Summer Workshops…

I have a few places remaining on two workshops I am running with Doug Chinnery in a few weeks time. The first is a summer landscapes workshop, this session will begin at midday and we will be roaming across the Salisbury plain photographing the sumer crops and stunning rolling downland. We should have some linseed flax fields and poppy fields to photograph and we will aim to finish the day off at sunset in a poppyfield if possible. This workshop is on Saturday 4th June and two places remain at £125 each.

The second is a 4 hour workshop commencing shortly before dawn at a lavender farm in Somerset. again two places remain and this workshop will be on July 1st and priced at £85pp.

Places won’t be available long so please contact me at antonyspencerphotography@btinternet.com to find out more or secure a place.

Bluebell extravaganza workshop….

I am running a bluebell workshop from dusk til dawn with Doug Chinnery on the 2nd May which is bank holiday Monday. The day will include two of the very finest bluebell woodlands the U.K has to offer. We will start at sunrise at a vast beech tree and bluebell wood near Basingstoke in Hampshire shooting through the morning before heading off to lunch. lunch is included in the price and after some food and a discussion including a review of the mornings images we will head off to location number two to shoot the afternoon and evening light near Marlborough in Wiltshire. Bluebells are an obvious target for landscape photographers but are far from easy to photograph well, we will share tips and secrets throughout the day to make it an enjoyable and educational experience.

The cost for the day is £125 pp and places are very limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Bookings can be made here at www.dougchinnery.com

I hope a few of you will be able to join us…

Twilight Beach, Esperance

After a marathon seven hour journey from Perth to Esperance I arrived to find the same cloudless sky I had been witnessing for the past two weeks. The beaches and water look amazing under a blue sky due to the pristine white sand beaches and turquoise seas but it wasn’t the conditions I was after. I ended up shooting a very harsh cloudless sunset and headed straight to bed hoping that the sunrise was going to be something special the next morning.
My alarm went off at 3.45 the following morning and I peered out through the window to see blood red clouds. Alarm bells are instantly ringing, its an hour before sunrise and the clouds are just amazing, I’ve never seen clouds reflecting so much colour in an almost black night sky.
I drove as fast as I could down to Twilight Beach, a place I spent many afternoons trying to surf and fishing many years ago, the twilight sky now more vibrant than anything i had seen for a very long time. This was one of the first exposures I made on this particular morning, I just loved the ripples in the sand and the way the light was reflecting across them. I also made some images using just the ripples as the light started to become more golden a little later on. This is the kind of light I dream about and I normally only get to witness colours like this from the window at home after deciding not to venture down to the coast or from equally annoying places like the supermarket car park!
Canon 1dsmkiii Zeiss 21 distagon 8 secs @ f8 iso 200 Lee 0.6 hard grad

Christmas in Western Australia

Just got home from a fantastic month in Western Australia with the family. It was amazing to have 38 degree temperature whilst eating Xmas dinner! I managed to head back to Esperance after 10 yrs away and it was still every bit as epic as I had remembered. I have to thank Christian Fletcher, Neal pritchard and Flemming Bo Jensen for being amazing company on a our trip south. I was just gobsmacked at every location we stopped at, its the most amazing beaches I have ever seen and we got some fantastic light. This first image I also have Dan paris to thank, he took us all out to an incredible spot in some amazing sand dunes nr Esperance. Dan was a lovely guy and I’m really grateful he spent the time coming out with us and showing us one of his most spectacular locations.

