‘ The Usual Suspects’ by David Yarrow

Nigel Atherton Editor

I fell in love with this photograph when I first saw it on the wall at Somerset House as part of the Photo London Festival. I also loved David’s accompanying story about it, from which here’s a short version: ‘I have long had a visceral attraction to the Wild West and no state embodies the final frontier of America more than Montana. I know this bar in the mountains inside out, and the locals know me. Everyone wanted a role in this shoot but we had to be selective. I wanted exconvicts, wolf wranglers, wannabe Davy Crocketts and crazy old mountain men that are drunk by 11am. The barmaid needed to have the right look, as would the chosen mountain man. The wolf I could rely on – I have worked with him before. There is no light in the bar so it was all seat- of-the-pants stuff, technically – there was no margin for error in focus. Flash would have destroyed the emotion and sense of place. As I expected, most of the photos weren’t sharp or someone messed up (including me) but I just needed one stroke of luck – 1/125sec that would capture Montana. I think we nailed it!’

I think he nailed it too. I love the great characters and the sense that they all have a story to tell. Even the wolf! And what’s he doing up on the bar anyway? This looks like a still from a movie I’d pay to watch. Or, if it doesn’t exist, one that I’d love to write.