No sugar-coating, David Yarrow captured our undivided attention from the moment we appeared on the screen of zoom, delivering a raw account of the wider picture when it comes to his ground-breaking photographs and the emotional process of capturing a moment. Fascinated by his deep connection to the US and his reasons for turning his gaze largely to the Americas, unveiled a world of similarities between David and Jimmy Carroll, following his recent set up of a Pelorus office in Austin.

Thrilled to catch up with David following his series in the American West, we were excited to dig deeper into his interest in the USA and his reasons for making a move away from his heavily wildlife focused photographs, of which we have previously explored. Peaking our interest from the very start, David explains why he doesn’t label himself a ‘wildlife photographer’, suggesting “there can be a little misplaced pompous authority in people that go to the field with long lenses and photograph wildlife; it’s not necessarily art, it’s more google mapping.”

“The idea of being pigeonholed is dangerous.” So instead, David photographs whatever interests him. From North Korea to some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, to American cultural icons and most recently, the Wild West. “I felt that maybe at a time when we’re increasingly conscious of the declining biodiversity of our planet, that to photograph animals in a more immersive way than maybe they’ve been photographed in the past, might be a clever thing to do. I saw an opportunity, but now I have moved on.”

To Stay Fresh & Relevant

An increasingly saturated market by those trying to imitate, is a prompt for David to stay fresh. “I think artists should always challenge themselves and always be restless, always be on the move is true music. You don’t see musicians, doing the same genre of work time and time again, because you’ve got to keep alert and not be complacent and want to test yourself.”

Into The USA

For the same reasons as Pelorus, David sees the unrivalled opportunity the USA has to offer. From the vast vistas and elements of wildlife, to the characters that make up America – it is no surprise David has moved much of his business across the pond.

“The American economy is so strong and there’s so much geographical mobility in terms of culture, money and education. If you’re buying a beautiful new home in Austin, maybe a picture of a rhinoceros isn’t going to quite cut it for you, because what’s a rhinoceros got to do with Austin? From a commercial perspective, and when people want to criticise me -which is fine – they turn around say David, he’s a good photographer, but he’s a businessman. That’s meant to hurt me?”

In response to these points, Jimmy particularly resonates with the creative side. “Every Pelorus project is a new project, because we have to challenge ourselves, we don’t sit back on the laurels of the last project.”

Supporting this with an interesting comparison, linking both Pelorus’ and David’s creativity, to Post Malone as an artist. “Here, we have a rapper to begin with, then an acoustic musician. And then you’ve got this identity of who he is and to which he has given his body to that identity through tattoos. If you keep morphing as an artist and a creative, you adapt all the time. It’s a fascinating area.”

In agreement, David concludes: “I’m a visual sponge. An artist is going to have visual prompts, and for them to be immunised to those visual prompts would take many questions.”

“The greatest story ever told, is the push West.”

– David Yarrow

Propelled by the vistas and the extraordinary people who make up America, David’s fascination with the USA becomes clear, and adds to our excitement having recently expanded our presence on US soil.

“Austin has an extraordinary history, whether it be about the Comanche tribe, whether it be about the Mexican War, whether it be the first settlers, whether it’d be about the Cowboys doing the big runs up to Kansas with the cattle. In the 19th century, and looking at what it is now, what an extraordinary period in history.”

“It lends itself to storytelling, because of the visitors, the grandeur of the scenery, and the fact that it was populated by such character rich individuals that were all going for one thing: better lives. This move West was something where people didn’t know what was around the corner. It was capitalist cowboys, it was prostitutes, it was drunks, it was felons. It was incredibly free of the rule of law, and then also in the mix, there were people that have lived there for 2000 years. So you have that incredible cocktail smorgasbord of people.”

Capturing the essence of America, “It’s a big commitment, because you’re going down a well-trodden path. So we spent a lot of money; I spent $1 million in three months doing stills in the Wild West.”

Similarly at Pelorus, the process behind any bespoke adventure is so important and requires a lot of expertise to capture the essence of a place. “Now building Pelorus in the States, I am learning what that Wild West is about. Although we offer high end luxurious experiences to our clients, we also want to bring it back to reality. We have a relationship with Ranchlands and I went out with them, to see how that ranch in Colorado actually works and how it’s protecting the land.”

