Spencer Black is a videographer and landscape photographer working in the mountains of Western North Carolina. His addiction to landscape photography began on a fiery night at Table Rock Mountain, observing a mountain forest fire enveloping the eastern ridges. While taking a thirty second exposure shot of the mountain flames, lightning struck simultaneously in the center of the frame. Unfortunately, during the exposure, the tripod leg slowly sank, blurring the image and ruining the shot.
While the lightning was short lived and seeing a deceivingly beautiful image in the cameras lcd screen, erasing the opportunity to set up a second shot, an obsession was born.
Black now focuses on using time as a raw material in his shots, which creates the same element of surprise in the final image that initially inspired him to become a photographer. He uses exposure and time-lapse photography to create images that can’t be seen with the naked eye, removing layers of time to get a deeper look at the natural landscape that surrounds us.
Black's work has been featured in National Geographic, TED, REI, Our State Magazine, New York Times and many more.
During his sometimes night-long time-lapse shots, Black uses the time to experience the solitude and beauty of nature, often letting his mind wander to life’s larger questions, like, “why is the pinky considered a finger but Pluto not a planet?”
For more information about Black, or questions in general use the contact form.
