Summit (B&W)
Arizona, USA – 2022
The modern and enlightened narrative on post-Civil War meetings between cowboys and native Americans homes in on communication as opposed to conflict. Of course, the truth was somewhere between the two and the Comanche in particular were not renowned for holding summits with those travelling west.
The work of Charlie Russell, the celebrated American painter of the wild west, has certainly influenced me as he understood how the grandeur of the American West added an extra character for free into his frontier storytelling. He also was sympathetic to the depiction of Native Americans and his work more often embodied a sense of peace not aggression. Given the amount of time he spent living with The Blackfeet Nation in Montana in the late 1880s, this is instructive.
There could be no more jaw dropping backdrop for this meeting than Monument Valley; it is the beating heart of the South West. But to take this photograph was a big logistical exercise and we wonder whether we may have broken new ground here. The route up the escarpment to the south is just too steep for most horsemen. I can’t find anything quite like it and that is always a good moment.
It was a cold morning at that altitude, even in October and the light snow cover adds an additional layer to the story. It is very much my kind of photograph.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 88” in (142.2 x 223.5 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 103” in (180.3 x 261.6 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 58” in (93.98 x 147.3 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 73” in (132.1 x 185.4 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.
Raising Arizona
Monument Valley, Arizona – 2022
“When filming in Monument Valley in the spring of 2022, I asked our Navajo Guide whether there was a possibility to shoot from the rock structures to the south that stand high above the amphitheater of mesas and monoliths. It struck me that this position of height could offer an extraordinary back drop of what is the beating heart of Southwest America.
He said it was possible, but that we would need permits and we would also need to camp up the mountains if we wanted to shoot in low light – the 15-mile journey by powerful 4-wheel drive from Kayenta is a challenge and can take up to 3 hours. There are no roads and the vehicles must face terrain that makes most off-road Land Rover car adverts look lame.
My plan was to film cowboys at the top of the escarpment and offer a layered photograph featuring one of America’s great vistas. I have seen many pictures of Monument Valley, but never this composition. That excited me, after all, originality in a place as well documented as this, is critical. John Ford got here long before me.
We chose the most experienced West Texan cowboys we knew and they traveled west to Arizona with their lead horses. But we then encountered a massive and unexpected problem – the cowboys – who are as tough as old boots, felt the ride up the cliff face was too challenging for their horses. That offers some context as to why the end photograph here is authentic; it is a problem to get horses up to the top.
Our unlikely solution was to ask the Navajo locals to ride their mustang horses up the mountain. After-all, it’s their land and only they know the safest route to the top. Some dollars changed hands and they agreed to collaborate. The Texan cowboys meanwhile hitched a lift in the 4-wheel drive and were teased by me for not being up to the challenge.
We all camped up the top that night – 4 of my team, 3 cowboys and 5 wonderful Navajo fixers. The Navajo made a fire and cooked us a steak dinner under the stars; it made for a very special memory.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 46” x 103" in (116.84 cm x 261.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 61” x 118” in (154.94 cm x 299.72 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 34” x 77" in (86.36 cm x 195.58 cm)
- Framed Image: 49” x 92" in (124.46 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.
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.
It Was the Whiskey Talking
Montana, USA – 2022
Whilst the Wild West was no doubt a heavily mythologized era, there can be no doubt that both the level of wanton violence and whiskey consumption were for real. They also, no doubt, played off each other and my sense is that in the colder frontier towns, the relationship was even tighter.
Scouting for sites around the Crazy Mountain Ranch in Montana, I saw some potential with this angle outside the old saloon, if I chose to compress the depth a little. It is though the wolf that makes the photograph; those eyes have an unmistakable intent. Focus is the most important verb in my kind of photography as it serves to either deliberately include or deliberately exclude. In this way, the viewer is directed without the wider contextual story being lost.
My cowboy – Ryan Marshall – does not need to do much more than stand there to add to the image; he may be way out of the focal plane, but we all know exactly the kind of character he is playing. This looks like a formidable saloon.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 79” in (142.24 cm x 200.66 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 94” in (180.34 cm x 238.76 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 52” in (93.98 cm x 132.08 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 67” in (132.08 cm x 170.18 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.
Hot Chicks
Montana, USA – 2022
The VS model Josie Canseco is a regular muse for me in my wild west series; the camera loves her and she knows how I work. This photograph in the Crazy Mountain Ranch near Livingston, Montana was made by a late shaft of evening light giving Josie and the wolf a warm glow and allowing them both to pop out from the saloon behind.
Our shoot in the faux wild west frontier town would not have been possible without the support of Sam Byrne and his team at the Yellowstone Club. Under their ownership, the Crazy Mountain Ranch looks set to have an exciting future and I hope the series of photographs I took that day in February 2022 will find their way onto some walls in the wider Montana area.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- 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
- 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.
