Lion Landscape Photography

The grand-scale Lion entitled 'The Old Testament' is an archival photographic work on paper by legendary photographer, David Yarrow. The photograph was taken during an expedition to Dinokeng, South Africa in 2017 where Yarrow was able to get up close to the majestic animal and capture one of his most iconic images. The fine art details in black and white make this work visually captivating and the massive scale evokes an almost true-to-life experience of seeing the majesty of a lion up close. This rare and extremely limited edition work is of only twelve in existence and is signed, dated, and numbered on the lower front corners. The work comes in a sleek custom made black frame with light cream matte and top tier glass. Yarrow shares of his experience taking the photograph, "The best ideas tend to be simple and the best photographs can often have simplicity at their heart, rather than intimacy or visual overload. The paradox is that this simple portrait was the product of fairly complex working arrangements in the field. Unlike many of my lion shots, this was not taken with remote controls, it was camera in hand. I was in a two-man cage, with my assistant behind me controlling the door with a rope. The minimum distance I could feel safe was about 25 feet and this required the use of a 200 mm lens – long for me, but the outstanding lens in Nikon’s telephoto range. In my view, the best time to photograph lions is about half an hour after sunrise. The light gets stronger by the minute and this allows for a faster shutter speed or more depth of field. The face of the lion could not be sharper – every detail is there and he is looking right into my eyes – as he is transfixed. Three steps forward and the cage door closed and with it the opportunity. The image is timeless and the backlit dust adds to its elemental and rather biblical mood. I thought that we should call it The Old Testament. The image was taken with the help of Kevin Richardson – The Lion Whisperer – who does more to raise awareness for the plight of the lion than anyone I know." 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, David established himself as a fine art photographer by documenting the natural world from new perspectives and the last nine years have been career-defining for his mark on the world of contemporary fine art photography. David Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and has earned him an ever-growing following amongst 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 David Yarrow, with a personal foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady...