Taking Flight – Interview with Anthony Spencer

Winning the take a view landscape photographer of the year competition in 2010 gave Antony spencer the opportunity to take the step into the world of landscape photography full time. Here, he discusses how he developed creatively, the lessons he has learned along the way, and the increasing struggle to find new locations

What inspired you to pick up a camera for the first time?  

It all began for me with an original Canon EOS 5D about 10 years ago. I bought it to make photographs of my children and pretty soon after that became infatuated with landscape photography. I’d been trying to make images of landscapes for a month or two when I took the plunge and invested in a full LEE Filters set-up. This revolutionised the process for me and everything progressed from there. There have been many different cameras and lenses in between then and now. At the moment, I am very settled with my Phase One medium-format set-up and I also use a Sony A7R II with various lenses. The quality I get from the Phase One is just mind-blowing, I love it and it’s my go-to camera when everything comes together.

What was it about the landscape that particularly inspired you, and how did you start to get to grips with it as an outlet for your creativity? 

It must be the most clichéd answer to this question, but my love for the great outdoors was by far the biggest inspiration to get out in the fi eld with my camera. Many photographers had an influence on me during those early years: Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and David Noton, to name a few. I did some reading online, but more than anything I learned from trial and error, making and learning from my own mistakes and triumphs. I guess I came into this game at the right time; nowadays, it seems as if the competition in the industry makes it almost impossible to break through and stand out from the thousands of photographers who are all capable of making world-class images at any moment.

What were the main lessons you learned in those early days when you were taking your first steps?

I think the main lesson I learned early on was to try and tread my own path. Of course, there was a period where I wanted all the clichéd compositions, initially made famous by so many of the accomplished photographers, but that didn’t last too long. I wanted to make images my way and not rely on the vision of others. It wasn’t easy, but the rewards are far greater. Hopefully, this is something that I have achieved and will continue to do.

Was there a particular turning point during this time?

I guess there was one series of images that really turned things for me. In 2010, I was beginning my journey into making a living from photography – not full time, but enough to make a substantial difference. I had been travelling to Norway, to places such as Lofoten and Tromsø, during the winter months and leading workshops there to photograph the northern lights and the incredible winter landscapes. Nobody else was doing this at the time, and we never saw another tourist at all during the first two or three years. The first trip I did to Norway was in 2009, so I guess it was the images from this trip that made all the difference. I still visit now, and I returned only recently from a trip exploring Arctic Scandinavia. It’s a different world now, however, from the undiscovered one of only five or so years ago.

In 2010, you won the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. What effect did this success have on you?

AS It was the first time I had entered a competition and ultimately I wanted to get one image into the book. To learn that I had won the competition was a total shock and took a good while to sink in. I will never forget the moment I opened my front door to see Charlie Waite standing there to give me the incredible news. I think I entered 10 images that year. I felt pretty happy with eight of them, and the last two came from a bunch of another 20 or so. It was one of those two that won and ended up pretty much changing my life. It goes to show that any competition is a complete lottery. Put the right image in front of the right people on the right day and the connection is there. On another day, it may not have won at all. In the end, the picture that won was like many of my images at the time: an attempted different take on an iconic landmark, where I had worked on the composition, and was fortunate enough to have been there in good light.

At what point did you make the leap into full-time photography?

Straight after the competition win. I had slowly been doing more and more photographic work and tours, but after that win, with all the publicity surrounding it, everything changed. Going back to my day job just didn’t make sense. I have been able to provide for my family like never before and follow my dreams of exploring the world, with like-minded people around me at every turn.

In what ways has photography given you a deeper appreciation of the landscape?

I think for sure I see the world differently now from how I ever did before. My appreciation for nature and the great outdoors is far stronger now than it ever was. Looking subconsciously for the beauty around me everywhere I go – even when I’m not photographing for compositions and images – makes a big difference. I think most landscape photographers would say the same thing. It rubs off on the people around me, too. Whenever I’m with my wife Chlöe, or my kids, they constantly point out the beautiful light or dramatic clouds. Hopefully, my appreciation for the world will continue to rub off on my children throughout their lives.

How important is it for you to practise your craft in your local area?

I think that I would be in a different place right now, photographically speaking, if I hadn’t had my local landscapes to practise on during those early days. I’m incredibly fortunate to have the Dorset coast on my doorstep. The inspiration was there in abundance. What was slightly more difficult was learning to photograph an iconic part of our little island in a way that was different. This definitely took a great deal more time and exploration. It takes time to develop as a photographer and I’m in a very different place from where I was even 18 months ago. I don’t think any of us ever stop developing our vision and our appreciation of what is all around us.

What do you get out of travelling?

Travelling for me is a chance to be inspired by the vast variety of the landscapes around the world. Some of these are epic and instantly photogenic, while others require a great deal more exploration and immersion to understand and photograph well. As time passes, it’s the more complicated scenarios that interest me the most. The more challenging places provide greater rewards, and are often also the sorts of places where you can work away from the masses of photographers. Many of the iconic locations around the world now are completely overrun – it’s not enjoyable to be in some of these areas any more, so I’m working as hard as I can to photograph in places where this will never be a problem.

What are the locations that most inspire you, both in the UK and overseas?

