I’m about half-way through editing the images I shot in Hokkaido last January. The new portfolio is really a collection of old-friends but shot in the most optimal conditions I have experienced so far.

I have no problem repeating locations every year, if the conditions show me another view of a tree or location I know well. With the photograph above, I found this location with my guide around 2016. It is on private land (as is most of Hokkaido - go there on your own and you will be shooting from the roadside at best). We always ask for permission to enter land, and with this location, it is government owned. We have to walk in on snow shows to get the best views and some years that I come here, there is not always so much snow here. But last year we had quite a lot of snow across the entirety of Hokkaido.

So I really don’t mind going back and shooting compositions or views that I have done before. Particularly if I feel I’m getting a more optimal view of the location.

I think this is perhaps a reaction to the ‘I’ve been there and done it’ kind of thing. Places are always worth going back to many times. Once for me is often never enough. But I accept that when you have finite resources, finite time, perhaps it’s of more interest to go to somewhere new each time. I just think for my own development as a photographer, growing into a landscape / culture over many visits is just a much more rewarding experience, and provides a deeper connection.