YARROW COLLECTIONS 40 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 www.igifineart.com info@igifa.com Telephone: (203)-622-0500
TABLE OF CONTENTS WOLVES THE FOCUSED WOLF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 IT’S 9 O’CLOCK ON A SATURDAY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 I AM ALPHA
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A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE 1, 2 & 3 CRAZY HORSE
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THE BREAK UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 CINDY’S SHOTGUN WEDDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ROAD TRIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 AMERICAN HUSTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 THE LEADER OF THE PACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 COYOTE UGLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
THE FOCUSED WOLF
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71 x 95 Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 68”
Montana, USA 2015 Jim Brandenburg’s iconic shot of half a wolf ’s head peering out from behind a tree, arguably marked the moment that wildlife photography became art. All those that ply Jim’s trade have much to thank him for – after all that single image – which can never be repeated – elevated the business of taking top tier wildlife imagery to an art form that was collectable. I often ask myself to articulate what was so special about his photograph. I tend to home in on the simplicity of the image as well as its menace and the rule breaking incompleteness. It nails the character of the animal and the behavior that defines it. Wolves may indeed have menace , but they are also unquestionably beautiful. I can’t compete with the Brandenburg shot and nor when I went to Montana, did I want to even try. There is no mileage on borrowing ideas, but I recognised the power of simplicity. There are two aspects of my picture that make it quite special. Firstly, the limited depth of field brings every human eye to the wolves eyes – this was mathematically necessary as the low early morning light required opening up the lens aperture, but it was also the way to play the idea. A nice coincidence. The other aspect to me is that the wolf is such a smart and focused animal and therefore I wanted to be sure that he was portrayed with crystal clear focus too. There is no room for lack of sharpness – that would not do this alpha animal justice. It was very cold , but I guess that is conveyed.
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IT’S 9 O’CLOCK ON A SATURDAY
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 88” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 63”
Gary, Indiana. 2017 We all know how Billy Joel starts his classic song – Piano Man: It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in I wanted to tell a story to match these lines. The more I thought about what we could do, the more I felt it would be creative courage that would largely determine the strength of the image. I knew about a tamed wolf that would stand and put his front legs on a piano keyboard and I knew about some wonderful decaying buildings in the eerie and largely abandoned town of Gary, Indiana. That was a start and then we needed permits and the support of the Mayor of Gary. Without access, we had nothing, and so much of the work went into the logistical process in the weeks before the shoot. Original content – and this is surely that – requires access as a precursor to anything else. Over time the pieces fell into place. The toughest part was actually getting a grand piano into the Memorial Auditorium in Gary. Over 20 people were directly involved in making this picture happen. 5
IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 64”
Montana, USA 2015 Jim Brandenburg’s iconic shot of half a wolf ’s head peering out from behind a tree, arguably marked the moment that wildlife photography became art. All those that ply Jim’s trade have much to thank him for – after all that single image – which can never be repeated – elevated the business of taking top tier wildlife imagery to an art form that was collectable. I often ask myself to articulate what was so special about his photograph. I tend to home in on the simplicity of the image as well as its menace and the rule breaking incompleteness. It nails the character of the animal and the behavior that defines it. Wolves may indeed have menace , but they are also unquestionably beautiful. I can’t compete with the Brandenburg shot and nor when I went to Montana, did I want to even try. There is no mileage on borrowing ideas, but I recognised the power of simplicity. There are two aspects of my picture that make it quite special. Firstly, the limited depth of field brings every human eye to the wolves eyes – this was mathematically necessary as the low early morning light required opening up the lens aperture, but it was also the way to play the idea. A nice coincidence. The other aspect to me is that the wolf is such a smart and focused animal and therefore I wanted to be sure that he was portrayed with crystal clear focus too. There is no room for lack of sharpness – that would not do this alpha animal justice. It was very cold , but I guess that is conveyed.
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I AM ALPHA
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 91” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 65”
This is my classic style. The camera is below the wolf ’s eyes, the background is clean and without tension points and the wolf ’s eyes are pin sharp. The beauty is in the uncluttered simplicity of the image. The limited depth of field allows the subject to pop and give the viewer no cause to be distracted. Less can be more when the objective is portraiture rather than storytelling or decisive moment photography. Intuitively a portrait of a beautiful wolf should follow the same principles of glamour photography because the wolf is such a glamorous animal and that attribute must be emphasised above all others. The clarity of this image – given the limited available light – would not have been possible a few years ago. I think it offers an insight into the animal’s soul. He is simply being an alpha wolf. On point, intelligent and poised.
