Photographer David Yarrow and his crew spent this week in Durango for their third photo shoot featuring a train from the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Along with the shoot, which also invited locals to work as extras, on Thursday evening, he spoke at Sorrel Sky Gallery, where his work has been displayed since 2021.

Yarrow also took time Wednesday to chat at the gallery. He said choosing Durango as a set in the winter is no coincidence.

“As photographers, research is a big part of what we do, and location scouting is a big part of it. I like things in still picture that defy gravity, whether that be falling snow, or whether be waterfall, anything where defying gravity adds interest to a picture,” he said. “So the steam train here with the steam, is something I’ve always been visually drawn toward. And I think that if you couple a steam engine with snow, you’re onto potential where the snow adds an extra character for free. So I’ve never been in Durango in the summer, I’ve only been here in January or February because I want to be on that track with a lot of snow. Last year, there was an awful lot; this year, we just got lucky.”

For more information

For more information about David Yarrow’s photography at Sorrel Sky Gallery and to keep up to date with news about the gallery’s new space in New York City, visit sorrelsky.com.

For more about Yarrow, visit https://davidyarrow.photography.

As an international photographer, Yarrow said he is rarely home. And while you’d think that jetting around the globe and working with supermodels would be an ideal way to spend the time, it’s not always Champagne gallery openings and star-studded parties.

“There are parts of my life that other people wouldn’t want. The huge amount of traveling after a while ... I’m lucky to be able to sit in a nice seat,” he said. “The other day, I left China 5 in the morning, northeast of the Russian border in the middle of nowhere, then I flew across to Japan, then flew from Japan to Denver, then flew from Denver to here. So I left at 5 o’clock in the morning, and I arrived here at 6 o’clock at night, but I lost a day, so it was a long journey. When I arrived at the Strater, I was in bed by 8 o’clock.”

While the constant travel can get pretty old pretty fast, Yarrow said that’s balanced by the best part of the job: The people he comes in contact with, who all have lessons to teach.

“Definitely the people I meet. And the more famous they are, when you meet them and find out that they’re very normal, they have family issues, health issues, whatever issues, like everyone, it’s very humbling. All these people are very nice and work incredibly hard, and they’ve got a huge amount of humility,” he said. “So that teaches us that hopefully everything we do is born on the basis of humility and not exceeding your station.”

And, more locally, the people he meets here leave an impression as well. Yarrow said that in his fatigue from the long trip to Durango, he accidentally left the airport with someone else’s bag. The two got in touch with each other and ended up meeting over coffee and cakes to clear up the mix up.

Up next, Yarrow is leaving Durango today to head to Park City, Utah, for the 40th Sundance Film Festival where he’s showing and speaking. Then it’s off to Switzerland, where he will be shooting polo in the snow.

And, in even bigger news for Durango: He will help Sorrel Sky Gallery open a third space this spring – this one in the Soho neighborhood in New York City.

“Opening a third location in NYC has always been my goal. The fact that we’re doing it with exclusive representation of David’s work, not just in NYC, but N.Y. state, makes it that much more exciting,” said Sorrel owner Shanan Campbell in a news release. She first connected with Yarrow when he was in Durango shooting on location, and he invited her to join his team for the day. “I was astounded. It was like a movie set,” she said. “David possesses a rare talent; his work fully engages the viewer. His ability as an artist and his gift for visual storytelling pull us in and spark our imagination. Having him as our inaugural artist is thrilling.”

More about the opening to come, so stay tuned ...

katie@durangoherald.com