2025 Mid-Year Update

At the beginning of the year I published a similar update, one depicting where I stood within my current timeline on Soul of the Planet, Heart of the People. I write this as we are hitting the halfway mark of this trip around the sun. You may be surprised how much has changed in such a short time, unless you know me personally.

First, it must be said: Soul of the Planet, Heart of the People is now on hiatus.

Due to geopolitical tensions and lack of feasible monetisation (self-funded since 2022), I have moved on from what has been my most monumental project to date. This does not mean that the project is over, merely that with my current funding and security (as a Thai resident, with no intent to lose amicable concord) I am unable to deliver what I originally intended without diluting the most important factor of the project - conservation over capitalism. Regardless of intent, the project served as tone benchmark for editorial and brand collaboration from late 2022 and into 2025, expanding the voice of DRobertsPhoto into the global arena. My article in the debut issue of Bibliotheke Post, an ambitious independent publication exploring Thai art and culture, will act as the project’s koan.

It is with great sadness that I document a subsistence farming culture that has thrived since 1,500 BC. become endangered within a single human lifespan. It is with greater sadness that the world at large sees this as inconsequential, rather than a failure of our species and the seventh trumpet that it surely is.

In April and May I wrote a manuscript. Part manifesto, part memoir, entitled Too Quiet for the Algorithm Too Loud for Any Room. 13,700 words and typographically led, in the vein of Wabi Sabi for Artists. It became clear to me as of writing what steps I needed to take next. Coupled with internal realisations, a culmination of external factors led me to fully cut ties with Fuji X Passion. My contributions to FUJILOVE Magazine will also end once prior commitments have been completed, whilst I respect the publication, this decision is final. My manuscript is currently in-pitch across the world’s leading publishing houses. This shift from editorial copy to full-length publishable works is now my full authorial focus.

Upon finishing my manuscript I then created what will be my next photographic project: Discover Temples of Thailand.

Discover Temples of Thailand will be a visual monograph, curating cultural sites across Thailand; Temples unapologetically untarnished by tourism, seen from the lens of heritage over spirituality. I submitted this (alongside my 2025-2030 roadmap) to TASCHEN, with escalation to formal editorial review by the Head of Submissions on June 3rd. After consideration, TASCHEN ultimately decided to pass on the project as of June 18th citing project fit within their coming editorial calendar. This was not unexpected as their editorial calendar is defined far in advance and my trajectory is dense with releases, essential stepping stones within my broader IP stack. Discover Temples of Thailand will re-enter pitch in the coming weeks, seeking a contemporary publisher capable of delivering archival print and institutional placement for this seminal work.

To clarify, to even be considered by TASCHEN is a lifetime achievement that many never see, with industry giants (such as Steve McCurry) having only select retrospectives under the imprint. To reach such a milestone, at 33 and as a contemporary documentary photographer, is vindicating. I am extremely proud that my work has cleared the highest industry submission standards, establishing the benchmark for the quality of both my work and its reception.

I David Roberts (and by extension DRobertsPhoto) have always held cause. Going forward, I now carry precedent.

Parallel to the events above, I have also been seeking partners that can operate at the level required. I am currently finalising talks with Carl Zeiss regarding an optics partnership — there is no higher technical endorsement, and it will serve as a lifelong alignment that reflects the trajectory of my work. As many of you who have followed me since 2017 and the website’s founding will know — from M42 Tessars to Contax G Planars and the Loxia and Batis on Sony — Carl Zeiss optics are at the core of my visual DNA. This partnership would mark a homecoming, not a departure. Alongside partners, I will also be bringing on new collaborators, the first of which is Dehancer Film Emulation, who are providing specialist colour grading software and technical support for the cinematic arm of Discover Temples of Thailand, which will implement their Kodak Vision3 (ASA 250, 65mm, no-remjet) stock emulation.

Integrity is not optional. I am withdrawing from affiliations that no longer match the scale and ambition of my work. DRobertsPhoto is the strongest it has ever been, in concept and execution.

As for my current Fujifilm adjacent work, I have reclaimed ownership of my project from Fuji X Passion, a publicly-unannounced e-Book entitled 3rd Party Lenses for Fujifilm X-Mount An Independent Guide and will be publishing it through my own channels. I am currently in talks with retailers regarding placement via QR code as a free commodity to the Fujifilm community. This project stands facilitated by Laowa, ArtraLab, Thypoch, Meike, Brightin Star and Viltrox. I am currently aiming for a Q2 2026 release, with reviews hosted here in the lead up. This will be my parting gift to the Fujifilm community, I do not forget that this system once aligned perfectly with my ethos.

To conclude with full transparency; Fujifilm editorial pieces served financially to offset the cost of production and logistics. Production of the guide is now being funded out of pocket and offered as a complementary resource, open to all. A dedication to upholding promised outcomes regardless of platform backing.

Too Quiet for the Algorithm Too Loud for Any Room and Discover Temples of Thailand are just the beginning. I am dedicated to creating heritage rich, culturally fluent work, designed with post-social permanence at the forefront. We can only build for tomorrow, today. And I am set on doing it cross-media, platform-agnostic, and at a global scale.

This update is only a fraction of DRobertsPhoto’s future roadmap but provides an overall picture of DRobertsPhoto’s macro trajectory. As for a micro trajectory: Manual Lenses for Nostalgic Imagery, my six-month series for FujiLove Magazine, concluded in June 2025. Since the release of the article, I have independently hosted on DRobertsPhoto reviews of the Thypoch Simera 28mm F1.4 and Meike 55mm F1.8 Pro, with the Laowa Argus 25mm F0.95 coming shortly, to be followed by a step away from Fujifilm with an upcoming pre-production review of ArtraLab’s 35mm F1.4 Similar Steel Rim for Leica M, scheduled in the coming weeks. Customs and editorial delays have often made pre-launch reviews difficult, but without the long lead times of Fuji X Passion, I hope to deliver more immediate coverage.

All articles are authored independently but are only made possible by the ongoing support of trusted collaborators.

In this time, I also attended and documented Loei’s Phi Ta Khon festival and released an anecdotal photo essay, an evolution of my photo-centric approach to implement my biased creative and ethical viewpoint. DRobertsPhoto will no longer attempt the illusion of neutrality. Whilst photographing major events in remote mountainous villages during monsoon are non-optimal for logistics, as a product validator for F-Stop Gear, it provided a tangible opportunity to test and give feedback on the waterproofness of my assigned product SKU — the Kashmir Air II — from real world conditions.

This rounds up two released field-tested reviews, live cultural event coverage, an unreleased field-tested review, and facilitation of my first non-Fujifilm review — all within the span of a calendar month. Doubt surrounding execution or trajectory now stands demonstrably unfounded.

Festina Lente.

(Make Haste Slowly - Julius Augustus Caesar)

- David