Photographer Craig Roberts on Finding Images Beyond

Photographer Craig Roberts has stopped chasing the perfect, pre-planned shot after many years of professional work. He describes his move away from the typical travel and landscape photography he practiced between 1997 and 2014 on the e6 Vlogs channel.

Roberts's earlier career involved extensive research, scouting viewpoints, checking weather, and ensuring he captured sellable images for magazines, calendars, and photo libraries. He calls that the standard, effective approach. The change came when he no longer wanted to photograph the same 'honeypot' views that everyone else targets.

The Role of Gear and Technique

A key turning point was equipment. Roberts used to work with larger cameras that required a tripod, making handheld shooting impossible. As image stabilization technology improved, he abandoned the tripod entirely. He describes the resulting work as "less static and more fluid." This technical shift freed him to pursue subjects other photographers often ignore, an ethos he summarizes as "less pretty, more gritty." His initial foray into this style began with wind turbines and grew organically from there. Roberts is careful to note that the tripod taught him invaluable lessons not found on a spec sheet, and he retained that discipline even after setting it aside.

From Discipline to Improvised Freedom

The core idea is that early career constraints build the instincts needed for later creative exploration. Roberts spent years perfecting fundamentals on subjects with clear rules: the right light, the correct position, the shot a client expected. That foundational discipline is precisely what allows him to improvise now. He can walk out with no preconceived plan, slow down, and compose a scene nobody has bothered to photograph. This aligns with a broader movement in photography away from overshot social media locations and toward personal projects focused on overlooked subjects.

The Concept of the 'Found Photo'

Roberts connects his method to the literary idea of the 'found poem,' where poetry is constructed from non-poetic source material. He cites comedian Dave Gorman for modern examples. However, he notes a crucial difference: a found poem borrows its raw material, while a 'found photo' provides nothing. The photographer must supply the vision, skill, open mind, and appreciation for light, color, shape, and form in a subject most people would pass by. Roberts also runs workshops based on this process, encouraging participants to discover their own images rather than being led to a picturesque viewpoint.

He encourages photographers feeling constrained by checklists of famous locations to master the foundational work first. That mastery grants the freedom to intentionally abandon the rules. A 'found photo,' as he puts it, carries no comparisons or preconceptions, making the result uniquely the photographer's own. For a deeper understanding of how Roberts evaluates whether a found photo has succeeded, he recommends watching the full discussion on e6 Vlogs.