On the Future of DRobertsPhoto

For a simple analogy, 2025 was the year the egg hatched and we found out what was growing inside. Neither to my surprise (nor the interests of the industry as a whole) we realised that what had been gestating this past eight years was indeed a Peregrine Falcon. That is not a throwaway comparison either, the Peregrine is a keen-eyed bird that hunts using velocity and momentum. During the dive, it can achieve the fastest speeds of any known animal. The weakness of the Peregrine is that it is neither as large, nor formidable as the vultures it contends with. I did not use that comparison lightly too, for there are many feeding from the fetid corpse of photography. What we see now is the Peregrine after the dive, with momentum spent and no prey to call its own. I launched my first creative offensive, and found that my attack landed well past the castle walls and deep into the throne room; TASCHEN, ZEISS. I garnered immediate and decisive interest whilst un-agented, without a notable social media following, and yet to have published or exhibited outside of gear editorial.

— David

DRobertsPhoto has demonstrably raised the bar, publicly and without apology. Even so, no contingency, no trajectory, no erudite principles can compete with the overwhelming force majeure faced during the final quarter of 2025. 2026 and into 2027 is safely mapped out, but the future of DRobertsPhoto now rests on expansion from Thailand and into Japan.

Discover Temples of Thailand was meant as the project that would fund Japan, allowing total IP control and utilising my Closed Loop Creative System. This has been the roadmap for DRobertsPhoto since the decision was made to end my tenure at Fuji X Passion, and remove myself from the front-facing gear circuit. DRobertsPhoto has multiple concepted projects for the Japan expansion, with only Discover Castles of Japan being known outside of TASCHEN and Penguin Random House.

Q4 2024 through Q1 2025 proved a capable production to publication cycle across multiple international platforms, setting precedent for 2025 production strategy (see 2025 Overview). DRobertsPhoto lost zero assets, and zero ability; though public visibility was conceded in favour of complete ownership (regarding ZEISS — see ZEISS Partnership Update) . The Discover Temples of Thailand concept was pitched knowing that the production was self-contained and actionable regardless of external funding, influence, facilitation or otherwise. Until 2025, Thailand has shown historically predictable seasonal shifts and overall working environments closer to Western norms than most of Southeast Asia. The force majeure that the project would face are unprecedented in duration, scale, and multitude (if not in occurrence). It is of note that the project was (unlike editorial) unbeholden to multiple parties, and the singular variable only in operational theatre — a theatre I have been acquainted with my entire life.

DRobertsPhoto is now at a crossroads, and with many options ahead of me I am certain that there will be a future for the brand, past 2027. That said, Thailand (my domiciliary) has become adverse for concentrated output. Over 2023 and 2024, seasons fluctuated within acceptable margins. Editorial content was scouted and then pitched for the following year, and I was able to output as desired. DRobertsPhoto works on a six-on/six-off basis, with the summer and monsoon (Apr-Sept) dedicated to pre-production, post-production, networking, outreach, and all other office-based tasks, with only intermittent field excursions as called for. Fieldwork would then be concentrated to the final quarter of the year, with post-monsoon conditions; idyllic skies, lush vegetation, and mild temperatures to sustain operation. The first quarter of the following year would then be for pick-ups and post editorial review. Historically burning would begin late February, with smog cover peaking end of March and into April, forcing a halt to idyllic still image capture. This is no longer the case, new and expected conditions mean that this schedule is no longer feasible or even predictable.

Over the course of 2025 we have seen monsoons stretch into the end of November, with six typhoons in the space of as many weeks. The subject matter of my monograph is situated in logistically-challenging environments; monsoons, flash-floods and the threat thereof eliminates necessary traversal. My home itself has on many occasions flooded, with the street holding up to two feet of still water expelled from the local dam. This is due to climate changes as the Southeast (of Asia) begins to move from agrarian practices to developing industrial practices. The consensus within the institutions that monitor these things is that it will only worsen. What can be said for certain is that this alone has eliminated over sixty-percent of production time on Discover Temples of Thailand.

PM2.5 or Carbon Pollution, is a phenomenon Thailand experiences yearly, often the blame is placed on rural farmers burning crops to clear fields. A rudimentary practise yes, but seasonal and ancient. Only in recent years has vehicular and urban pollution surpassed this, but when combined often reaches levels dangerous for sustained periods of exposure. Coupled with failed crops due to ecological fluctuation, farmers often begin burning as soon as rice is harvested (historically early November). Before November was out, the meteorological department issued warnings that over half the provinces (Udon Thani included) surpassed the level at which it was considered safe. On top of this, it is exhibited visually as a blanket of thick smog, rendering still images impossible without clear signs of pollution evident.

