You're right. While my themes used to be subject specific, I now try to make the theme location specific and fill that with whatever is appropriate or opportune. That may include just landscapes, people, or a mix of anything. Whenever I now take shots, I always keep in mind the potential of putting together a story of some sorts, be it at the time or in future, as I gather a collection of shots. By doing this, it helps me look beyond the obvious, as well as my comfort zone. That doesn't mean it always ends up with a story, often it just ends up with a series of unrelated shots that may, or may not, please me.
Working distance is somewhat irrelevant, as it's all situational dependent, no matter what the subject. Obviously it's more complex when it involves people, but it also depends on how comfortable they are with me and a camera pointing towards them. Working for the paper that becomes easy, because there's a recognisable relationship between the photographer and the subject (in most cases). I can pretty much walk up to a subject with a fisheye lens and take a shot, but it helps having a media ID hanging from one's neck. Working in a private capacity it's not so easy, as there isn't that relationship, nor is there a recognisable context for you being there with a camera and pointing it at people.
In this day and age, one has to be careful and conscious of the concerns people have with cameras in the public arena, even though Australia is fortunate, as our laws still enable us to take photos pretty freely. However, you can easily be taken to task if someone objects. Even as a news photographer, it's not always a walk in the park when you're tasked to take general shots of people at events etc. But more importantly, for me, if I'm taking shots predominantly of people, I have to have a storyline associated with the photos.
This raises another issue regarding my photography, in that I'm much more conscious nowadays about why I'm taking photographs. Years ago I could just go out and blat away at anything and everything, and come home fairly satisfied. Today, I ask myself what is the purpose of what I'm doing? If I don't have some tangible reason, I tend to not pick up the camera. For me, that makes photography much more difficult, because I've become much more self-critical about what I do.
