Landscape Photography | Understanding Colour

The Colour of Meaning eBook: expressive.photography/educat...
THE VIDEO:
Autumn is well and truly here on the west coast of Scotland; the birch trees, oaks and larches are all really splendid. The weather isn't cooperating, but in between the downpours it's lovely!
If you are looking to build a closer emotional relationship with your landscape photography, understanding colour is the surest way to accelerate this. In this video I look at the way colours, and their luminosity draw us into the scene and then allow a hierarchy of experience for the viewer.
If you enjoy the content, please subscribe.
expressive.photography/educat...
Thanks for your support.
Photography: Alister Benn
Video Production: Ann Kristin Lindaas
Thanks for watching
Alister Benn - Expressive Photography
Business enquiries: expressive.photography/contac...
Gear Used To Make This Video
My Camera: amzn.to/2ImNpDD
My Laowa 12mm: amzn.to/37Z4Cik
My 80-400: amzn.to/2IoRtDA
Topaz DeNoise AI: bit.ly/3fH8LdG
KASE FILTERS: kasefilters.com/ref/AlisterBenn/
And make sure you subscribe to my channel!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting Expressive Photography so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!

[@Alister_Benn]

Understanding Colour in the Landscape and building an emotional relationship with it is the surest way to accelerate your creativity. If you value this content PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and give me a THUMBS UP - Sincere thanks to everyone who has already bought the book, the feedback has been amazing.

[@brucepanock2258]

Interested in becoming a member of this Chanel. How do I join?

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks Bruce. The Join Button is on the channel home page, or to the bottom right if any video next to Subscribe. If you don’t see it then you are on an app (phone/tablet) - for some reason the Join is only visible on a proper browser on Laptop/Desktop.

[@stevenbudd3725]

There are quite a number of slickly made landscape photography channels on You Tube but yours is the only one that overtly and regularly links imaging with the philosophical and psychological aspects of creativity. I find this deeply refreshing and compelling. So much of photographic social media is inclined towards gear and the obsession with 'the next big thing'. For a long time I was mired by this, until rediscovering film and of course that forced a welcome return to a much slower and thoughtful pace. Discovering your equally thoughtful and engaging channel has been the icing on the imaging cake. I love digital (I'm not a film zealot), maybe in a wider sense than is more usually the case, in owning Bayer sensor Canon and Olympus cameras but also the Foveon Sigma SD Quattro H, a real departure from 'mainstream'. With 'true' colour capture, I'd love to see you have a soirée with one. In the mean time, wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a very happy and peaceful New Year.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thank you so much! It's so encouraging to read this comment, as sometimes we feel as if we are swimming against the stream!

[@brianaikens7282]

Fabulous video and some incredible captures of autumn beauty. Well done.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thank you so much 😀

[@nailsenkal58]

Congratulations... have a joyful life with Ann Kristine and best of luck. Downloaded and started reading The Colour of Meaning. Thank you for the enlightening work and a fresh look into colour. By the way this time my AMEX was accepted!..

[@Alister_Benn]

Thank you! Very much appreciated

[@gregtee1693]

Woohooo Congratulations..

[@Alister_Benn]

Thank you so much 😀

[@pascalhibon7928]

You should go out and shoot the landscape in the rain. The rain will boost the colors quite a bit. And depending on how hard it rains, the rain drops can form diagonal lines in certain compositions. And man, you live in an amazing area!

[@RossMDavidson]

Congratulations on your wedding anniversary, Alister. You speak very eloquently in your videos. You are so engaging to listen to because you having an incredible ability to not over-complicate the concepts that you discuss, you explain your topics with richness, expertise and enthusiasm. I am so grateful to have come across your channel, it’s helping me to develop not only as a photographer, but also my psychological and emotional relationship with the landscape. Thank you Alister and please do keep up the hard work because I’m sure it is helping many others too.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks Ross, that means a great deal, and I really appreciate it.

[@boatman222345]

Ah! 'tis rare indeed to come across the beauty of subtle color on the Internet. In a day and time when supersaturation is everything and everywhere we are being bludgeoned to death with totally unrealistic, in some real sense even "disrespectful," color 8 days a week. So it's a real joy to encounter natural color in nature photographs. In some ways these images remind me of the images in the book "Ansel Adams In Color" and that is very high praise indeed.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thank you so much, that is an immensely humbling comment.

