I'm at my happiest when photographing in locations that seem unphotogenic and easy to dismiss as ‘There’s nothing to see here’

Benedict Brain is a UK-based photographer, journalist and artist. He is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and sits on the society’s Distinctions Advisory Panel. He is also a past editor of Digital Camera Magazine, and the author of You Will be Able to Take Great Photos by The End of This Book .

I am at my happiest when photographing in an area where my inquisitive eye can explore quiet, small and easily overlooked corners of everyday life. Often, this can be in locations that seem unphotogenic and easy to dismiss as unworthy of attention – ‘There’s nothing to see (or photograph) here’.

However, I am increasingly drawn to these places and now actively seek them out, often avoiding the obvious hotspots. I turn my back on getting ‘the shot’ and try to explore with a reverence that transcends the seeming banality of the subject I’m looking at.

This image was made in the Costa Rican port town of Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. It’s a relatively humdrum port where cruise ships dock as a stepping stone to exciting adventures and day trips. Typically, lines of coaches will ferry the passengers to epic locations up in the mountains, deep in the jungle or other exotic delights. These are undeniably great experiences, although chaperoned tours aren’t for me or conducive to the roaming, roving eye of an inquisitive, curious photographer.

To this point, I avoid these activities, instead, preferring to wander aimlessly around the port. It can take a while to ‘tune in’ and start ‘seeing’ but after a couple of hours or so, I see potential photographs just about everywhere.

I love seeing like this; it gives me a high. It’s a shame that only traveling and being in new places fuels this sort of creative instinct; perhaps when I’m at home, I’m too distracted by deadlines, paying the bills and other domestic concerns. I’m working on finding this inquisitive state closer to home and, although meditation and mindful practice are helping, it’s taking time.

This photograph was taken at the end of a long, hot day of mindful meandering. I turned a corner and discovered this quiet, seemingly run-down street. The low light cast beautiful shadows of nearby trees onto a graffiti-scrawled wall. It would be so easy not to see this and simply walk past but I was transfixed and easily spent an hour or so absorbed in the beauty. It was challenging to decide which image to share in this column. However, I settled on this one as I like the way the trunk and shape of the tree’s shadow seem to grow from the weeds at the bottom of the wall.

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