Were the pincer movement of monsoon and smog not enough, there has been a rabies endemic. For those who may be too far removed to understand; rabies is a fatal disease once contracted, there is no cure and it is certain death. Thailand is a Buddhist nation, and as such cruelty to animals is highly forbidden, even by law. Soi dogs, or wild dogs are commonplace, especially within temples whom will look after these homeless animals. A single scratch that breaks the skin could mean death. This problem is by far the primary driving factor in fieldwork shutdown. I will not put myself in a position where there is even a slight opportunity of contracting rabies. So far the choice to turn away from sites is around 4:1 or approximate 20% success rate of finding a suitable temple without immediate threat of dogs. It must be re-iterated, the threat is not of being mauled or savaged, but breaking of the skin.

Whilst we are speaking of fatal, Thailand has entered fatal conflict with Cambodia and has been shelled by Myanmar, causing casualties. Insurgency is rife in the southern provinces bordering Malaysia, and human-trafficking is rife along borders, with many Chinese gangs smuggling both Thais and tourists — even from the heart of Bangkok to these border zones. The Thai government is under immense Western pressure to not antagonise border states, but is balancing perception of aggression with upholding internal peace and safety. Thailand is (for want of a better term) stuck between Scylla and Charybdis; to accept violence or economy crippling sanctions. For DRobertsPhoto, it means that much of the region is now dangerous to operate in, approximately twenty-percent of Isaan alone, if an estimate must be made.

Between October 24 and December 19; I, David Roberts — sole operator of DRobertsPhoto — suffered from serious health issues (see Medical Update). Whilst public privacy on the matter is requested, it must be stated that these issues have made me rethink what effort I wish to put into DRobertsPhoto, and what effort I am rationally able to. As DRobertsPhoto is essentially a perpetual motion machine, with myself as the centrifugal force, the only concern any party should consider is that a halt is the only external variable of note that could cause incident. DRobertsPhoto is not halting, it is slowing so it can eliminate the threats it now faces.

During my recouperation period efforts will be placed on the concepting and outlining of a retrospective, tentatively titled Ten Years of DRobertsPhoto: The Birth of Philosophic Documentarianism alongside my first paper: Treatise I - On Philosophic Documentarianism and Visual Anthropology. The former proof of the latter, and trojan horse for my school of thought within the industry dominated by superficial discourse. With ZEISS non-compete ending October 2026, all efforts will be publicly held for release afterwards. IP control is the ultimate currency DRobertsPhoto deals in. The timing of these issues may have been tragic for Discover Temples of Thailand but has become a net-positive for DRobertsPhoto. I am actively producing multiple canonical works cross-medium, twelve months is an acceptable casualty.

With an update regarding 2026 due for release in the new year, and conceptualisation for initial Japan expansion currently underway, it will be stated plainly as to why Japan remains the only path forward for DRobertsPhoto. Firstly, I, the author, founder, photographer, am in a state of metamorphosis. I will not return to gear reviews and commercial freelancing. If a decision must be made where the path forward can no longer be paved by stills photography, it will be sacrificed in favour of receptive mediums. For stills photography to enable a career in Digital IP Management, the status quo must be addressed. The current economic climate for stills imagery is unreceptive to long-form and philosophical works, therefore the economy must be replaced by the Heritage, Arts and Culture segment. This is both abundant and mature in Japan. The skills to operate at the level of DRobertsPhoto (likely in double-digits internationally, if not singular) gives both practitioner and host cause and reason to relocate. DRobertsPhoto is familiar with Japan, the early-phase of the brand a direct result of my time there. Japan has always been the long-term destination of DRobertsPhoto, it has now become the immediate pivot due to the increasingly hostile environment of Thailand for field operation. Japan in contrast has temperate seasons in spring and autumn, along with an advanced infrastructure.

Initially, DRobertsPhoto will utilise domiciliary in Thailand and comparative cost of living savings to operate as a satellite, with pre and post production occurring within Thailand; resulting in a focus on closed-ended projects to be shot on location in Japan. The production on the first of these projects The Nakasendo Way is fully pre-funded and entering pre-production. It will be pitched with Discover Temples of Thailand (now as a minimum viable product showcasing TASCHEN-level conceptual execution whilst under duress), the retrospective and the treatise for funding of Discover Castles of Japan as a long-form monograph in 2028 and beyond. Discover Castles of Japan is still considered to be the flagship monograph for DRobertsPhoto, and the publicly unannounced halo-project (and relevant expansions) remains the firm goal of the DRobertsPhoto 2025-2030 roadmap reviewed by TASCHEN.

The events and occurrences of 2025 have been treated as precedent, rather than anomaly. All future pivots will be to ensure longevity and ultimate execution of the escalating IP sequence envisioned.