“We are able to allow clients to experience that, not just the beauty of the national parks. This really brings it together and builds them into the heritage and history of it, and the client can learn and feel a part of it. That’s what I love about this area, you can live it.“

“That’s the same with a lot of places you go as a voyeur. Unless you can really get into the roots of it, and very much like you—researching and getting an understanding of who you’re meeting, the land, the history—is absolutely important and key to what we do.”

Introducing Russell Martin’s book Cowboy: The Enduring Myth of the Wild West, David takes a deep dive into his appreciation for the Western lifestyle. “I’m humbled by their culture, and there is an awful lot that I have learned from it. Texans are wonderfully easy people. Our biggest gallery in the world is in Dallas, and this has moved ahead of London which fills us with joy.”

“America has is extraordinary breadth, whether it be urban beauty like Chicago, Louisiana, or the John Ford country. It’s just been over photographed. The heart of what I’m trying to do is, it’s what I call a layer of narrative. You have primary tertiary secondary, and the secondary is always going to be the extraordinary backdrops.”

“The theme: American West, was a personal anthology. I focused on the Rockies and mountainous areas: Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and the desert areas: New Mexico and Arizona. I think, if I had to pick one state that I would live in as a place of beauty, it would be Montana. It’s amazing the number of people wo have homes in Montana and Kenya – it doesn’t surprise me. For people who know both places, they are about the majesty of the outdoors.”

“When people are asked, what is the most geographically spoilt country visually in the world. I think there’s only one answer, which is America. Whoever I’ve taken up there—from Paris Hilton two weeks ago dolled up in a cowboy bar, to shooting with the quarterbacks there soon—there’s no one who doesn’t leave saying, that was one of my favourite days of my life.”

Jimmy raises the encouraging point that “people are really starting to explore their own backyards far more than they ever have done before,” to which David responds with the sad truth that since before the crisis, it has remained relevant that “no prophet is accepted in his hometown, it’s the familiarity that breeds contempt.” We hope that this newfound exploration of home turf continues.

“I’m very fond of some charity NGOs, and TUSK is one I have been close to for a long time. Ultimately, the future of conservation is about protecting habitat and buying land where animals can live. It’s very unglamorous, but that is the only way. I will work to continue raising money for good causes.”

Unlike many fine art photographers, David is a philanthropist, respecting and supporting NGOs who understand what it is like on the ground, highlighting the importance of having “ground truth,” as identified by Jimmy, relating this to his eight years in a British Army reconnaissance unit, and the overall feeling in Iraq and  Afghanistan that you have to have “ground truth”, to be able to understand what is going on.

“Unless you are on the ground, you cannot understand what the atmospherics are like, what the energy is like. That will never be replaced by technology, and we try to bring that into Pelorus and our stand-alone Pelorus Foundation. We won’t support projects, unless we know what is going on and ideally, taking our clients right into them so they can see first-hand.”

According to David, what he sees as his competitive advantage is not talent, it’s an ability to invest with “precision and courage.”

“For me, as an original content person, I don’t warm to the idea of photographing an emperor penguin colony with 200 other people. So we’re taking our own plane to Antarctica, followed by another plane and we will camp. This will cost me $500,000, but it will mean that me and my film crew are on our own and then home within eight days. This is a disruptive business model, because people haven’t been able to do that before.

When asked what sets him apart from the competition, humble in his approach, David suggests “it is for galleries and collectors to decide. I’m never going to criticise my competition. It’s not competition because photography shouldn’t be competitive. In terms of time allocation I’ve been fortunate. Having been single for 12 years and having kids at boarding school allowed me to be self-centred in my time, a lot of people don’t have that choice. I also have a business background, and I think a lot of photographers don’t give enough attention to the business side of their model.”

“In the world of photography now, there are a lot of people I have a huge admiration for and I am honoured to work in a gallery on Palm Beach where three of the photographers are Scottish. Harry Benson for example, who has shot the Beatles and multiple US presidents, is a dear friend who taught me something of photography: “A great picture can never be repeated.” This is something that resonates with David and he tries to learn from. Similarly to Pelorus’ process of delivering a bespoke adventure; no two experiences are the same, each is totally unique.

“You’ve got to make every inch of the frame sweat. If you have a dinner party for 12 people, all those 12 people have got to earn their place at the dinner table. A picture should be like that; every constituent part has got to pay their dues.”

– David Yarrow