David Yarrow’s cinematic take on the American West
Framing the frontier
Summer/Fall 2025
Written By: Heather Jarvis | Images: David Yarrow
Few photographers capture the raw intensity of the world quite like David Yarrow. Renowned for his powerful black-and-white images of wildlife and remote cultures, David doesn’t
just photograph his subjects — he steps into their world.
Over the years, David has turned his lens toward a wide range of subjects — from supermodels and sports legends to frontier towns and wild animals, often blending them in cinematic scenes. As his work has evolved, he’s moved beyond the natural world into richly composed visual narratives that blur the line between fine art and storytelling.
A native of Scotland, David has a deep fascination with the American West — a recurring theme in his work. One such image, “The No Name Saloon,” captures a wolf perched on Park City’s iconic No Name Saloon bar surrounded by a group of Wild West characters. The piece exemplifies David’s style of storytelling through staged imagery.
His photo “The American Dream” (above) was taken in Utah and is one that David feels “allows for a fleeting moment of proud retrospection.” His photograph on the front cover of this magazine, “The Road Goes on Forever,” was taken in Utah’s Monument Valley.
The scene captures the essence of our magazine’s theme, Boundless Horizons, and embodies the timeless spirit of freedom, exploration and the open road.
We sat down with David to learn what inspires him and why the American West continues to captivate his imagination.
Q: What was the inspiration behind “The Road Goes on Forever,” PCStyle Magazine’s cover photo?
A: [The photograph is of] a well- known point, Forrest Gump Point. … It’s one of the great locations in America, and because the road stretches back, it gives a sense of journey and leads the eye. There’s no authenticity in finding the location because everyone knows where it is, but we always try and do something a bit different. And I think America is the home of the road trip. There is no better place to do a road trip than Utah. And there’s something about road trips that elicits imagery of freedom and carefree life.
Q: The Old West is a theme in many of your images. What does this mean to you?
A: I’m not an American, but I think the second half of the 19th century is the greatest story ever told. … I think we’re very fully alive to the final frontier being fantastic for storytellers, because you’ve got the combination of the kind of smorgasbord of characters, whether it be saloon bar owners, cowboy capitalists, criminals, convicts, gold prospectors — whatever you want to throw in — and a story played against landscape that has grandeur and romance.
Q: A wolf seems to be a primary character in quite a few of your photos. What’s the story there?
A: I don’t think there’s really anything too smart about it. But wolves elicit a lot of warmth from viewers, more than any other animal that I can think of because of the metaphor for mischief, for cunning, for intelligence. … The wolf is used so often as a description of people — ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing,’ that kind of thing. People want to be known as a bit of a wolf.
Q: What does it mean to you to have your work represented in galleries around the world?
A: First of all, gratitude. Secondly, and less importantly, some sense of affirmation that you haven’t wasted your life. The fact that we can raise money
for charity is very important for us as a family, and I think we’ve raised about $20 million for causes close to our hearts. There’s no sense of permanency in having your art appreciated. … We just have to continue to get better, because if we don’t, and we don’t tell new stories, those galleries, one by one, are going to stop sharing my work.
Q: You’ve traveled the world for your work, do you have a favorite location?
A: The world is a beautiful place, and sometimes people need to be reminded that there’s beauty everywhere. … But it is the people that make the place. We can all stand at the top of a mountain and go, ‘Wow, look at that vista,’ or stand somewhere in one of Utah’s great national parks — but maybe because I’ve been visually spoiled, it doesn’t quite cut it for me. … I think that whether it be in your state [Utah], or Wyoming or Montana or Texas, you have very special visuals but then you have the people — and when the two collide, that’s when you get a bit of magic.
Q: Storytelling has become important to your work. What is your process for defining what type of story you’re hoping to tell when you begin a project?
A: We’re all storytellers, and I want to make pictures rather than take them. … I hope that when I go to dinner tonight that people aren’t all scrolling on their mobile phones, they’re telling stories. Telling stories is the glue around which conversations hang. And I think if you can tell stories with a picture, which isn’t easy because it’s just one frame, there’s more chance you can engage with people.