[@richardbatcheldor9225]

Alister, I've not seen all of your photographs yet but from what I've seen, I like these the best. Thanks.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks for that. I like them too.

[@geoffstairmand3747]

I love being in the autumn colours, it's by far my favourite season. I'm a bit like a kid in a toy shop, rushing around, excitedly taking shot after shot! The gamut of colours that nature gives us at this time of year for me is the highlight of the year. Added to that, seeing my wife kicking up the leaves, laughing like a 12 year-old makes me feel alive and in touch with my surroundings. It's at this time of year I feel most in contact - I guess it brings out all the emotions, sometimes all at once. I love your images Alister and the way you have captured the palette of autumn colours and still capturing the transitions between. Beautiful.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks so much Geoff, that means so much. Your wife sounds a adorable :-)

[@geoffstairmand3747]

Alister - she is and says thank you so much.

[@dianevose9655]

Love this time of year with all the autumnal colours lighting up our countryside. I'm really drawn to bright colours in the landscape, especially the golden yellows of beech trees. But I also love the muted greens and browns which contrast beautifully with the orange and yellows. Wonderful images from your part of the world Alistair. I'm so enjoying reading your new ebook, you are teaching me so much about the natural world around me 🌳🌿🤩

[@Alister_Benn]

Always delighted to read your comments. Your enthusiasm is infectious

[@finnurp.frodason1884]

Congratuations

[@howardrankin7119]

Wonderful photographs and as ever well articulated discussion . You may have covered this in other videos but I’d love to see your processing of these sorts of colour centric images i.e use of vibrance and saturation , HSL , split toning etc . I find getting from the flat RAW to a vibrant but realistic colour output is sometimes quite a challenge. And......Congratulations!

[@lisarobertson7011]

thank you Alister, what a beautiful set of photographs. Always look forward to your videos, many thanks :)

[@Alister_Benn]

Many thanks! Thank you so much

[@matssandquist9258]

I can sign that statement that colors attract people. I get the most likes when I present a photograph of a sunset/sunrise or autumn coloured photograph on a FB group that I am in. Me myself like colors much as any but I am more intrested of diffrent layers of colors as e.g. this Sunday I was out when I saw on the other side of a valley some great light from the sun hit the treetops. The lower part was quiet dark with no leafs but in top there were som yellow leafs left and when the sun hit those leafs the trees looked like candles. I was a happy dude the rest of that day.

[@Alister_Benn]

Good to hear Mats.

[@dannynash5713]

The combination of in the field and then back in the office is absolutely the best! However all of either is great as well! Enjoyed the video very much Alister! 👏👏👏

[@Alister_Benn]

Great, happy to hear that. I like the mix of field and office myself.

[@karlthefirst8690]

Man, I don’t that I could explain it, but this video definitely made something click for me and I’m pretty sure it’s important. Thanks Alister.

[@Alister_Benn]

Glad you enjoyed it! That's awesome to hear

[@stuartlauchlan7061]

Your view on colour through the landscape is fascinating and strangely enough was something that I had picked up on whilst travelling through the Trossachs in a recent trip. I also loved the way in which the colour variation can provide an almost explosive effect on the image, like autumnal fireworks throughout the scene.

[@Alister_Benn]

Very well put, thanks for your comment.

[@hung.kwangtan7795]

Many thanks to you, Alister, for the explicit details and descriptive on the subject. I admire your passion and I follow you closely hoping to learn something from you. Again, a job very very well done.

[@Alister_Benn]

Many thanks! great to hear

[@aguynamedguyuk]

Gorgeous pictures - I really love your work and your use of colour. Thanks for another great video Alister. I learn so much each time you explain a particular aspect - I really feel like you're helping me fine-tune my work after a period of feeling like I'd plateaued!

[@Alister_Benn]

Excellent, thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind feedback

[@jacktaylor6190]

Surprised being so close you have not been here before such a beautiful area, hope to see more from this area as the seasons progress!

[@Alister_Benn]

Yeah, it's taken a while for us to get into that area. Thankfully we are surrounded on all sides with beautiful landscapes.