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A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE 1, 2 & 3
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 77” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52 x 56
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 85” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 61”
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 79” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 57”
Montana, USA 2018 I have wrestled with how I could convey the drama of a wolf encounter for some time. The problem, in my mind, was that I wanted the tension of proximity to be coupled with a palpable sense that the drama was yet to be played out – it could go either way. I wondered how Hitchcock would work this – it was not good enough to have distance between the two subjects as focus would then be an issue. The wolf and human needed to be equidistant from the camera to make them both sharp. Then one day in Montana three years ago, high up in the mountains, I saw an abandoned farm truck not far from the main road. It had probably been there for over 60 years and was now just a rusty shell. It clearly offered potential to play out this concept but ideally I needed fresh snow on the bonnet and roof. The more virginal the snow cover the better. This year I had my fresh snow and in Roxanna Redfoot, I had the perfect girl to cast in the role of the prey. The doors would not budge and she had to climb in through the broken window – but that was not a big deal for Roxanna even in tough temperatures. She is a rock star and I have no doubt that Hitchcock would have cast her at every opportunity.
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CRAZY HORSE
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 114”
Montana, USA 2018 In June 1876, the Battle of Little Bighorn – commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand – was played out not far from the location of this remote saloon in Montana. For Americans of all ethnicities with a thirst for history, Big Horn has become something of a pilgrimage and for those with a thirst for alcohol, the saloon is the only place to get a beer within a 70 miles radius. The US 7th Cavalry suffered big losses in the two-day battle – over 300 men – and the bravery of General Custer has become the stuff of legends. But so too the Crow Indians – who celebrate the occasion every year on its 25th June anniversary. The names of the Lakota Sioux Chiefs are now so familiar – Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Lame White Man and Two Moon. Arguably no battle in the history of the world has been of greater inspiration for naming pubs and nightclubs than The Battle of Little Big Horn. The Crow Indians remain revered and as a result of some networking, I had the opportunity to meet with the current Crow Chief – a direct descendent of those that fought alongside Custer 140 years ago. Bulltail was an older man of great dignity and whilst he spoke some English, it was clear that Crow was his language of choice – as well it should be. He agreed to be photographed by me and I had a preconception of what we could do. My idea was simply to cram the view finder with as many characters as possible and use the limited depth of field to prioritise the pivotal players in the scene. Preferably there would be some sense of movement – and the responsibility for that would lie with the wolf. Everything else was secondary to the wolf being sharp and I knew I could rely on the model – she always nails it. This photograph is very much made in Montana and has been received well by many of my friends in the state. Equally, however, I think it should appeal to all those that find a visceral pull towards The Wild West. 9
THE BREAK UP
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 99”
Utah USA, 2018 There are a number of very special locations in Monument Valley, but so much depends on the time of day and the position of the sun. It therefore takes time to location scout as there is only one place a day that can be explored at 5pm or 6pm. The grandeur of the place is intoxicating - it is an artist’s dream and it pays to take one’s time. Access to this particular look out point on the Utah side required consent from the Navajo Indians, but the red tape is worth it because it offers the quintessential Wild West view. We were shooting right on the edge of the cliff - have a look at the behind the scenes video we produced for the shoot. There were easy parts to getting this image - the light we knew would be at its most dramatic around 5.30pm and getting the Chevy in place just required a good off road driver - anyone really other than me. The hard part was to capture any brief moments of true interaction between Josie Canseco and the wolf. I have worked with this wolf - Crocket - before and he can be quite chilled, but getting them to face each other - as if in a deep and intense conversation was a tough brief for Crocket’s handler. Then again all we needed for the killer vignette was one second of luck and eventually, as the light started to fade, we got it. Josie is a world class Victoria’s Secret model and it shows. To play that role next to a wolf in the front seats of a car with a 2000 feet drop behind you is not a normal day’s work. Luckily neither Josie nor the wolf put the car into reverse.
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CINDY’S SHOTGUN WEDDING
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 103” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size - 52” x 73”
Nevada City, Montana 2019 You don’t get a second chance to work with Cindy Crawford, so last Wednesday and Thursday there was obviously a little pressure. I took her to a place I know well - the ghost town of Nevada City, Montana, as I hoped familiarity with the light and the angles would help me. I needed as many variables under my control as possible on an ambitious story line. The one thing we could not manage or predict was the weather and last week it was cold. If Cindy was outside her comfort zone with the temperatures so low and a big wolf as a companion, she did not flinch. She is professional, stoic and game and it was an honour to work with a true American idol. She sets a high bar on so many levels. It was a big effort for her to fly from LA to hang out with me and my team whom she had never met before and then work in freezing temperatures with some big wolves. She never complained and took no fee at all. Quite amazing. Proceeds from the sales of this image - Cindy’s Shotgun Wedding - will go towards her notable charity work focused on raising money for children with cancer. She nailed the image and I think everyone will agree she looks fantastic. I am very fortunate that she trusted me to do this and I am humbled by her professionalism and grace.
