How One Location Can Make You A Better Photographer

The other day I was online teaching a private mentoring session. This photographer had put down her camera for a little while but wanted to pick photography back up and get started on her journey of learning again. As we talked, she expressed that she didn't have a lot of locations to photograph.

Do you ever feel like this? Are you disappointed with your lack of variety in the locations available to you in your landscape journey?  

If your answer is yes, I want you to know that you are not alone in these feelings. This lack of access to a variety of locations is a common frustration I hear from the photographers I mentor and teach. 

But I want to let you in on a bit of a secret. A lack of variety in locations can help you perfect your technique and style as a landscape photographer. 

Let me explain through a personal example. Yes, I acknowledge that I am indeed very fortunate to have the luxury of the stunning scenes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains within an hour's drive of my doorstep, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a mountain to climb in my development as a landscape photographer when I began my journey. Part of my development is a direct result of the fact that I've photographed the exact locations repeatedly.  

Take a look at the image below. This stunning scene is one that I have visited hundreds of times. The image below is one that I took early on in my landscape photography journey back in 2015 and even printed. 

^{ISO 200, 24mm, f14, 1.3 sec}

Although I do like this image for its merit in that it reminds me of where I came from, there are many things I can critique about it now. Today, my images of this pond look very different from the first images I captured years ago. Going back to the same spot has helped me slow down and consider the elements in my photos. It's also allowed me to experiment with techniques and push myself creatively. I've also had the opportunity to use different lenses and develop my style as a landscape photographer at this location because I've returned time and time. 

^{ISO 100, 16mm, f13, 123 sec}

Never feel disappointed that you are photographing the exact location on repeat. Instead, embrace the familiarity of a single place. Revisiting an area time and time will help you capture that scene better. In addition, different times of the day and different seasons will bring variety into a location.

When you repeatedly return to a single location, you will grow in your skill as a landscape photographer because you'll be forced to see the same scene differently each time you visit. You'll be more open to experimenting and trying something new. The skills you are growing will translate into new locations when you have that opportunity. So embrace familiarity, as it'll make you a better photographer.