[@jacktaylor6190]

@@Alister_Benn We don't have the fall colors where I live in south Florida, but nice to see.

[@derricksansome236]

Paused at 4:18 as I write this, this could not be more relevant and I am really looking forward to see this play out Alister. Not long in at the B&B in the Lake District and downloaded the images taken today of very similar subjects in the same circumstances. Orange and yellows, rain and wind, your timing in posting this video is perfect! Congratulations to you both on your marriage, may it be a long and happy union with contentment at its core.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks so much, I hope your images were resonating with you too.

[@jorgkluber7011]

You' ve made not a nice book, but a really moving book for Colours! Thanks a lot fot this - because to move an old forester and photographer is not so easy! I'm moving on and my vision is changing.

[@Alister_Benn]

Many thanks! lovely feedback,

[@aengus1948]

Hi Alister, enjoy the gift of your creativity, so tx !! As i experience your images or my own at this time of year, I begin to drift away from sharp images and trend if appropriate into a more impressionist mode of seeing. Have you considered this approach to emotionally connect with the environment ? If you just stare at some of these scenes long enough your brain seems to shift into that mode on its own. Anyway its a great beauty !!

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks very much for your comment, There are so many ways of interpreting these scenes, and in post production we can enhance that. Being so far away from the trees with the long lens led me down the route I went. I'll be back there for sure.

[@esanford]

Having finished the ebook, this video is an excellent follow on to the concepts discussed. Autumn's colors have always struck an emotional chord with me. I find it to be beauty with a foreboding that closes the season as I anticipate the cold grey days of winter. Your teachings in this area have pushed me towards the emotions of the color as opposed to the "raw color". I have recently explored the colors in my "backyard" which is on a creek. Each day is like going to a new location as the colors change... ;)

[@Alister_Benn]

That is so awesome to read . This is exactly what I hoped to achieve.

[@JamesLanePhoto]

Really enjoyed this video, it’s so true what you say about yellows!

[@Alister_Benn]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@davelindey8023]

Inciteful dialogue on the psychological interplay of colour tones. Well supported in you latest book which I highly recommend to those who haven't yet purchased one. Thanks for this.

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks Dave - Beautiful feedback.

[@RiccardoPareschi]

Scotland is a wonderful land !

[@Alister_Benn]

It is indeed.

[@iBengalkatze]

Absolutelly agree!!! I with I could live there.

[@Ahmad.Abbasi.M]

Thank you so much , you are the best 🤩👍

[@Alister_Benn]

You're welcome 😊 that's really kind of you

[@MarcKoetse]

Cool, I'm just about using the same philosophy for a photo of mine. It works, be it luminosity, contrast, colour... With really subtile dodging and burning you can really direct the eye. The e-book is great by the way!

[@Alister_Benn]

Awesome, thanks so much for your kind words.

[@marshalhedin7538]

hi Allister, really nice photographs, thank you. the barren tree surrounded by red ferns? is pretty amazing. i was wondering, would you mind sharing which tripod head that you use? thanks

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks very much - That is my old trusted RRS BH-55 that I have owned since 2006. I have just replaced it this week actually.

[@marshalhedin7538]

@@Alister_Benn I was afraid of that :\ thanks!!

[@JJRAIA-es9cj]

Color has always been important in my photography, and wondered if you use a polarizer for images like this?

[@jakelindsay6251]

Stunning images and wonderful commentary. Is it me or is the entire left side of the images at 14:11 and 14:31 soft/OOF? Or is that KZbin compression? Regardless the images are great.

[@philipculbertson55]

I really enjoyed the slideshow Alister and the music was very nice. Can you tell me what the title was and the artist?

[@rodschweiger4195]

Loved the video, I could have learned more if you had included the camera settings in the slide show. Thank you.

[@Alister_Benn]

Noted, will do in future.

[@mathiaslibor287]

can you please tell me the name of the piano song? it's so inspiring!

[@tjsinva]

Plenty of food for thought to chew there. 👍👍

[@Alister_Benn]

Absolutely :-) Thanks again for your comment.

[@maor404]

Great video! Is it an FLM tripod?

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks for that. No a Gitzo.

