David Yarrow
The Leader of the Pack
2019

About the Item

California, 2019 Archival Pigment Print on 315gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Paper Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front. Edition size: 12 Available sizes: 48 x 61 inches 67 x 87 inches All prints are on 315gsm Hahnemühle photo rag Baryta paper and varnished after processing to give both endurance and sheen. Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front. Price includes David Yarrow's custom black ash frame, white archival matting and protective UV acrylic. For unframed, $1,500 will be deducted from the price. David Yarrow has built an unrivaled reputation for capturing the beauty of the planet’s remote landscapes, cultures and endangered animals. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1966, he is an internationally acclaimed fine art photographer and Europe’s best selling wildlife photographer. "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. 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." -David Yarrow

Creator:
David Yarrow (1966, Scottish)
Creation Year:
2019
Dimensions:
Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 61 in (154.94 cm)
Medium:
Archival Pigment
Movement & Style:
Contemporary
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU38834012381
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David Yarrow

David Yarrow, born 1966 in Scotland, took up photography at an early age, as a 20-year-old he found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, he took the sensationalized picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other high profile sporting events.

Many years later, Yarrow established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and recent years have been career-defining for his mark on the world of contemporary fine art photography.

Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following among art collectors and celebrities. His distinct large monochrome images made in Los Angeles are on display in leading galleries and museums across Europe and North America. Yarrow is now recognized as one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world and his limited edition works regularly sell at high prices at Sotheby’s and other auction houses.

In September 2019, Rizzoli published their second book by Yarrow, with a personal foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and thoughtful afterword written by American cultural icon and supermodel Cindy Crawford. All royalties from the book have been donated to conservation charities Tusk in the UK and WildAid in the US.

Yarrow's position in the industry has been rewarded with a wide range of advisory and ambassadorial roles. He is an ambassador for WildArk and The Kevin Richardson Foundation and is the European ambassador for Nikon. Yarrow has been integral to Nikon's most anticipated camera release of the last decade. In December 2017, he shot LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with Cara Delevingne. In January 2019, he was appointed as a global ambassador for UBS. In the spring of 2020, Yarrow was appointed a global ambassador for Best Buddies – one of America’s most established children’s charities.

Yarrow became an ambassador for the African Community and Conservation Foundation and presented his work in the Endangered Rangers virtual fundraiser. At the start of 2020, Yarrow was in Australia documenting the devastating bush fires that have destroyed communities, wildlife and wildlands. Using the striking images that he captured of the effects of the fire, he launched the #KoalaComeback Campaign to support the recovery efforts in Australia. The campaign raised over $1.4 million, and as Yarrow continues to work for humanitarian causes, his steadfast determination continues to make positive change for the benefit of global awareness. Currently, Yarrow continues to create stunning imagery with lasting global impact and archival quality that speaks to his reverence for the art of photography in capturing the wonders of the world.

Find a collection of original David Yarrow photography on 1stDibs.