Serenity, 2017 by Anthony Horth available on Artsper

Meet Anthony Horth, Australian-born photographer and gallery owner. After gaining worldwide recognition for his editorial photography, seen in the pages of Vogue and Elle, Anthony took a step back, changing his artistic direction towards the environment. Discover more about his international journey and ecological passions in our interview!

1. Hello Anthony! Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today?

I was born in rural Australia. My father was the head lecturer for horticulture, an agricultural college, so we had the luxury of thousands of acres to wander around in. We were taken to school in the local town with a horse-driven coach. I had a sense of independence at a very early age and would spend a lot of my time staring out of windows looking at clouds in the sky. I guess this was the attraction at this early stage of my life to be involved with creating images that led me to photography.

I'm an obsessive person who never ever has stopped dreaming in everyday life. I was fortunate enough to have other people appreciate my portfolio of images which in my teenage years would normally have a girl in my landscapes which led to having fashion magazines commission me to shoot editorial stories. This led to Vogue Australia flying me off to Paris in the early 1970s to shoot the design collections with the greatest designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert Givenchy, Ungaro, Kenzo, and Pierre Cardin, to name a few. I was then based in Paris for many years shooting for American Vogue. I then started to work a lot in Milano and worked with Italian designers and magazines: Vogue, Elle, etc.

2. You picked up a camera at the age of 13. What attracted you to photography at such a young age? And how has your work evolved since then?

My attraction to photography at such an early age was because my stepmother had a Leica camera. I could never put it down, as it intrigued me how you could contain a vignette rectangle of life through that viewfinder. My aunt and my grandfather were also avid photographers.

 On the Left: Nightfall, 2017. On the Right: Ménagerie, 2017 by Anthony Horth available on Artsper.

3. Originally from Australia, you've lived in London, Paris, Milan, and most recently in New York. How have these cities influenced your work? Has one inspired you the most?

Paris always inspired me the most. Mainly because the majority of my friends were there. We were living the dream creatively and being paid for it. I eventually moved to NYC; however, that was more for contractual reasons with my clients. I was working for an extensive international client base and as the majority of the model agencies with top talent were all in NYC, so, I moved there. I love NYC; however, Paris was always the love of my life. It was so easy for me to share the same values only because I could still be in Paris as well in my heart even when I was living in NYC.

4. You have mainly dedicated your career to fashion photography, where does your love for this field come from? How did this transition to environmental photography?

Fashion photography was an accident in life. My natural attraction to beautiful women and being able to photograph them and be paid for it made sense to me. However, I realize now after all these years that it was the great outdoors and the majesty of Mother Nature that lured me finally into landscape photography. Also, the benefit is when I take a landscape shot, it's 100% me, as opposed to having a magazine editor or an art director giving me a brief of what they want.

On the Left: Downpour, 2017. On the Right: Good Morning Oz, 2016 by Anthony Horth available on Artsper.

5. You also have a real love for nature and its protection. What is the message behind your series of underwater photos taken in the Coral Sea, in the Pacific Ocean (available on Artsper)?

The message behind the underwater series in the Coral Sea is to bring awareness to the biodiversity of one of the most remote pristine coral reefs in the world. We live and visit there with friends and family, and as I'm a keen scuba diver I love my underwaterscapes as much as my landscapes. The name of the island group is Conflict Islands. Also, I'm donating a percentage of money earned from the sale of my photos available on Artsper to the turtle protection program.

6. Why did you choose to focus works on the icebergs of Elephant Island in Antarctica? How did you go about taking the pictures?

I went to Antarctica in 2009 with my fiancée Maria and we were married there. We fell in love with the place as well and want to return from time to time. I like to bring awareness to what we have to look after there, as well and feel it's our duty as custodians of all of Mother Earth. Photographing these icebergs over years will bring awareness to what is happening there with climate change. Again the same as the underwater images of the Coral Sea I want to present large Mother Nature images to fill the walls of city dwellings with the outside glory that nature gives us.

7. Your photographs contribute to a general awareness of the environmental emergency. Is this an important fight for you as a photographer?

I wouldn't call it a fight, I'd rather call it an awakening. We need to show the world that what nature creates is a natural vision the same as music pleases us, so does nature. It's music to our eyes. It's a crazy world we live in, however, it is so beautiful when you just look, walk slowly, don't run, stop and look!

8. How can artists contribute to alerting and bringing solutions to ecological problems?

I believe fellow artists can contribute to alerting and bringing solutions to ecological problems by reminding their audience that the images we show speak for themselves. They reflect upon our common love for Mother Nature and the WOW factor of great landscapes or waterscapes we all know when it gives you that enlightenment and warm fuzzy feeling we all share. Since opening my gallery I have invited other artists to share with me our mutual passion for ecology, tribal customs and things that live and breathe. Faie Davis is one of those artists with me that has a passion for tribes of Africa in particular and is a great contributor with us on Artsper.

The commonality that we all have is we come into this world with a heartbeat and share that all whilst we live on Earth and enjoy what she gives us. I believe as artists we should signal more to the world a need for global peace overall by stopping in our lives, to look at peaceful art. Sharing art can do that. How do you become a big shot? Keep on shooting small shots in the same direction.