♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." >> i'm mola lenghi. we've got a lot more to tell you about this morning, starting with forest fires. now fire has always been a part of the natural life cycle of america's forests, and letting some fires burn, or even intentionally setting them is considered to be good forest management. the trouble with that is more people are building homes in the woods, and of course they don't want the trees around them going up in flames. but one group of innovators say they found a happy compromise, and even better, it creates jobs and it pays for itself. barry petersen has the story. >> reporter: this massive tree-eating machine has a funny name, the feller buncher, but a serious job.

doing what nature once did, thinning out trees on the quintera ranch. >> we move heard in 1969. >> reporter: when you have a sustainable forest, what does that mean in terms of fires? >> it means we're more fire resilient. >> reporter: forest fires are nature's game plan for managing a forest. >> a forest fire isn't always bad, as long as it's a cool burning fire. you know we do some prescribed burning, and we'll do more prescribed burning in the future as understory fires. >> reporter: that's the small fires? >> yes. but when we get the big devastating crown fires that we've seen from california all the way through the west into colorado, those are extremely devastating, and we're trying to prevent from those big catastrophic fires. >> reporter: the fires are bigger for several reasons. there are heroic efforts to put them out before they destroy the growing number of houses built in forested areas. but that undercuts nature's way

of burning off undergrowth, and that is making forests dangerously dense. jonas feinstein is colorado's state conservation forster. he along with biologist tie woodward brought us to colorado's kiowa creek ranch owned by the audubon society. this area has been cleared to look like it was for centuries, trees widely spaced where the worst threat is a grass fire. and for that, the ponderosa pines have a nature-made defense. >> what's great about these trees in particular, ponderosa pine is they're fire adapted. they develop a thick bark at their base that is fire resistant. >> so the little fire, the grass fires, they've got a bark that is insulated to that? >> absolutely. >> reporter: but woodward sees danger in the dense forests nearby. when you see that, do you say to yourself i got to get rid of that stuff or it's going to come and get me one day? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. and then you no forest left, and you just have a dead zone of black trees.

>> reporter: at trenchera ranch, they have their own problem, what to do with all the excess trees, including acres of trees killed by pine beetles. >> to put the infrastructure in is quite expensive. >> reporter: by quite expensive, you mean the lumber mill. all the stuff that you're cutting? >> yes, the sawmill. >> reporter: so blanca forestry products was born. a sprawling lumber mill that produces about 20 million board feet of lumber a year sold across two dozen states. and what helps manage the forest comes with about 70 jobs, and that helps people up and down this rural valley. john medina is a night watchman. >> it's a great boost for the economy. it helps everybody. it helps people working here. it helps the small businesses. you know, there is a lot of money that's staying here and people staying here.

>> reporter: jose ontiveros stacks wood for the kiln, that makes possible an enviable colorado lifestyle. >> i love fishing, yeah. >> reporter: why do you like to fish? >> sometimes to eat, and just to be out in nature and just enjoying the elements. i'll even go fishing when it's raining. it's just great. >> reporter: and it's a family affair. the mill also employees his sister, stepdaughter, and wife antoinette, who works in the front office. so the logical question, if it works here, why not everywhere? the answer? money. >> it's not so much a money making enterprise. we're trying to break even. like i said, the ownership is dedicated to make this happen. so, you know, it is an investment. >> reporter: so this is really an emotional investment. it's not really a capitalist investment? >> absolutely it's an emotional investment. >> reporter: the investor is billionaire financier and environmental philanthropist louis bacon.

trenchera is one of several areas he is working to preserve, preserve things like this, a once overgrown aspen grove that was cut down and is now regrowing. >> it's going to be denser than what you see in the parts we don't harvest, but that density will start to reduce there will be some that will die out. the animals will have some effect on some of them. so it will thin itself as we go on. >> reporter: a remarkably simple prescription for how humans can save a forest. do it nature's way.

