David Yarrow: Behind the Scenes

EXODUS

...One late afternoon in Amboseli it became increasingly clear that a tremendous storm was building up above the lower slopes of the Kenyan side of Kilimanjaro. This is not that unusual and on many occasions I have worked with dark clouds in the afternoon of the dry lake. On this day, however, the sky had an almost biblical menace with its haunting deep blacks full of foreboding. The heavy rain was localised and painted downward waves in the sky – almost akin to a flock of starlings.

I was conscious of the fact that the animal behaviour on the flat and elemental canvas of Amboseli appeared more skittish than normal and around 5.30pm I started to photograph panicked zebra herds charging off in all directions (...)There was only about 20 minutes of light left and I needed to capture the mood of what appeared to be an impending apocalypse.

...Exodus achieved my goal and more – it was the last picture I took that day and minutes later the light had gone....

 – David Yarrow.photography

THE MORNING SHOW

A glimpse of a moment caught on my remotely controlled camera. The lioness who accompanied the lion then went off with the camera.⁣

⁣

It’s all about the small things and because all this happened just before 6.50 am, there was enough morning dew to give the lion’s mane a tiny rinse.⁣... ⁣

We recovered the camera some time later and it was quite a thrill to see the last image the bitten camera had taken.  He really did put on The Morning Show.⁣ 

 – David Yarrow.photography

THE WOLVES OF WALL STREET 2

...The location of the abandoned office in Simi Valley outside Los Angeles was ideal for most of the cast - including Jordan Belfort - the real Wolf of Wall Street, but not so ideal for the wolves, as there was no working air conditioning inside. This meant importing huge AC units to keep the animals cool. The green room on the side of the dealing floor was transformed into a giant fridge for the day.

The final image is one of the most satisfying of my career. I wanted as many references to the film as possible - Cameron Dallas eating the goldfish, Jordan with his pen, the marching band, the dollar notes and the glitter. Both models - Kate Bock and Daniela Braga - smashed it in their roles, not easy with so much going on and a wolf charging down the table. Both Kate and Dany are at the top of their game and pivotal to this photograph.... 

 – David Yarrow.photography

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Once we found the caterpillar road that dissects this picture, I knew we had the canvs on which to continue our "road" series that started in 2018...

Cindy Crawford – cowgirl chic in her manner – makes the picture. 

The snowfall of the previous night added another layer to the narrative... Willie Nelson was surely singing 'On the Road Again' on the car radio, with the volume turned up to the maximum level.

 –  In Focus, February 2021