The company was awesome, the locations were awesome and this was one of the best things I have done for a bloody long time. I have to thank Christian for this viewpoint as he found this particular spot and spent some time one evening showing me some amazing photoshop wizardry! I didnt realise how little I know about photoshop but hopefully thats all about to change! I’m completely inspired again and cant wait to get to Norway in a few days time, the first of 5 trips in the new year!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and happy new year to you all,

Tony

One day workshops with Doug Chinnery

I will be running two one day workshops in the new year with the fantastically talented Doug Chinnery. The first will be a full day of shooting the stunning landscapes around Lands End in Cornwall on January 31st priced at £95. The trip will start with a sunrise at Porthcurno, possibly my favourite place in the U.K. A stunning location with turquoise seas and pristine white beaches. After sunrise we will head for breakfast and a review of the mornings images before heading to Lands End for the epic clifftop seascapes and arches. We will finish the day off at the stunning Porth Nanven. The itinerary is subject to changes due to weather etc but all being well, this will be the plan. There aren’t many more epic locations than this in the South West and places are already selling fast, to book a place or for more information please go to the workshops page at Doug’s site,  www.dougchinnery.com

The second one day course will be on the 8th February on the Dorset Coast also with Doug Chinnery. We will be visiting locations such as Durdle Door, Kimmeridge, Swanage and Portland Bill. The day will again be from sunrise to sunset and breakfast will be included in the £95 price. A final itinerary will be announced soon and a meeting place around an hour before sunrise also. Again for more information or for any questions please visit the workshops section on Doug’s site www.dougchinnery.com

Landscape Photographer of The year…

I’m amazed to announce that this image has won the Take a view landscape photographer of the year competition. I didn’t expect anything like this when I entered, things are crazy now! Thanks for all the emails and comments of support, its all massively appreciated.

This winter is going to be mad, I have a trip to Iceland next week, Western Australia for Christmas and then 3 more Norway trips in the new year. All massively exciting! I will try and keep up with this blog a little better and post a few images as I travel around. I’m looking forward to some sunshine in a few weeks and exploring the coast around Esperance again, but not jumping from 40 above to minus 25 degrees with only a few U.K days to semi adjust!

Thanks again guys

Tony

Arctic Workshops…

The first two trips to Norway to photograph aurora borealis have completely sold out. I now have only 2 places left on the February trip, A 4 night trip flying from london for £850. I’m beginning to plan another trip in march, closer to the equinox when the levels of solar activity are much higher and with more daylight, some beautiful snow covered winter scenes will be on offer. All these trips are based around the full moon to provide decent amounts of light during the long nights, everything except food and travel insurance is included in the price, including flights from London Gatwick direct into Tromso.

Anyone interested please contact me at antonyspencerphotography@btinternet.com.

If the last workshops are anything to go by, these places won’t be available for long.

Somerset Lavender

Stunning light over a field of Lavender near Frome, Somerset. Its always nice to be rewarded with light like this after crawling out of bed at 2.30am! I’ve been struggling recently for motivation and inspiration, its amazing how one morning of good light changes everything!

5dmkii 17-40 @ 30mm. 2.5 secs @f.11 iso 100 Lee 0.9 hard grad.

Arctic Norway

I’ve not long been back from an incredible week in Arctic Norway. Wind temperatures down to -50 and stupendously heavy snow storms didn’t spoil the party, I have to say that its nice not having frozen nostrils and not feeling like my face is going to fall off anymore! I’m so in love with Zeiss lenses after this trip. Fantastic in low light and when combined with the 5dmkii at high iso’s during the 18 hours of darkness it was the perfect combination. An incredible display of Aurora Borealis on the last night was the finishing touch and I really enjoyed every minute of the trip. Seriously cant wait to et back later in the year! Its looking very likely that I’ll be running some photographic tours out there later in the year so if anyone would like to be kept informed just let me know…

Here are a few images from the trip and I’ll try and keep up with this blog a little better and get some more posts up!

North Devon Coast

I have been heading further afield over the last few months as the sun sets too far round on the Dorset coast. The north Devon coastline is as good as anywhere in the U.K, its an absolute mission to get to and maybe thats why it seems to be relatively un-photographed compared to much of the British coastline. I’ve made many trips over the last few months and here are my two favourites so far…

Both can be viewed much larger on my site. Love to know what you think?