♪ work so hard ♪ give it everything you got ♪ strength of a lioness ♪ tough as a knot ♪ rocking the stage ♪ and we never gonna stop ♪ all strength, no sweat. ♪ just in case you forgot ♪ all strength. ♪ no sweat secret. all strength. no sweat.

is one of the most famous photographers you've probably never heard of. his work hangs in galleries and private elections the world over. yarrow specializes in wildlife, and one of his most recent work, called "wolves of wall street" sold last week in miami, for get this, $200,000. yarrow of course used a real wolf, and he even found the real wolf of wall street, the guy they made the movie about, to join the shoot. jeff glor was there. ♪ >> let's make some magic. this it is. >> i've always believed that the best photographers stand in front of the most interesting things. it's really that simple. >> reporter: from the arctic to africa to the american west, david yarrow's work shooting wildlife, indigenous community, and landscapes has reshaped fine

art photography. >> you never know when that big one is going to come. >> reporter: the combination of his extreme planning and patience. >> that's it. great. >> reporter: recently in southern california, yarrow only had a few minutes of perfect sunlight to create his latest print. >> get that shade right. >> reporter: a staged shot on sunset boulevard featuring one of the most famous models in the world, alessandra ambrosio, a car, and a wolf. >> wait, do i really need to be with the wolf? >> reporter: here ambrosio wasn't comfortable sitting next to the wolf. >> you're fine. come on. come a little closer. >> if you don't like it, we can shoot them independently. we'll just do a composite of the two. >> reporter: so yarrow compromised. >> you have sunset boulevard shut down. people honking at you like crazy. a wolf -- >> four wolves. >> reporter: he brings backups just in case. the photo titled "chateau

marmont" was an homage to the martin scorsese-leonardo dicaprio fan. >> we don't start filing not 9:30 because our clients are already answering the phones. >> reporter: he did one picture outside and one inside a trading room. >> are you already? go for it! >> reporter: with jordan bellfort, the man the wolf of wall street is based on. yarrow's usual goal is to get as close as possible to animals of all kinds. that includes traveling to south africa with british model cara delevingne to shoot her in front of a lion. you searched david yarrow on the internet is, this one of the first ones that comes up. >> i mean, she is a british icon. she is authentic. she is brave. >> reporter: she's got a lion standing directly behind her. >> yeah. she is fearless. she is fearless. >> reporter: yarrow has also come face-to-face with black panthers, elephants, captured

here with a special wide angle lens, and tigers. >> tigers will kill you. tigers are the most vicious animals in the world. they will kill you for fun. i'll get in the cage, i think, and try and work from the cage. >> reporter: is there ever any fear? >> there is fear of failure, which is always good. but fear of personal safety, never with animals. with people, yes. my scary moments have always been with people because people can buy weed, they can get drunk, and they can buy guns. animals can't do those three things. >> reporter: one of yarrow's most famous totals is a selfie with a polar bear, where if you look closely, you can see his silhouette in the bear's eyes. i heard people say once people survive attacks from grizzlies or black bears, but nobody has ever survived an attack from a polar bear. >> i think that's true. >> reporter: but you're right there in its face. >> they're very sweet toothed. never be upwind from a polar bear because they wouldn't smell

you. if you're downwind and you cover yourself in chocolate. but we always say don't do it at home. >> reporter: david yarrow first became interested in photography as a teenager, snapping pictures of sporting events in england. but following parental and economic pressure, he shifted to banking. >> way back in 1988, photography was something that weird people did. like they would be train spotters, whereas banking is what normal people did. and now banking is what weird people do and photography is what normal people do. and it's amazing how far we've come. >> reporter: yarrow didn't get back to photography full time until 2012. by that time, his marriage had painfully fallen apart. >> i wasn't fond of myself. my path to redemption was to pick up my cameras and good to the most remote parts of the world. that was my antidote to my personal pain. >> reporter: yarrow has cultivated an impressive list of celebrity fans by now.

