Photo locations in wales ?



I’ve been asked a question recently that I always find difficult to answer.

“Where exactly did you take that photo?”

On the surface, it feels harmless. Curious, even appreciative. Someone sees an image, connects with it, and wants to stand in the same place. I understand that instinct completely. I feel it too when I look at work that "moves" me.

But the truth is, I rarely share exact locations. And that choice is very deliberate and personal to me.

North Wales is full of quiet, lesser known places. Corners of landscape that feel untouched, or at least lightly held. Places where the silence still carries weight, where the experience is shaped as much by the journey as the destination. Those places matter, not just visually, but culturally and environmentally.

What troubles me is the growing tendency to reduce exploration into a set of coordinates. A pinned map. A quick search. A shortcut.

Surely part of the value lies in finding these places for yourself?

There is something important about not knowing exactly where you are going. About reading the land, taking a wrong turn, doubling back, noticing something you were not looking for. That process builds a connection that cannot be replicated by simply arriving.

When locations are handed out freely, especially to large audiences, the dynamic changes. What was once quiet becomes busy. What felt remote becomes accessible in the most literal sense. Cars appear where roads were never designed to handle them. Parking spills into spaces that were never meant to be used that way, often at the expense of local people who live and work there.

These are not purpose built tourist zones. Many of these communities were shaped long before modern traffic, long before the expectation of 24/7 convenience. Narrow lanes, limited access, minimal infrastructure. They were not designed for volume.

And yet, volume arrives.

We are now at a point where inconsiderate parking has become such a problem that authorities are stepping in more aggressively. Vehicles are being towed. Restrictions are increasing. And from the mountains, looking down over places like the A5, what should be a timeless view is interrupted by lines of traffic cones and congestion. It changes the experience entirely.

Then there is the environmental side, which often gets overlooked in these conversations.

I have lost count of the number of times I have litter and seen food waste left behind. Fruit in particular seems to be treated as if it simply belongs in nature. As if because it is "organic", it is harmless.

It is not.

Bananas as a great example do not grow in Wales. Their presence in these landscapes is entirely artificial, and their decomposition is not quick or neutral. It disrupts the local ecosystem, introduces unnecessary waste, and signals a wider misunderstanding of what it means to respect a place. The issue has become so visible that even the national park has resorted to creative ways of "educating" visitors, including monitoring how long something as simple as a banana takes to break down - but would be measured in years not weeks.

It sounds almost absurd, but it speaks to a deeper problem.

A disconnect between visiting a place and understanding it.

So when I choose not to share a location, it is not about secrecy for the sake of it. It is about responsibility. About preserving something that cannot easily be restored once it is lost.

I would rather encourage people to explore. To look at a landscape and wonder where it might be. To study maps, to walk paths, to take their time. Not everything needs to be immediate.

Because the truth is, the photograph is only a small part of the experience.

The wind, the effort, the uncertainty, the small details you notice along the way. That is what stays with you. That is what gives the image meaning.

So perhaps the conversation is not about whether locations should be shared or hidden. Perhaps it is about how we choose to engage with the places we visit.

Park with care. Accept that plans may change. Have a second (or even a third) option. Respect the people who live there. And when you leave, make sure the only trace of your visit is the memory you carry with you and maybe the odd photo - but keep the location under wraps.

And maybe, just maybe, it will allow a little space for mystery.