An original perspective - Amazing photos

by Graeme Green Photos by Antony Spencer

Ridiculously exciting” is how landscape photographer Antony Spencer describes exploring the wild, un touch ed landscapes of Iceland. While fly ing in a helicopter to create photos that are unique and otherworldly, the hardest part, he admits, is not getting so distracted by the beauty that you forget to take any pictures. But staying focused in challenging circumstances is something Spencer is a master at. Searching for original landscapes and perspectives also sees him working in freezing tem - peratures in the Arctic, chasing storms across the plains of America or tracking wildlife in Yellowstone, Spit sbergen and the Maasai Mara.

The English photographer, based in Dorset, won the prestigious Lands cape Photographer of the Year Award back in 2010. Since then, he’s been traveling the world, leading photography tours and workshops with the company Light & Land (www.lightandland.co.uk) to adventurous desti nations, including Iceland, Namibia, Scotland and Norway.

Here, he talks about photographing Iceland from above, being obsessive, and what sets a great photo apart.

Antony Spencer guides photography tours and workshops with Light & Land to Iceland, Kenya, Norway, USA, Namibia and locations in the UK, including Skye, Cornwall and Dorset. For details, see www.lightandland.co.uk. The company is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018 with the publication of a limited edition book, Evolving Landscapes, featuring photos by Antony Spencer, Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, Valda Bailey and other Light & Land photographers.

Q: You’ve photographed Iceland many times. Is it a country you have a close relationship with?

A: Absolutely! Iceland is such an incredible country with all its geo - thermal landscapes and its volcanic nature. I’ve been there more than 30 times and there is still so much more to discover.

Winter is fabulous because you get the Northern Lights and amazing wintry landscapes. And summer is amazing when the snow starts to recede.

Q: Do you have a favorite landscape to photograph?

A: My favorite place in the whole of Iceland is Hveravellir and the Land - mannalaugar mountains. So many places in the Highlands are fantastic.

ADRENALINE RUSH!

Q: Iceland is incredibly popular with landscape photographers. Is it still possible to find empty landscapes?

A: It definitely is, but it depends on the time of the year. If you go in the middle of summer, it’s much more difficult, but even in a 4X4 you can drive into remote places in the Highland and find yourself in an environment where you feel like you’re the only person there. Having the experience to know where to go and when is pretty key if you want to get into an area with no one else and start taking photos away from the surge of tourists.

Q: The photography tours you guide in Iceland cover traditional land - scape photography but also aerial photography from a helicopter. Is that an adrenaline rush?

A: Yes, but it can be distracting, so you have to get over just how incredibly beautiful what you’re flying over is in order to make photographs without just being blown away by it all. That happened to me the first few times I went flying.

SPOTTING PATTERNS

Q: How is the aerial approach different from traditional landscape photography? Are you looking more for patterns?

A: Absolutely! Things like river deltas become amazing abstracts from above. Flying over, I’m looking for patterns, then trying to capture some form of balance within the pattern to make a lovely photograph.

Besides abstracts, you can also do bigger landscape views by using the helicopter’s aerial perspective.

Q: Which areas of Iceland look best from a helicopter?

My favorite area is the river deltas on the south coast. They start an hour from Reykjavík and continue on from there. They look incredible.

A FOCUSED EDUCATION

Q: You guide photography workshops with Light & Land in locations around the world. How hard is it to teach someone the necessary skills?

A: You can teach a great deal. It’s important to work with each individual photographer separately. Every person has a completely different “eye.” It’s important to teach how to be creative and follow one’s vision to make the pictures you want to make.

Q: Your work was on show at the OXO Gallery in London in July. What do you think sets a great landscape photo apart?

A: Originality is a huge thing. Today, there are so many people who can produce world-class photos, but, to me, very few people are doing anything really original. It’s about trying to put your own spin on things, finding new locations and treading your own path, rather than following the trend.

HAPPY HARDCORE

Q: Do you need to be obsessive, getting up early, being outside in any weather, waiting patiently for the right conditions?

A: Yes. Quite often, I actually think the more severe the weather, the better it is. Really stormy atmospheric conditions can throw up the best light.

My favorite thing is storm-chasing, which I take tours to do in the US. To be around those really severe thunderstorms is just incredible, partly because of the atmosphere and the experience of being there, but also because of the light.

It’s a hardcore thing to do. We end up driving from one state to the next, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas… following weather patterns across the plains, taking photos of every big thunderstorm we can find. It’s an experience I adore.

CHILLING OUT

Q: You also spend a lot of time in ice, snow and Arctic landscapes. Do those places have difficult conditions to work in?

A: At times, yes. There have been times in Sweden and in Yellowstone in the US where the temperature has gone down to minus 40°C and your camera starts to freeze up. Working in the Arctic is challenging, especially when we get really far north like we do up in Spitsbergen, another Light & Land tour I do. You’re pretty much up at the North Pole at that point.

Q: Do you enjoy photographing the Northern Lights?

A: I’ve spent hundreds of nights shooting the Northern Lights and I’ve loved it every time. You never know what you’re going to get.

Sometimes the forecast is for nothing to happen and there’s an incredible display. You always have to be ready.

Q: Which is the best country for Northern Lights?

A: The whole of Scandinavia has been absolutely fantastic. The Norwegian coast and inland, Sweden, the far north of Finland and Iceland all have incredible Northern Lights.