David Yarrow
Amazing photos
I was recently in Denver to visit my son, and we went on the Cherry Creek Art Walk, which took us to several galleries in the area. I was really taken by the photographs we saw at the Relevant Gallery, all by a photographer named David Yarrow.
The first picture that attracted me was of a giant bear. It was literally six feet tall, and I felt like it was right in front of me. Many of his photos are life-size, and most are in black and white. When I was in college I spent lots of time taking pictures and developing film, so when I saw these prints I thought the detail was stunning. As I looked around, I was amazed by both the quality of the pictures and how close he had to be to his subjects. This was no ordinary telephoto lens stuff. You can’t get high quality images and such wonderful depth of field with a telephoto. I wanted to know how he took these fantastic images that remind me of Ansel Adams. The woman who welcomed us to the gallery said he used only Nikon equipment, which is good stuff, but it didn’t explain what he was doing. There was much more going on.
Yarrow’s first famous photo was a lucky one. He was still in school, and was taking photos mostly as a hobby. In 1986, Argentina with its superstar, Diego Maradona, was playing West Germany for the FIFA World Cup. Argentina won the game, and Yarrow just happened to be in the right spot to capture Maradona leaping up above the crowd. The picture was published in newspapers around the world.
He left photography for a while and worked in banking. When he returned, he decided to create his own style. He gets photos that are very close to his subjects. When he is working in the wild, he has developed methods of using remote shutter devices to get natural closeup photos without putting himself in danger. He has also worked in steel cages that are strong enough to protect him from mountain gorillas.
According to Wikipedia, “His approach to photography is guided by Jim Richardson’s assertion that “if you want to be a better photographer stand in front of more interesting stuff”. Yarrow takes it even one step further — he creates interesting stuff by staging many of his shoots. He works with famous stars like Cindy Crawford and Cara Delevingne, and plans his work to the last detail. He writes, “Whatever and wherever I’m intending to shoot, especially in places that are new to me, I always make sure I spend a lot of time planning not just the logistics of getting to and moving around a place, but also what I hope to photograph, and how. My team and I never go into the field without having done a huge amount of preparation…My best pictures are taken in seconds and yet I’ve put in hours of research. There is no doubt in my mind about what’s most important to the process of producing a great image: it’s the work you do before the camera is in your hand.” (David Yarrow, How I Make Pictures)
It can cost him up to $90,000 to stage just one photo. He makes it back, though. Yarrow’s works start at around $20,000 and go up. Way up. He has raised over $11 million for different charities.
Want one?
Yarrow usually prints his best photos in two runs of 12 prints each. They are sold through galleries around the world. And when they’re gone, they’re gone.
