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 soon 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 and formidable as the vultures it contends with. I did not use that comparison lightly too, for they are vultures 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, just a marker of speed. 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, these are not easy scalps to take, and I drew blood from them, whilst unagented, no social media following, and yet to have published or exhibited. Most do not see these gates after a lifetime on the path, and I have only just begun.

— 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.

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 domiclilary) has become adverse for concentrated output, that I could once rely on. 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 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, post editorial review. historically monsoons will fade as we get into September (in Isaan), and burning would begin late February, with smog cover peaking end of March and into April. 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 it that it will only worsen. What can be said for certain is that this has eliminated over sixty-percent of production on Discover Temples of Thailand.

PM2.5 or Carbon Pollution, is a phenomenon Thailand experiences yearly, often the blame is placed on rural farmers whom burn 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 far too 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 driving factor in fieldwork shutdown. I will not put myself in a position where there is even a slight opportunity of contracting rabies. 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 states bordering Malaysia, and human-trafficking is rife along borders, with many Chinese gangs smuggling both Thais and tourists from even 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. For DRobertsPhoto, it means that much of the region is now dangerous to operate in, approximately twenty-percent if an estimate must be made, and over fifty with rabies.

At the same time, I personally suffered from my first health issues. Whilst I would rather keep my privacy, 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 I have grown to despise. 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 to keep my Queen in play.