[@maor404]

@@Alister_Benn Thanks mate. Great company, they don't accept kidneys.

[@pbziegler]

Hey Alister--do you cover color grading and post processing color in the book? For me, color grading and shaping with a color palette that works for the specific image is a main part of my photo work these days. Stay safe and congrats.

[@Alister_Benn]

Hi Phil. There is no processing in the book, it is a psychological and philosophical insight into our unique emotional relationship with colour. I will be releasing videos to accompany the book sometime over the winter. Too much to cover in the book already without opening the processing side.

[@pbziegler]

@@Alister_Benn Thanks for letting me know. I have been deep diving into color theory for the past year and at this point my interest is in how to produce the color effects I want on the image. Like this video and agree that color is all about emotional effect. I will think a bit more about the book. At this point much of the stuff I see on You Tube and read I already know. But every once in awhile I get a gem or two. You are often a source for mining.

[@Alister_Benn]

@@pbziegler There's a nugget or ten in this one :-) give not a go and if there's no value in it for you, I'll give you a full refund valid for 14 days.

[@pbziegler]

@@Alister_Benn Fair nuff. I ordered it. And already got my money's worth on the first few pages. I am preparing to teach a workshop of the Proven Habits of the Master Coaches. One of the books I am recommending is The Inner Game of Tennis. I think what you are talking about is the Inner Game of Photography. It's not just what we see. It's what moves us and how being moved influences how we produce image that can move others. Gonna make that comparison in the workshop

[@Alister_Benn]

@@pbziegler Excellent, delighted to hear that. I agree with your summary, expression is all about the inner game. What I grew tired of was people telling me how I should be expressing myself, and if I somehow didn't conform to their doctrine then I was wrong. How ludicrous and patronising. I'm going to keep fighting for the right to be the individual.

[@alyamaut]

Alister, thanks a lot🤘, where exactly is this location please? Saludos de Perú

[@Alister_Benn]

Thanks for the comment. I don't divulge locations ever. This place is anonymous and has no visitors. A lot of Scotland looks like this right now. It literally could be anywhere.

[@alyamaut]

Expressive Photography Alister, no worries,I'll figure out, this afternoon I'll drive by Loch Lomond,maybe I'll cya there🤘🏽

[@Alister_Benn]

@@alyamaut It's beautiful down there - enjoy.

[@borissmit7112]

Now it is still fine with colour. But I am not so looking forward to the show. (Norway) But I am sure that it will be great when it is there.

[@Alister_Benn]

Ah, Norway in winter :-) I remember

[@kensalome483]

The camera points in both directions. Do what we point our camera at reflect how we feel at that moment? I have a photographer friend undergoing treatment for a serious illness who I have "warned" that I will be encouraging her to pick up her camera the first possible moment. What will her photographs tell me what she is feeling and, more importantly, can what she photographs change how she feels?

[@Alister_Benn]

Hi Ken, thanks as always for your great comment. In answer to your first question - yes, they can, but they often don't if we go looking for compositions. We create barriers between our innate and our rational brains.

[@kensalome483]

@@Alister_Benn We are exploring our emotional response to our photographs; the final results. Is it within the context of your channel that we explore the emotional input (before the shutter is released) to our photographs sometime in the future? Is the end result the product of our emotional input?

[@Alister_Benn]

@@kensalome483 Thanks again mate. I think there is a spectrum of areas on which we can focus; all of which are essentially emotional interactions. With the scene, with ourselves when we capture and in front of the computer. With this conversation we are entering rarified atmosphere in which not many people think about photography. The end result most certainly should reflect "our" emotional input. Is that possible with a repetitive workflow?

[@kensalome483]

@@Alister_Benn I don't think that I have ever taken conscious stock of my emotional state when taking images, although I am aware that I take terrible photographs on days that I am cranky. I encourage you to do a deep dive into exploring our awareness and changing (when needed) of our emotional state when taking and developing our images and the subsequent consequence. Who else other than you Alister, and where else can we do this?

[@trout3212001]

The different tree shapes triggered the feeling of the a competition between order and chaos. Please forgive the political comment but I live in the US and that feeling has resonance in the US on this election day.

[@Alister_Benn]

Ha, I get that for sure.