Why I don’t do any location scouting

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I don’t believe in location scouting when it comes to landscape and fine art photography.

It’s not that I don’t find value in exploring a place before a planned shoot; it’s just that I don’t do it with the only purpose of “gathering information”, as it’s usually understood.

There’s only a first time for everything: you’ll only see a place with completely fresh eyes once. The second time you visit a location, you’ve already built some preconceived ideas about it. Over time, we may only be able to see a very limited amount of images in that location.

It is during that first time that our minds are most open. If we have a camera with us, we can play and experiment more freely; if we leave it at home, we prevent ourselves from even trying.

Deciding beforehand what the “right” and “wrong” time might be for a location we don’t even know can be a costly mistake.

An audience of zero

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Many photographers dismiss the idea of creating for an audience. “Create for yourself”, they say.

But even for those who despise the notion of creating with others in mind, there's a very special kind of audience we all should consider: our future self.

Time tends to add emotional distance between then and now. If the images we create fail to resonate with others today, they might also fail to resonate with us in the future.

This is why I believe we should reflect on our images from a more objective and detached point of view. So our audience of one doesn't end up becoming an audience of zero.

The most harmful belief I had as a beginner photographer

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I used to think that good photographers consistently take great photographs, and only rarely they make something subpar. Surely, their “keeper rate” was much better than mine.

This was one of the most harmful beliefs I held when I was taking my first steps in photography. Because when you don’t allow yourself to fail, you play it safe; and when you play it safe, there’s no growth.

Making a bad photograph is not the risk: the lack of experimentation and play is the real danger.

Ambient photography in the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado

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Last stop in my spring road trip across the American West: the breathtaking Great Sand Dunes National Park, in Colorado. I only had a full day there, but so many things to capture and enjoy. From the howling coyotes that woke me up in the middle of the night under a full moon, to the relentless wind and menacing thunderstorms, this place is always a challenge. Which makes the images you make there the more rewarding.