Anthony Dod Mantle

I had a drive and a determination inside me and I could not find the outlet for it. The ability, talent and drive can be there, but first you have to find the door, then find a way to make it open, then take the right steps to go through it. It doesn't matter if at the age of 20 the door isn't open. What's important is believing that it will open and believing that even if it takes five years longer to find the door, keep believing, keep yourself active, and stay inquisitive about the world and the people that surround you. If you wait those five years, they will make your steps so much longer, so that when you do get there you'll be able to take bigger steps than you would have done if you arrived earlier. My career went in leaps and bounds and I do sometimes think that is because it took me a while to get there, so don't give up![2014] Show less «

I grew up in England and was fortunate to have very understanding, tolerant parents. Mum was a painter and my dad worked in agriculture. I did my A-levels and then started to travel and they never hurried or hassled me. I was always very inquisitive growing up, but I couldn't just find my vocation and unlike some parents who push their kids, which I won't ever do with mine, they gave me the space to continue the search. I spent a year in India at the age of 24 to find out what my vocation would be. I took thousands of photographs and I learned for the first time that one image can mean a thousand and one different things to people. I found that fascinating and it was the start of something.[2014] Show less «

Whether you are working in photography or film, it's about contrast, luminance, density, exposure all of these things are things you should know about it. I've become known for movement. Why and how you move the camera is an essential part of our job. It took me the first two years of my four years at film school to understand how to give up that control of the static image and maintain some other kind of variation of the word control of a moving image. Where you move both yourself and things move in the frame and the light changes, that's the big, difficult jump. Controlling the light, for the fraction of a second that the picture demands it is so important.[2014] Show less «