David Yarrow

David Yarrow (born 8 February 1966) is a British fine-art photographer, conservationist and author. He has travelled to isolated locations to capture images of wildlife, indigenous communities and landscapes. He currently lives in London.

He is the son of Eric Yarrow, who was an active member of the Yarrow shipbuilding dynasty before serving as the chairman of Clydesdale Bank from 1985 to 1991.

Yarrow is the son of Eric Yarrow. He began his photographic career recording iconic sporting events and was named Young Scottish Photographer of the Year at the age of 20 whilst studying at Edinburgh University. In the same year (1986) he covered the World Cup in Mexico for The Times. His photo of Diego Maradona holding the trophy aloft was internationally syndicated.

After graduating from Edinburgh University, Yarrow pursued a career in finance. He spent 8 years working as an institutional stockbroker in UK equities, both in London and New York City. In 1993 Yarrow was appointed Director of Equities at Natwest Securities where he worked until leaving to found his London-based hedge fund, Clareville Capital in 1995.

Yarrow's passion and interest in photography remained constant throughout this period, which prompted Spear's magazine to liken him to James Boswell in an article that explored Yarrow's "double-life" as hedge fund manager and artist. More recently, Yarrow's passion to address and elucidate key environmental and geopolitical issues has motivated his decision to photograph the natural world as a full time profession.

His approach to photographing wildlife is guided by Robert Capa's assertion that "if your pictures aren't good enough, you’re not close enough". When possible, Yarrow takes his photographs of dangerous wildlife using a remote-controlled camera, acknowledging that a photographer can achieve perspective by capturing shots that look up at the animal from the ground.

Yarrow uses an innovative technique to capture his shots. One of Yarrow's methods involves coating his camera casing in a variety of scents to entice dangerous animals towards his camera lens. These treatments have been used after research into identifying the most attractive and enticing smell for the animal in question.

Prints and exhibitions

Yarrow and lifelong friend, Elizabeth Offord cofounded David Yarrow Photography Ltd in November 2013. Yarrow's work has since been exhibited in London's Saatchi Gallery, the Phillip's Gallery and Christie's global headquarters (8 King Street). The collection has been shown in New York and Hong Kong.

Yarrow is represented globally by over 24 galleries and exhibited by Holden Luntz Gallery, Maddox Gallery, Casterline Goodman Gallery, Samuel Lynn Galleries and Galeria Fineart.

Sotheby's

On 19 May 2017, Yarrow's "Mankind" image was included in Sotheby's annual photography auction. The photograph sold for £60,000. A 10 April 2018 New York auction for "The Wolf of Main Street" fetched $100,000, 4 times the high estimate of $25,000. A 17 May 2018 London auction for "78 Degrees North" fetched £81,250, thus marking a new record. On 5 April 2019, edition 12/12 of the photograph "Africa" sold for $106,250. In September 2019,"Old Testament" the photograph "Old Testament sold for $52,500 in a Sotheby's auction.

Nowhere (2007)

Nowhere is a 172-page selection of colour photographs of some of the world's most isolated locations.

The work was heralded by The Telegraph as a photographic celebration of some of the world's most desolate, spectacular landscapes.

Encounter (2013)

Encounter is Yarrow's second fine art photography book, published in November 2013. The work is a compilation of 87 monochrome photographs of wildlife and indigenous communities, combined with Yarrow's narrative. The collective is a result of three years of Yarrow's trips to parts of the world that have largely escaped public overexposure.

Wild Encounters (2016)

Wild Encounters was published by Rizzoli. It includes a foreword written by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and was awarded Art Book of 2017 by Amazon. Yarrow's royalties from the book are being donated to Tusk Trust, a British charity that focuses on animal conservation in Africa.

David Yarrow (2019)

David Yarrow was published by Rizzoli in 2019. A 368-page photography monograph, it showcases 150 of Yarrow's strongest images from the past two years. The book features a foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and an afterword written by American cultural icon Cindy Crawford. All royalties from this book are being donated to conservation charities Tusk in the UK and WildAid in the US.

Yarrow is the affiliated photographer for the African Conservation Charity Tusk Trust, a British organisation founded in 1990. Since November 2013, David Yarrow Photography has contributed over $1 million to help support Tusk's programmes and projects. Yarrow is also an Ambassador for Wild Ark, the Kevin Richardson Foundation and Best Buddies. Commercially, Yarrow is Global Ambassador for UBS and European Ambassador for Nikon, as well as Creative Partner for Land Rover and Mantis.

Yarrow married Jane Martin, a public relations director in 2000. The couple are now divorced. They have two children.

• Nowhere (Clearview, 2007)
• Encounter (Clearview, 2013)
• Wild Encounters (Rizzoli, 2016)
• David Yarrow (Rizzoli, 2019)