Scottish photographer David Yarrow is one of the best-selling fine art photographers in the world. His photos sell for millions of dollars at auction. Yet, Yarrow still returns to the American Southwest regularly, inspired by its wide array of subjects, or “characters,” as he calls them. Yarrow partners with Sorrel Sky Gallery, where his work is currently on display. By Connor Shreve. This story is sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts and Tafoya Barrett & Associates.
Learn More
David Yarrow Photography – https://davidyarrow.photography/
Sorrel Sky Gallery – https://sorrelsky.com/
Dunkin’ Donuts – https://locations.dunkindonuts.com/en/co/durango/1254-escalante-dr/362830
Tafoya Barrett & Associates – https://www.tafoyabarrett.com/
Transcript
World renowned photographer David Yarrow uses landscapes across the Four Corners to inspire photographs that tell stories about America. It’s wildness, it’s wilderness, and its people. You’re watching the local News Network brought to you by Dunkin Donuts and to Tafoya Barrett and Associates. I’m Connor Shrieve. Yarrow travels the world to shoot everything from landscapes to wildlife and even celebrities and supermodels, still, he often finds himself drawn back to our slice of paradise.
The fact that I’ve been drawn to Durango doesn’t make me the exception. I think it makes me more the rule. It’s a great canvas in which to tell stories.
Yarrow was recently in the area putting a twist on one of his favorite subjects, the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway.
We think that snow adds an extra character for free in a storytelling image. So if you’re trying to tell a story in one photograph, any elements you can get for free are quite handy. John Ford used to say that Monument Valley gave him a character for free and snow gives me an extra character for free.
To Yarrow, the Four Corners evokes nostalgia for the second half of the 19th century in America, which he calls the greatest story ever told.
It’s a metaphor for human endeavor and maybe making sacrifices and compromises in your life for your future generations within your family. So I think it’s a story which resonates all around the world.
Yarrow’s career dates back to the mid eighties when he took a now globally recognizable photo of a jubilant Diego Maradona clutching the World Cup Trophy. But after a tour of high profile sporting events that followed, Yarrow called it quits on professional photography,
I think there are very, very few great photographers when they’re 20 because photography’s not about a camera. It’s about kind of outer manifestation of your inner soul. It’s about emotion, and most people I know are more emotionally intelligent when they’re 40 than when they’re 20.
But after a Wall Street detour, Yarrow returned, now recognized as one of the bestselling fine art photographers in the world. His pieces fetch millions at auction, and his photos are on display at galleries and museums across the world. It’s safe to say he’s learned quite a bit in the days since Diego. His advice to amateur photographers stop posting all those pics.
Get rid of this idea that you can do one every one and a half hours. So many things have to coalesce. A good picture is a picture whereby if it gets destroyed and you don’t have the memory anywhere, you don’t haven’t saved it, and it’s destroyed forever. A good picture is one where you won’t speak to anyone for a week.
As for his photo goals, Yarrow says he hopes to take five or six good photos this year. You can see a handful of those good photos on display at Sorrel Sky Gallery in Durango. For more information on this and other stories, visit DurangoLocal.news. Thanks for watching this edition of The Local News Network. I’m Connor Shrieve.
