Most people treat travel as a checklist. You visit a place, take a few good photos, and move on to the next destination. But what if the best images don’t come from new places at all, but from returning to the same ones over and over? Familiarity might just be the key to making your photography grow in ways a passport stamp never could.
Coming to you from Craig Roberts of e6 Vlogs, this thoughtful video challenges the common idea that progress means constant movement. Roberts argues that returning to places you already know, whether that’s a city like London or your own neighborhood, lets you dig deeper and uncover images you’d never notice on a first visit. He’s been photographing London since the late 1980s, returning hundreds of times, and still finds new compositions each trip. The streets, the light, even the skyline shift just enough to keep things fresh. Roberts treats London like a lifelong project, not a box to tick, and that’s what gives his work depth.
He compares that to his first visit to New York. Like most travelers, he started with the famous shots: the skyline, the landmarks, the postcard views. But the next time he goes back, he says, the real work begins. Without the pressure to see it all, he’ll be free to explore the corners that tourists overlook, the parts of the city that reveal its personality. It’s a reminder that your second or third visit often gives you the creative freedom your first one can’t. The idea applies just as easily to your own city. You don’t need to cross an ocean to find something new.
Roberts also talks about Manchester, another city he’s photographed for years. Even after capturing every major spot, he still returns and finds new angles, different light, or a new mood. One visit might be wide shots in color, another could be tighter black-and-white frames. Maybe it’s morning instead of afternoon, or shot with a different aperture or lens. Changing tools or perspective is how he keeps a familiar location alive. A Sony a7 IV and a Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM might capture two entirely different sides of the same street. He calls it “digging deeper”—pushing past the easy compositions and forcing yourself to look harder.
That attitude extends beyond cities. Roberts spends much of his time photographing the landscapes near his home. They’re not dramatic or exotic, but they push him to see differently. The same field or shoreline looks completely new depending on light, weather, or season. He doesn’t need to pack gear, board a plane, or plan around traffic. It’s photography on his own terms, and it sharpens his eye more than a quick trip abroad. These are the kinds of projects that reveal a photographer’s patience and style: their fingerprint, not their itinerary. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Roberts.
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