West Texas – 2023
Archival Pigment Print
“From the outside, The Longhorn Saloon looks like a bar where the most ancient of vices are catered for daily. It has the whiff of a place where cowboys are tough, women are tougher and there is little rule of law. It is the Wild West at its cartoonish best. The Coen Brothers should check it out.
The Longhorn is clearly a Texas bar and we would say that it’s in West Texas, but more than that, we are sworn to secrecy. It’s too good a place to get crowded and besides, the cattle clearly need some room to roam.
Projects like these tend to be fun for everyone involved and when we do film at dusk, there is never a doubt that after the wrap, some local cast or crew will invite us home for a Texan Barbecue. They score very high in hospitality in Texas and we love our nights out near the Mexican Border. The night of this photograph, three generations of one family sat around the home fire and laughed and chatted with each other. There was no mobile phone in sight. I ate the best steak of my life, but more importantly, I was reminded what Texas is all about.
The Longhorn Saloon is currently closed for renovation.”
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- 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 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 65” in (93.98 cm x 165.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 80” in (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.
Bandera
Texas, USA – 2022
I wanted this carefully composed Honky Tonk vignette to have real sense of place; that place being Texas. There are a few hints in the photograph: the Lone Star pool table lighting; the ten working cowboys; the neon guitar on the left and even the air conditioning unit (less common in more northerly cowboy states). Throw in a tall, bad ass women in the foreground and we know we are in Texas.
It is the lighting that makes the photograph and that is down to the big barn doors at Arkey’s that are open during the day. It was this ambient light on the far-left corner that allowed me to work with minimal artificial light and that made all the difference.
There is also a little bit of a ‘Red Dead Redemption” vibe as I am shooting with a wide-angle lens close to the lead, as often seems to be the perspective in the successful video game series. This allows the depth of Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar saloon to be exploited rather than compressed. I avoid distance compression if at all possible, as a sense of space is often as critical as a sense of place.
Bandera, in the Hill Country of Texas, is quintessential cowboy territory and a country music stronghold. Behind my shooting position there is a stage that has been graced by Willie Nelson and Hank Williams and throughout the bar there are historical treasures celebrating one of the most authentic bars we know in the whole of America. There are locations that demand to be worked in and this is a gem for sure. I am very fortunate to have had the chance to create my interpretation of a classic Texan dive and I thank the eponymous owner – Arkey – for his accommodation.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 91” in (142.24 cm x 231.14 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 106” in (180.34 cm x 269.24 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 60” in (93.98 cm x 152.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 75” in (132.08 cm x 190.5 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.
Beer Run
Texas, USA – 2022
Not long after the end of prohibition, Devil’s Backbone in Texas’s Hill Country started to sell beer and became something of a one stop shop destination as drivers could also refuel and buy provisions. The landmark destination, as well as claiming to be the oldest dive bar in Texas, also claims to be the inspiration behind the Garth Brooks’ country music classic “Beer Run”.
There are opportunities to tell stories at the Backbone; I just needed to find a different angle. My plan was to use longhorn steer that are, of course, heavily associated with this part of the world. Austin’s University of Texas is less than an hour’s drive away and even in the UK we know about the Longhorns.
It struck me that there was a chance to bring two stories together as one and see if we could raise the bar in the narrative. If this Honky-Tonk really was the inspiration for the song “Beer Run”, well maybe the steer could be the one responsible for the pick-up. In this most Texan of bars, we could cast the most Texan of ani- mals.
Some ideas are a waste of time because there is absolutely no chance of executing them and this concept did seem a little ambitious. A longhorn steer can weigh up to 1300 pounds and whilst the one we chose was domesticated, this is not the most spacious of bars.
We had to work quickly and compose precisely and I think we pulled it off. I wanted the cowboys to act with total indifference as if this was the most usual of events in Texas, but I instructed the girl on the piano to play up a little. Perhaps she was not a regular.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- 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 + 3 AP
- 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.
Honky-Tonk Woman
Texas, USA – 2022
Bandera, Texas is the self-appointed home of the cowboy and a visitor is left in no doubt that this is the beating heart of Marlboro country and Marlboro men. This small town in the Hill Country also boasts a bar – Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar – that is as good a honky-tonk bar to film in that I know of. It is also a firm fixture in the country music scene which is core to the culture of this part of the great state. Willie Nelson has sung here, as has Hank Williams, and of course, the owner himself, Arkey Blue.
Three requirements must be met for the saloon to work for me. I need a decent amount of ambient light from a door or a window; I need the décor to have a quintessential dive bar look to it and I need a well-positioned old pool table around which to build the narrative. We did our research in the area and Arkey Blues looked the most promising and the reality when we arrived was even better.
The cowboys had an important role to play in this image, but it wasn’t their toughest day at work. Many had just returned from being wranglers on the set of 1883, which allegedly involved 16-hour days. In contrast, all they had to do in this shoot was be themselves, have a beer and just be a little infatuated with our lead – Roxanna. All quite easy stuff.
I have had this photo in my mind for as long as I started to immerse myself in the cowboy culture of Texas. For those who think this timeless culture may hold the state back, it is worth perhaps remembering that in 2023, Texas will be the 9th biggest economy in the world.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 96” in (142.24 cm x 243.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 111” in (180.34 cm x 281.94 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 63” in (93.98 cm x 160.02 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 78” in (132.08 cm x 198.12 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.