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 109” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size - 52” x 77”
“The Crazies”, Montana 2019 When I am asked for my medal podium of the most visually spoilt countries in the world, the usual suspects all fight for a place - Iceland, Norway, Chile, New Zealand, Italy and Namibia. But the gold medal will always go to America. There is just so much of it and such variety.
Hours were spent looking for a new story - either from a desk or by location scouts and in December we decided to go for a mountain range called “The Crazies” in Montana. We thought it appropriate as most of us are certifiably nuts by now. In the winter - when we decided to shoot - this is a place that emphatically connotes the cold, whereas Monument Valley does the The problem, however, is that America is also very well exact opposite. In making the choice, we implicitly gave photographed. We are saturated with content. There a nod to America’s climatic and visual breadth. are no awards for a picture of Yosemite at sunrise. The country shouts out for creative courage and originality We scouted the location at sunrise and sunset after from filmmakers. which we knew it had to be sunrise. We also needed The Crazies to be free of cloud, dictating very cold conditions This was the genesis of the thinking behind my Road at dawn. I booked Josie again as she is striking, playful Trip series. We could leverage the jaw dropping scenery and on good terms with the wolf. as a backdrop by all means, but then frame it with a car’s windscreen and a narrative in the front seats. The This cinematic result, taken last Saturday, is beyond first image in the iconic Monument Valley with Josie my dreams. Everyone involved should be proud. It was Canseco proved a big hit and so we deliberated on simply “Once upon a time in the West”. round two. 12
ROAD TRIP
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 92”
I have always been drawn to the John Ford scenery of Northern Arizona and Utah, the highlight of which has to be Monument Valley. I am clearly not alone in considering the view south from turnoff 13 on the way to Mexican Hat to be one of the most visually intoxicating sights in the US. It was, of course, used in Forrest Gump and then provided the front cover to Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise. The US have taken ownership of the term “road trip” as explained succinctly by this stretch of tarmac. It’s truly an iconic and timeless vista that shouts “The Wild West”. Gladiator is probably Ridley Scott finest movie and I have watched it over and over again. Meanwhile, Thelma and Louise is rightly one of the most lauded road trip movies of all time. About a month ago, I picked up the DVD box and had a moment of inspiration. Their use of the convertible car and the head on angle offered a totally different perspective on Monument Valley.
and helping secure exclusive use of the road at the key time, around 7.40 am. It’s a busy road and the Utah State Police were fantastic. @JosieCanseco played her role brilliantly – it was not easy to look that glamorous and in charge with a wolf sitting In Thelma’s seat. It is no surprise that Victoria’s Secret has booked her for its latest show in NYC. We arrived on site two days before the shoot as we wanted to be in control of everything within our control. I can’t remember ever pondering more over camera settings and lenses. I knew I would have a generous amount of light to play with at 7.40 and we had to use it well. The big variable was the wolf ’s behavior – the light gets too harsh from about 8am and therefore there was only a small window to get the job wrapped. It was tight, but we did it. All in all, it was a great team effort in a fairly remote part of the American West.
We showed this picture for the first time in Dallas last Taking my pre-conception through to reality last night and the reaction was huge. It is a very special Wednesday morning was no small task. I want to thank image and I think we nailed it. Thank you, Josie, you Brawler Productions in LA for collaborating with me were fabulous. 13
THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 109” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 77”
Virginia City, Montana 2019 Of course, we have worked in this room many times before and I know my light, my angles and the minimal depth of focus. We called last year’s photograph of the mountain men at the bar “The Usual Suspects” as that is exactly what they were. Some of those men rarely leave the warmth of The Pioneer Bar in Virginia City throughout winter - in fact they hibernate there. It proved such a popular image and has sold out across the world - in some cases raising huge sums for charity. So, when we went back this year, we thought it would be fun to have an additional crew member - Cindy Crawford. The word juxtaposition is over used in narrative, but I think we can get away with it here. The old boys may drink a bit and smoke a bit of weed, but they were on their very best behaviour that day - which is essentially still medieval. An international icon joining their party was not something they bargained for and at least one cowboy convinced himself it was the weed. We had to call the image “The Unusual Suspects” as a nod to her presence. The composition, which I could control, had to be spot on, but there is no way that I could control the wolf. It is a low percentage game this and we only came away with one shot - but we got it. Cindy looks fantastically glamorous and a little “bad ass” in her role, but, as always, it is the mountain men that take away the Oscars. Roxanna Redfoot did a grand job too. As with all three of the selected images from the shoot with Cindy Crawford - proceeds from the sales of the limited edition prints will go to charities supporting children with cancer.”
