David Yarrow Art

The elegant and wild Japanese swan photograph entitled ’Swan Lake’ is an archival work on paper by legendary wildlife photographer and humanitarian, David Yarrow. The photograph was taken during an expedition to Japan while visiting Lake Kussharo in 2017. Yarrow is a master captured movement, as the graceful open winged bird stands on top of an icy lake, the magic of the frozen moment was seized. The fine art details and snow white frozen dreamscape communicates the tranquility of the quiet moment to the viewer. This rare limited edition work is of very few 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 protective glass. Yarrow shares of his experience taking the photograph, “To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think that I have ever photographed swans well before – and indeed most images that I do see on Google or elsewhere, struggle to beat the threshold of what is banal. Swans are not uncommon and we all have access to the Serpentine in London or village ponds across the country. I can’t conceive how a picture taken in such a setting that would be evocative or eye grabbing. Swans have become an inadvertent accomplice to lazy postcard photography. This is all very harsh on the swan – it is such a majestic bird – with attitude, dignity and above all grace. Tchaikovsky opened our eyes to this 140 years ago and subsequent generations of celebrated stage choreographers have reinforced our adoration for the swan. The ballet probably forged the notion that swans are at home dancing in the snow and ice – a far more aesthetically pleasing concept than imaging them scrapping around in a muddy park in Berkshire. Russia gave the world Swan Lake and have earned the right to dictate climatic associations. Just as Dr Zhivago could never have been filmed in the summer, swans are surely best photographed in the bitter winter. It is the winter that personifies Russia and Northern Asia, not the summer. The romanticist within me had a preconception of where I could take a strong swan image and today the twin forces of research and luck came together shortly before 8.30am on the frozen ice of Lake Kussharo in Northern Hokkaido, Japan. My central premise was that there should be as much white in the picture as possible – white from the snow, white from the ice and of course white from the whooper swan’s pristine plume of feathers. The greater the cocktail of whites, the greater the possibility of an image that could be ethereal as well as evocative. My approach was to create a dream, not necessarily report on reality. In one small section of shore on Lake Kussharo, hot springs melt away the ice at the lakeside and the swans come here in large numbers over the winter. I wanted as much contextually in the image and therefore used an extreme wide angle lens. This meant getting fairly wet – but the water was warm for me too. I have looked at the image a great deal today and my eye keeps returning to the neck – just like a ballerina, this neck is all important.” 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...

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 ...

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...

The impressive monochromatic photograph entitled ’Take Off is an archival photographic work on paper featuring a larger than life eagle photographed by legendary photographer and humanitarian, David Yarrow. The photograph was taken during an expedition to Alaska in 2016 where Yarrow was able to see the majestic American bald eagle, with spread wings, about to take flight. The crisp fine art details in black and white make this work visually captivating as the massive scale evokes an almost true-to-life experience of witnessing the powerful bird up close. This limited edition work is of only twenty three 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 protective glass. Yarrow shares of his experience taking the photograph, “I prefer to work with big alpha animals – elephants have a greater pull on me than mice. This is true also with birds and this has drawn me towards the American Bald eagle – a magnificent and emblematic creature with an astonishing wingspan of up to seven feet. The difficulty is capturing imagery that captures fresh detail – the world is not short of images of this bird – indeed they adorn homes in America from the White House...