Devil's Backbone
Texas, USA – 2022
Devil’s Backbone makes claim to be “The oldest Dive Bar” in Texas. Situated on an earthquake fault, the historic venue offers spectacular views of the surrounding Texas Hill Country. The history dates back to the late 1890’s, when the first stone room was built for a blacksmith’s shop and a stagecoach stop at the base of a treach- erous trail. After Prohibition, the sale of alcoholic beverages, particularly beer, became licensed in early 1936 and the tavern was built a year later.
In the 1950’s, a service station and package store building was added and shortly after, the dancehall was constructed. The venue became a one stop shop for all that Hill Country cowboys needed including a cold-beer, a tire change and a dance.
I knew there must be an opportunity here for a photograph that could pay homage to the working cowboy and the Backbone’s long history of serving a cold beer. The decor behind the bar and on the ceiling are classic honky-tonk and they demanded some involvement in a vignette.
The cowboy – the most enduring symbol of America, not just Texas – is identifiable by his hat and individual faces in a collective group matter less. Nothing is lost from anonymity if the narrative is true.
That understanding gave me the idea of building a story around the bartender and we had just the right girl with us – Roxanna Redfoot from Dallas, Texas. She is our go to bar girl whether we film with cowboys in Montana or Texas.
The image works; it is Texas through and through and I know the owners and staff of Devil’s Backbone are delighted to be a part it. That makes me happy as they were as good to work with as anyone we have met on our travels.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 92” in (142.24 cm x 233.68 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 107” (180.34 cm x 271.78 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- 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.
8 Ball
West Texas, USA – 2022
I choose to be long of parody, as to exaggerate helps to communicate. My default position is to be bold in any narrative. In this photograph I wanted to fully em- brace the vibe of a honky-tonk bar in Texas, peopled by hard working, hard living cowboys whom David Allen Coe made pivotal to his song writing. These men love a beer, a smoke and a honky-tonk girl, who brings out the masculinity that defines them.
John Steinbeck – the American literary giant – wrote “I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion.”
I get it, and cowboy culture is core to that religion. To try to immerse oneself in Texan culture and not spend time with true cowboys is akin to holidaying in Italy and eating at Burger King rather than the local trattoria. The cowboys in this image all play pool, all drink beer, all smoke, all love girls and all have manners. What you see, is what you get.
But I needed a strong lead and Roxanna Redfoot does this so well. She is comfortable with playing bad ass, and she can do it with no real effort, which is why we so often cast her. She is not in character – she is just herself.
Sometimes one person can kill an image, but that evening in Bandera, in the Hill Country of Texas, everyone nailed it. The saloon is the Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, where so many legendary country music singers have passed by and sang. By the bar downstairs, there is an open door and that gave me the chance to play with a little ambient light.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 81” in (142.24 cm x 205.74 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 96” in (180.34 cm x 243.84 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 53” in (93.98 cm x 134.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 68” in (132.08 cm x 132.08 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 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.
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.
The Thundering Herd
Texas, USA 2021
Looking back at my 38 years of holding a camera, there have been a few key moments along the way. Maradona in 1986 being my initial prompt. But it was probably way later in 2014 when I took the picture Mankind in a cattle camp near Yirol in South Sudan that my life changed. To borrow from Eddie Cantor “it took me 30 years to be an overnight success”. There have been many failures along the way.
I had recently considered returning to South Sudan to re-photograph that exact location, but a combination of COVID and an uptake in conflict in the country made that impractical. I also always have reservations on reshooting any previous set, it can hint at a lack of original thought.
Meanwhile, we had an idea. Our anthology to the “Wild West” – now in its six month of production – had allowed us to become familiar not just with the topography of much of the west, but with many cowboys and ranchers whom we now consider friends. The cowboy is integral to the enduring myth of the Wild West and no more so than in Texas, where the great cattle drives were first initiated. No state played a greater role in the trail drive era.
West Texas and South Sudan ostensibly don’t have much in common, but from a filming perspective there are some similarities. The land is flat and arid and in both locations the cattle are special. The horns of the cattle looked after by the Dinka in South Sudan, are magnificent, but the Texas Longhorn is no poor cousin.
With the help of two renowned Texan working cowboys – Craig Carter and Ryon Marshall – we spent last week filming near Valentine, not far from the Mexican border. I knew what I was looking for; a frame with depth; so as in South Sudan, I brought a ladder and a frame with contextuality and breadth; so, I knew that any lens with magnification would be a big error (it normally is anyway when a sense of place is integral to the creative vision).
I settled on a standard lens, but we had a problem, the dust being kicked up by the drives was intense. If the wind took the dust towards me, there was not just the inability to film, there was a danger of the thundering herd not seeing me. On one initial drive, they came out of the dust cloud just yards from my ladder. Not something I would recommend.
So, we worked out the formula, we would shoot against the light and with the herd directly downwind from me. As we rose at 4 am, we prayed the local weather forecast was accurate.
The cowboys, led by Ryon Marshall, were magnificent and after 72 hours we got the job done. The closing down party in the desert last Thursday night was something I will always remember. Great food, the most engaging company and, of course, country music. My team left with a warm glow and a real sense of connection with the cowboy culture down there. We can all learn something from it.
You gotta love Texas.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
Large: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 48" x 101" in (121.92 cm x 256.54 cm)
- Framed Image: 63" x 116" in (160.02 cm x 294.64 cm)
Standard: ALL EDITIONS ALLOCATED OR SOLD Please contact us for more information
- Image Size: 32” x 67” in (81.28 cm x 170.18 cm)
- Framed Image: 47” x 82” in (119.38 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.