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AMERICAN HUSTLE
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 95” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 77”
Montana, 2019 It was by pure chance that we found this treasure trove of a saloon bar off a remote country road in Western Montana. Time appeared to have stood still for over 100 years and as an authentic “Final Frontier” canvas on which to tell a story, I have never seen a better room in which to work. There was not one hint of modernity and the wooden and leather finish to the pool table was absolutely remarkable. The attention to detail throughout the bar was exceptional – the Bucking Horse is a labour of love for its owner - a true mountain man called John Crane. 48 hours before Cindy’s arrival, we spent a morning in the bar exploring every angle. The window light was okay, but the ambient light was marginal and it was clear we only had one angle to work with as I could not shoot towards the two windows. Luckily, with my maximum wide-angle lens, we could, from the chosen position, include enough of the bar to do it justice and also major on the pool table - which was the standout feature of the saloon. The next question was what to do? This is an outstanding location and we needed to do it justice. We knew that the pool table would be critical and if we were to bring a wolf into the mix, he would need to be involved in the game. On the day of the shoot, Cindy killed it - she was such a presence and that was exactly what I asked for. She owns the bar with her sovereign and authoritative look. I wanted to create a final frontier vignette that had a menacing overlay - no out of towner is coming into this territorial bolthole, playing pool and leaving with the cash. It is Wild West American hustle. “
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THE LEADER OF THE PACK
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 91” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 65”
Valley of Fire, Nevada The Harley-Davidson is a heavy- weight brand - like Coke and Mc- Donalds, it was integral to the flourishing of the American Dream. The brand is emblematic of the post 1945 roll out of the US highway network that offered the American population the freedom to travel for travel’s sake. As Robert Louis Stevenson said: “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” My preconception was that if we were to use Harley-Davidsons for our “Road Trip” series in America, we needed a visual template that was “bad ass” from every perspective. We could not do this is in a half-hearted way - there was a responsibility to kill it. All the bikers clearly had to be dudes and my preference was for the bikes themselves to be from the late 1930s through to the 1970s. I want- ed choppers that aficionados would recognize and celebrate as I was determined that seasoned bikers could love the image as much as my followers. My hunch was that this might be the first and only time that these two demographics would meet. There was a required level of authenticity and attention to detail, but nothing insurmountable. My production team - Brawler - is first class at looking after that and indeed sourced the famous 1936 Knucklehead Chopper and a 1946 Harley Davidson sidecar. 16
The location was key. We had to find somewhere that complemented the bikes and romanticized the freedom of travel that the Harley-Davidson brand evokes. This instructed to- wards depth in the image, as the longer the road, the more emphatically it conveyed the sense of a journey. My intuition was also that this was a shot that needed to be in California, or at least in John Ford’s American West, as the topography and sense of place reinforces the brand. The creative prompts were movies like Easy Rider - the classic 1969 Dennis Hopper film starring Peter Fonda. America is the home of big scenery and we needed big scenery. Our internet trawling finally led us towards the Valley of Fire in Nevada - a remote park one hour’s drive north east of Las Vegas. It had depth and the moon like rock structures either side of the road continually drag the eye back to that road. If any vista could be described as “bad ass”, this was it. And so it was that the crew assembled in the modest “Breaking Bad” village of Overton, Nevada last Tuesday night - the bikers from California, my usual five wolves from Montana and of course the delightful Bryana Holly - who agreed to come and work with us on this assignment. I think she might have been used to slightly nicer accommodation, but it was a joy to work with her. Photography can often be about maths as much as it is about inspiration and my deliberations on site the previous day were all about the need to compress distance, but also offer decent depth of field. The lens choice - my old reliable 85mm was key - nothing else in the camera box- es worked. The result is a blowout image and I think everyone involved should give themselves a pat on the back (and that is a big number of people). I look forward to Harley-Davidson’s reaction. It really is a monster of a photograph - far better than I had hoped for. I looked at in LA for at least an hour on Friday.
COYOTE UGLY
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 76” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 56”
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