There Will Be Blood, Butte Montana, USA

Signed, dated, and numbered from edition of 12 on recto. Signed, titled, dated, and editioned on certificate of authenticity.

I have always wanted to name a photograph after this powerful Oscar winning movie – but the picture had to be strong and the content “bang on” appropriate.

 

The history of oil in so many ways mirrors the history of the world in the last 140 years and in America this holds very true, albeit the move west was fuelled by so many other mineral resources as well as oil.

 

“Go West, young man, go West” is celebrated counsel from 1851 that was followed by millions and gave rise to final frontier towns, across swathes of Western America. The few communities that remain intact offer great potential as filming backdrops.

 

The key to this photograph was to remember that tight framing leads the eye and that the wolf had to be close to me – otherwise the image would fall flat. There was no room for dead space, but also there could be few errors in the positioning of the 15 people.

 

We shot this many times, but just one frame came off. It was not warm, and one was all we needed. – David Yarrow