The Sheriff's Daughter
Montana, USA – 2022
The intricate layout for this picture was preconceived before I went to bed the previous night. I knew that as soon as the sun rose above the buildings the light would be too harsh to work and that there could be no time for compositional pondering during the shoot. The camera angle needed flat light not aggressive shadows and the weather forecast suggested that we would need to be finished no later than 8.15 am.
So, it was cold conditions when the cast began assembling at 6.15am. Josie Canseco – a girl I often use in shoots – is tough and she showed it that morning. We know each other well and we can swear at each other without offence. It was minus 20 degrees on set and she wasn’t wearing much but that is how Josie rolls. I like familiarity; to call on new talent that I did not know for a shoot like this would have been commercial suicide.
We did indeed wrap by 8.10am, just before the sun started to dart around the set. This photograph is a keeper. I can look at it for a long time without losing interest and that is always my acid test. There was so much information to include in one still frame without losing Josie’s sovereignty and we all needed to work very quickly because I was racing against the rising sun. The whole team did a great job that day.
I do think Westerns have been too male dominated, almost to the point of parody, and in my anthology to the Wild West, there is much more of a balance. We have, however, been most selective with the women we have used. They have all been blockbuster women with presence, intelligence and attitude; no more so than the Sheriff’s daughter in this image.
But I am making no major point in this image; I am having fun and telling stories. There are no lofty ambitions other than to entertain and execute well.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 44” x 103" in (111.76 cm x 261.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 59” x 118” in (149.86 cm x 299.72 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 30” x 69” in (76.2 cm x 175.26 cm)
- Framed Image: 45” x 84” in (114.3 cm x 213.36 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 Residents
Montana, USA – 2022
I just can’t bring myself to drift from my default position of wanting wild west saloon images to be long of menace. I see no reason to introduce a mood of levity and laughter as these were bad ass days in loosely governed frontier towns marooned in the middle of nowhere. With alcohol and women came danger, perhaps it was always so. Of course, I am being postmodern and playful with the composed close ups; almost to the point of being cartoonish. But why dumb things down when we are simply telling stories.
On this set, high in the Crazy Mountains of Montana, we cast three of my favourite cowboys – Ty Mitchell and Ryan Marshall from West Texas and Mad Jack from Virginia City, Montana. Ty became an extra for Scorsese last year and I can see exactly why. The girls – Erica Lawrence from New York and Josie Canseco from LA – complemented them well.
But it is the big black wolf who steals the show and lifts the photograph. The light was negligible so there was no margin for error, but so long as I managed one sharp picture I knew the subdued lighting would add to the mood. This is a dangerous place where, during a storm induced lock in, anything could happen.
The weird thing is, everyone wants to go into that bar right now – what could possibly go wrong?
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: ALL EDITIONS ALLOCATED OR SOLD. Please contact us for more details.
- 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.
The Quick and the Dead
Montana, USA – 2022
In my experience, the most visually pleasing single street wild west towns in America are found in the states of California, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Montana. There are no real secrets here, which is why film studios tend to focus on five or six specific locations.
There is a skew in my work towards shooting in Montana for two reasons: firstly, I have a far more established network of contacts and friends in Western Montana than in the states further south who can all help me find extras or indeed sometimes jump onto set themselves; secondly our Montana locations are exposed to the highest snowfalls and I like to work in the snow, it simply adds another layer of narrative, especially in monochrome images.
This photograph, shot near the Crazy Mountain at the old Marlboro Ranch in Montana, incorporates the greatest number of extras I have had on set during a shoot – about 120 all in. The logistics in the cold are challenging and then the execution of the idea requires precision as I want to see as many faces as possible and I want those faces to have a collective attitude. It seemed necessary to have women and children in the scene as if the whole town was watching the shoot out – this would not be a male dominated western vignette.
In order for the concept to have symmetry, I needed to incorporate the buildings on both sides of the street and this is where – at the margin – this location is the best I know because the street is narrow enough for a wide panoramic.
I always say to the cast ahead of workdays involving many people, that all it takes is one person to be looking the wrong way or behaving oddly for the photograph to be ruined. They are all being paid to focus and concentrate for no more than five minutes during the day, but those are a big five minutes. The cast that day from old to young were brilliant and that is why this photograph works.
There is a lot going on in this work – which is why I love seeing it in as large a format as possible.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 52” x 102” in (132.08 cm x 259.08 cm)
- Framed Image size: 67” x 117” in (170.18 cm x 297.18 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 37” x 72” in (93.98 cm x 182.88 cm)
- Framed Image size: 52” x 87" in (132.08 cm x 220.98 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.