Sergio Lanza is a talented professional photographer from Northern Spain and one of Wall Art Prints’ most popular photography artists.
Originally an English teacher, Sergio quit teaching to focus solely on his photography career. The result is that his beautiful prints are now admired worldwide. One of his Canadian Rocky Mountains photographs even graced the cover of National Geographic in 2017. Impressively, Sergio has also been published with iconic brands such as Microsoft, Condé Nast Traveler, Expedia, Marriott Hotels, Backpacker Magazine and The Huffington Post.
For the love of nature
Long road
The main focus of his photography is capturing the magic and magnificence of nature. His love of nature photography stemmed from his first visit to the USA in 2010, where he was mind blown with the raw beauty of the national parks. It was love at first click!
‘I love nature and, for me, photography is the ideal way to reflect the feelings I experience when I am outdoors. It’s my way of sharing those feelings with others, as well as a magical tool to keep those moments with me forever.’
Bear in the grass
Sergio has a unique ability to capture the more realistic facets of nature. He reflects each scene the way it is, as close as possible to the real thing, rather than the way people want to see it. This is more complex and time consuming than it sounds and involves repeat visits until the lighting is ‘just right.’ Often, the end product is just a small snapshot of the many hours of hard work Sergio has put into uncovering the magic. And some of those end products have even ended up on jigsaw puzzles.
Inspired by the wonder that is Mother Nature, Sergio is captivated by a diverse range of subjects; from alpine and mountain landscapes to deserts and canyons and seascapes.
‘I love to capture lakes with perfect reflections, waterfalls and rivers with great dynamism and seascapes with the waves reaching the rocks. I find it totally relaxing.
Photographing the sunrise on a beach, with no one else around and with the waves reaching your legs is an utterly unique and transcendent experience.’
Ribadeo lighthouse
The secret is in the planning
Cantabrian coast
Sergio is devoted to the process and his work is spread across five continents. He meticulously plans out each capture, with dedicated time to visualising the images with different effects and exposures.
Planning, he believes, is one of the keys to his success and something he pays a lot of attention to.
‘I plan every photography trip depending on the subjects I want to capture. So, I choose the perfect time of the year to get the right weather and conditions: snow capped mountains in winter, bright flowers in spring and vivid autumnal leaves. I even plan details such as the position of the sun rising or setting or the position and phase of the moon.’
Lake Louise, Canada.
An unusual journey
Sergio taught himself the art of photography and spends a lot of time on self-study. He reads from many esteemed photography books, countless forums and publications from the web.
Notre Dame dusk
Unlike a lot of creative professionals, Sergio did not discover his passion and talent for photography until adulthood. Rather than happenstance or an innate childhood dream, his photography career arose from a strong decision to pursue it. His hard work and love has certainly paid off. After committing to photography full-time, Sergio set up his own travel photography business, taking other passionate photographers on tours and leading workshops.
Happiness that translates
Grand Prismatic Spring
Sergio Lanza describes himself as an optimistic person, which is something any keen observer can garner from his work.
‘I am really happy enjoying the things I love in life and I am able to transmit that optimism and good feelings through my images.’
Sergio’s wholesomeness and good nature easily translate through his artwork and demonstrates how he must see the world. Particularly, such graceful photographs as this one:
Barrika Beach, Biscay
Love the look? Explore our full range of atmospheric ocean photography.
Finally, Sergio’s advice for those photographers who are just starting out:
‘Things don’t usually come easy and you need to fight a lot to get results. But, even fighting a lot and working as hard as possible, you need time to get results. Sometimes that takes longer than you initially think and can be discouraging. But keeping the faith has helped me in those situations.’
Old barn
Want to see more? Explore our full range of Sergio Lanza’s beautiful photographic art.
