Pittwater Life June 2023 Issue

huge helicopters to transport
us to a suitable beach.
“On the way we saw a
left-hand pipeline similar to
Teahupo’o in Tahiti. Nothing
we’d expected to find in
Russia.”
As the helicopters took off
again, leaving them alone, the
four friends heaved their gear
– camping equipment, surf
boards, gas, food and cameras
– to their chosen beach.
“We set up camp, then went
to sleep in the snow on the
beach,” Spencer says.
In his teenage years, Spencer
was a talented surfer.
“But a lot of my friends
became pro-surfers. I was
never really that good, so I
concentrated on filming them
behind the camera.”
His images earned him a
livelihood with surf mags and
adverts before venturing into
documentaries.
The breakthrough came in
2019 when he collaborated
with Guy and Fraser on ‘A
Corner of the Earth’. That
trip prepared them – as best
as possible – for the freezing
temperature they endured in
the Kamchatka peninsula.
PHOTOS: Guy Williment
OPPOSITE: Spencer with his trusty camera which captured pro surfers Letty Morrison and Fraser Dovell (above).
For the latest trip, their wetsuits
were custom-made by
Project Blank to survive the
intense cold. But still the four
friends suffered for their art.
Spencer rarely surfed. “As
director I mostly filmed with
my underwater camera. Nothing
really prepares you for the
freezing cold waters of the
Kamchatka peninsula.”
Not that it was all chill and
no chili. The local diet, Spencer
says is “caviar, reindeer
jerky and smoked salmon.
No veggies. Nothing grows up
there.”
‘Corners of the Earth:
Kamchatka’ had its sold-out
premiere on February 4 at
Cremorne’s Orpheum.
It has since had five screenings
at United Cinemas Avalon,
with another scheduled
at the Cremorne Orpheum on
June 27.
Spencer doesn’t have a long
time to chat at Avalon Life
Saving Club. He’s about to
drive to Coffs Harbour, before
crossing to Western Australia
for more publicity launches.
Later this year he’ll be presenting
‘Corners of the Earth:
Kamchatka’ in Bali, the UK
and the USA.
So where next? “It might be
the Antarctic,” Spencer says.
“We’ve heard of an island that
has good breaks.”
– Steve Meacham
*Tickets Orpheum.com.au
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JUNE 2023 9