Without a plan to the Opal Coast

Focus creates calm and clarity

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By Theo Bosboom | January 15, 2026

Theo Bosboom

Theo Bosboom is a passionate photographer from the Netherlands, specialising in nature and landscapes. In 2013, he turned his back on a successful legal career to pursue his dream of being a fulltime professional photographer. He is regarded as a creative photographer with a strong eye for detail and composition and always trying to find fresh perspectives.

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Intimate landscape with different kinds of rocks, photographed on the beach at Cap Gris Nez. I used focus stacking to make the image completely sharp.

In October last year, I did something I hadn’t done in a long time: I took a (short) photo trip, without having a project in mind for which I would use the photos I took, and without concrete ideas for photos I would make. In other words, I ventured out completely unrestrained!

For many of you, this may be the standard way of traveling and photographing. That was how it used to be for me as well, in the years when I had just started nature- and landscape photography. But over the years, that has changed quite a bit. Nowadays, I basically always go out for a project. And if it isn’t an ongoing project, then it’s at least a scouting trip for a potential project.

I’ve actually found that working project-based gives me a lot of pleasure, that it changed the way I look at things, and that, at least I think and hope, it adds more depth to my work.

That doesn’t feel sad or limiting to me. I’ve actually found that working project-based gives me a lot of pleasure, that it changed the way I look at things, and that, at least I think and hope, it adds more depth to my work.

This is partly because you focus more precisely and intensely on a subject, and you delve into your subject more deeply, which eventually makes you notice and photograph things you wouldn’t otherwise notice. In addition, working with a clear goal gives me a sense of calm. In the past, I often wanted to do too many things at once, went out with an overfull photo backpack, and nearly panicked when the conditions were beautiful because there were so many possibilities. I also wanted to exploit all those possibilities and turn them into concrete photos. But in practice, this usually proved impossible and even led to frustration, because I would return home with many photos, but none of them really stood out. With a project in sight, it’s much easier to let other options fall away on a beautiful morning, so I work with much more calm and usually come home with better photos.

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