tom brady wrote the forward to his latest book. >> when people want to say something nasty about me, they'll turn around and say yeah, david, he has taken some good pictures, but he is a businessman. my mother was an artist and she died suddenly penniless because she thought the person pursuit or monetization of her craft was shameless. >> reporter: when people say they're more interested in the celebrity or the business part than the actual art itself. >> i think you have to have an end market. if people want to turn around and say david, he knows american football players and british football players and supermodel, whatever. i work with them. >> i think you have done a remarkable job. >> reporter: yarrow can take months to plan one picture. but once everything is in place, things move fast. >> from sunset boulevard to here? >> yeah. and we pride ourselves on our

work effort. we shot this 26 hours ago and here is the final version. >> reporter: he then only releases a limited number of original pictures. single prints with go for well over a thousand dollars. did you ever stop to think about that, that you're producing pictures that demand that amount of money? >> in 1985 i photographed wimbledon. i'd go home. i would print up my pictures in the darkroom, and i would sell them on the streets the next day for 20 liquid a picture. so when you go from selling pictures on the street for 20 liquid to seeing one of your pictures, of course you think about the fact that your journey has worked and your hard work has paid off. >> absolute carnage. >> do i get a feel bad thinking about it? no. i just want to get better. >> it's amazing. it's perfect. >> 200 grand for that shot.

well, if you got it, spend it. you can't take i with

well, it doesn't take a professional photographer to capture the perfect christmas photo, but it certainly helps. and for many families, the cost of a pro photo shoot is simply out of reach. but in lynchberg, virginia, there is a young woman with a team of volunteers giving families a holiday gift destined to last a lifetime. janet shamlian reports. >> so you guys go right over there to the lady on the end. >> reporter: it was an offer almost too good to be true. but when the doors opened -- >> you guys can go right over there. >> reporter: they discovered it was real. >> one, two -- >> reporter: a photo session in a festive setting. with a team of pros behind the lens.

>> oh, so cute! >> reporter: for dealycia dickerson and her sons, the price of a photo came without a price tag. have you ever had that done before? >> no, we don't normally do them professionally. >> reporter: 12-year-old brianna lane came with her mom and her family. >> i've dreamed of doing this, but it's never really happened. and now my dream just came true. >> reporter: brandy lane is a caretaker who seldom has had the chance to be cared for. if you had to pay out of pocket for this -- >> i would never be able to do it. living on a limited budget, would never, ever, ever be able to do it. >> give mom a kiss on the cheek. >> reporter: before today, brandy had only selfies of her family. >> you guys give mama a hug too. >> reporter: photographer lee is a stouffer dreamed it up. >> i had families ask hey, can i have that photo?

that's the only good professional family photo we had. i started thinking about those families. >> reporter: she put out a call for help. everyone she asked said yes. and then she let the community know. >> when i started doing this, i would worried that no families would show up. and leah, if one family shows up, that's all that matters. >> reporter: she 19th worry. they hoped for 40 families. 87 signed up. each one got the star treatment, including hair and makeup and a holiday photo. for brandy lane and her girls, just what they needed. >> we're just kind of starting over, but we're getting there. this is a good start. >> reporter: a moment captured forever, and a gift for which there is no price. >> and a merry christmas to all. janet shamlian reporting, and that is where we'll leave you for the "overnight news" this friday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check back a little later for the morning news, and as always, you don't want to miss "cbs this morning." from the broadcast center in new york city, i'm mola lenghi.

it's friday, december 13th, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." explosive debate. democrats decide to postpone a pair of historic impeachment votes until later this morning. why republicans are furious about the unexpected announcement. breaking overnight, landslide victory. uk prime minister boris johnson's conservative party wins the election in britain. what does that mean for brexit? plus, a new york city college student brutally murdered just steps away from campus. what investigators think could what investigators think could have motivated the attack. captioning funded by cbs good morning from the studio 57 newsroom at cbs headquarters here in new york. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green.