You don’t need a detailed plan to come home with strong images. Rick Bebbington proves that during a three-hour walk through Punta Arenas, Chile, where he ignores the obvious shots and trusts instinct instead.
Coming to you from Rick Bebbington, this thoughtful video follows Bebbington as he photographs a town he has visited before but chooses to treat as completely new. He avoids heavy research and skips the typical must-see locations. Instead of walking straight to the picturesque waterfront, he heads into town where life is less staged and more layered. That decision shapes everything that follows. You watch him arrive at intersections, pause, scan each direction, and choose the street that feels most interesting rather than most famous.
Bebbington explains that he used to research locations, study other images, and chase the “best” viewpoints. He grew tired of standing beside others making the same frame. Now he asks a simpler question: what actually catches his attention? That shift removes expectation. When there’s no checklist, there’s less pressure. As you see in Punta Arenas, that freedom opens space for chance moments, like a passing car lining up perfectly with a brightly colored storefront in his very first frame.
Gear barely enters the conversation. He carries a Fujifilm X100VI with a diffusion filter and keeps the setup small on purpose. The fixed 35mm equivalent field of view gives him the perspective he prefers and limits decision-making. Fewer choices mean fewer distractions. He avoids juggling multiple lenses and avoids switching between video and stills during the walk. You see how that restraint helps him react faster when timing matters, like waiting for a Chilean flag to lift in the wind or for a person in red shoes to pass beneath red graffiti.
As he moves through town, you start to notice his mental checklist. First, is it interesting? Then, can it be simplified? He looks for separation between elements so subjects don’t collide awkwardly. A truck wedged into a driveway with a loose door leaning against it catches his eye, but overlapping posts weaken the frame. He adjusts, sacrifices part of the story, and gains clarity. In another scene, a colorful building feels busy and unfocused. A small sidestep reveals a simpler yellow house with a sleeping dog, and suddenly the image breathes.
Light becomes a quiet character in the walk. High clouds drift while the sun appears and disappears. Bebbington prefers direct midday sun for these saturated buildings, avoiding the heavy drama of golden hour. When he shoots into the sun and feels the result flatten, he circles the scene to find side light instead. You watch him test horizontal and vertical compositions, sometimes improving the image, sometimes making it worse. That transparency is useful. Not every frame works. Some are abandoned after a few attempts.
People are scarce on this Sunday, so when someone enters the scene, he pays attention. A lone figure walking past a garage door becomes a study in alignment and color. Later, a barking dog accidentally triggers a chorus of others, turning a simple street into a layered frame filled with small surprises. He breaks down why one of those images rises above the rest without sounding certain or formulaic.
The final stretch covers how he selects and edits in Lightroom Classic, flags immediate yes or no images, builds simple presets, and prints favorites. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Bebbington.