There are many places I find completely inspiring and I have been very fortunate to visit many of them. I think southwest USA captivates me the most. There is so much to explore and the vast majority of it provides endless opportunities to create original compositions of truly spectacular geology. I have only just scratched the surface over the past five years, and I’m looking forward to exploring this region for the rest of my life. I also adore the Great Plains in the US. They are so vast and so empty, and just so real. There is no pretentiousness in the charming old towns across the plains. It’s as if time has stood still and they make no apologies for it. I love all the abandoned buildings and cars scattered across a region most assume is just empty. However, it’s far from that in my experience, and this is another region I hope to spend a great many years exploring in the future. In the UK there are still many places where I feel there is unlimited potential to be creative and original. I guess the Cairngorms National Park is at the very top of that list. I drove around there in the autumn last year and was absolutely stunned by just how beautiful it all was.

And where haven’t you been yet, where you hope to go?

There are so many places, I don’t even know where to begin! Greenland is one of those place that seems to have infinite possibilities. I’ve only been to the Disko Bay region, on the western coast, but I’m looking to explore a great deal more of the country. Antarctica also is very high on the list, but is going to take too much time to explore in the way that I would like to at the moment. With three kids at home, I can’t justify spending that length of time away. There are a couple of locations I am desperate to explore from helicopters. I spend a great deal of time looking through Google Earth to identify new areas to photograph from the air. I’m currently planning to explore a particular part of Namibia from the air, and it’s somewhere I have never seen any images made before.

Why do you think the interest in landscape photography is so enormous, particularly in the UK?

I’m not sure landscape photography is any more popular in Great Britain than anywhere else in the world. I think our population density may have something to do with it appearing that way, but the sheer number of photographers around the world now is incredible and is continuing to grow rapidly. There are places in the world that I have visited recently that are having real problems coping with the volume of photographers that visit, because the infrastructure hasn’t yet had a chance to catch up.

You now run workshops regularly – how satisfying is it to witness clients growing in confidence and ability?

It’s incredible to be a part of so many people’s photographic journeys. I can’t believe I actually have the job I do, and that I have met so many amazing people over the past 10 years or so. I have visited places I never thought I would see, and nearly always with the best possible travelling companions. Watching the clients learn and grow is very rewarding. Many have branched off on their own journeys, and some have become full-time professionals themselves. There are others who joined me in the very beginning for my first workshops, and still travel with me today, some 10 years later. A few have had very successful major exhibitions, too. I have made some great friends and relationships that will last a lifetime.

Do you go to a location knowing how you are going to approach it?

I try never to arrive at a location with an image in mind, unless it is a composition I have come up with myself on a different occasion. I don’t look too hard at what has been done before, as I want to see each place with fresh eyes as much as I can. I do look around for inspiration, but unless there is a composition I have previsualised, I try to react to what is happening more than try to make an image fi t a particular format. My favourite images I have taken are all reactive, where something magical happens and I am in the right place to make an image work. I love drama, but I also strive for originality as much as I can.

You also do a bit of ‘stormchasing’ – talk us through some of your experiences.

I have been stormchasing for a few years. As I say, I love drama, but I also love uncertainty and unpredictability. Stormchasing provides all these things. Photographically, it is without doubt my favourite experience. Every year at the same time you can find me on the Great Plains, waiting to witness the most severe and dramatic light to be found anywhere on the planet. Standing in front of a supercell thunderstorm is a very humbling experience. Over the years, I have seen many tornadoes and multiple incredibly structured storms. I think my favourite of these was in Leoti, Kansas, last summer. It was the very first day of the tour and my clients were able to witness one of the best thunderstorms any of us will ever see. Many of them are returning to travel again with me this summer. (And I still have a couple of places available, too!) Perhaps the biggest draw to these storms for me is that only a handful of people will ever witness each one. No two are the same and the locations vary so much. It’s quite extraordinary to photograph this incredible phenomenon knowing you may well be the only people on the planet doing so.

What are your plans for the next few years?

Over the next few years, I aim to travel a little less and spend more time at home with my family. Having said that, there are still many incredible trips I have in place. I’m very much looking forward to heading back to Hawaii to photograph lava. I knew photographing the lava ocean entry would be special, but it had a massive impact on me and I could spend a great deal more time there. I’m returning to Spitsbergen later this year to do more polar landscapes and also photograph the incredible wildlife, including polar bears. I love photographing wildlife from a landscape photographer’s perspective. There have been a couple of occasions when wildlife has come incredibly close, which was extraordinary. I’ll also be visiting Kenya for the first time later this year. Photographing African wildlife is something I have always wanted to do, and I’m particularly inspired by the work of Nick Brandt. I can’t wait to see what results that trip will yield. On a personal level, I would like to see more of the Arctic, particularly the Polar regions around Greenland and Spitsbergen, before the changes there are too drastic. Things are definitely changing: year after year, the temperature records are being smashed. It’s a terrifying prospect that in our lifetimes these places are looking certain to be changed beyond recognition. Creatively, I guess I hope to just keep evolving. It’s a subconscious journey. I love being in locations that are truly inspiring, with fantastic people. It’s a dream job and something I will hang to for as long as I possibly can.

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