How to Photograph and Process Forests
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Photographing forests can be challenging, lots of chaos, and then in dull weather, the contrast and colour can appear confusing, or boring. In this video we head into the forests around our home on the west coast of Scotland and find some appealing compositions. Later on, back in the office, I sit and work through ways to bring out colour, contrast and luminosity to make images that are evocative, mysterious and meaningful.
Atmosphere, Colour & Graphics are three of things we will look at in the field, and in front of the computer. I'll show how to quickly make images expressive and meaningful in just a few clicks of the mouse...
If you like this video, please subscribe and I am happy to answer any questions in the comments section below.
Consider buying my eBook Luminosity & Contrast, a thorough and detailed guide on the whole concept of composition from a very practical and insightful viewpoint.
expressive.pho...
Well done. I'm a forest photographeer in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Found your approach and processing very beneficial. Keep up the wonderful vids.
Many thanks, you’ll be no stranger to missy trees.
Excellent, discovered you just when my inspiration has gone flat (grey days!)! Thanks for instructing and sharing!
Brilliant, delighted to hear that ❤️
Thank you for this video. I live in Washington state and have struggled for years to capture Images while in the woods. I hope to get out there soon and try some of these techniques.
A pleasure. Hope it is helpful for you.
I just love your video's, the way you tell with that soft voice , almost poetry, yes that is the word I think "photographic poetry". thanks for shearing your skills .
Thank you so much 😀
What's up Alister? This is a really good job you've done on this shot. Now, I've spent a lot of time watching Adam process shots, but I've never really watched yours; I see you're just as good, and I will visit again. Great job my man. Peace!
Hey doing great. Spending time on the island with Adam actually. Many thanks for the support
Your post processing adjustments often go in the opposite direction of my habits, confronting me with many, “Oh, you can do that!” moments. I’m inspired to take advantage of virtual copies and explore multiple versions from the same raw data as a mental and technical stretching exercise. And we live in an oak forest, with subjects close at hand, and winter here is cold, foggy, and misty. No good excuses.
Sounds excellent, happy to hear that.
I have been binge watching your chanel, Alister. Your content is extraordinary.
Thank you.
Natter away, Alister! Another video filled with great insight and fantastic images.
:-) I do love a natter - Thanks again Nance.
Before talking about the content of your video, i want to say that the way you communicate already brings us a sense of peace, which, by the way, I am looking for through photography of "contemplative" landscape. I live in Rio de Janeiro and I like to photograph the rainforest here, especially on cloudy and rainy days. I really enjoyed your teachings even though I unfortunately don't understand English. Anyway, I will watch other videos. Thanks and more success! Registered.
Excellent, thank you...
Excellent advice on enhancing woodland scenes in order to bring out what your eyes, seeing in 3D, could see on location, but the camera could not faithfully capture without assistance in post. Well done!
Thanks for that - I guess that's part of our craft...
Before talking about the content of your video, I want to say that the way you communicate already brings us a sense of peace... which, by the way, I'm looking for through photography of "contemplative" landscape. I really enjoyed your teachings even though I unfortunately don't understand English. Anyway, I will watch other videos. Thanks and more success! Registered.
Thank you so much for these videos, excellent content. Your presentation manner is perfect.
That’s very kind, thank you
Well this is getting repetitive. Every day I watch a video or two and am blown away. I'm working my way through the videos dealing with dull overcast days because the weather in southern Ontario at this time of year is as grey as an elephants arse until it starts snowing. I'd been scratching my head wondering how you were getting these images to be as powerful as they are and now I have a place to start to get me out of my processing straight jacket. For whatever reason my thinking has been far to linear when it comes to processing but I think you've offered a way out. On to the next installment.
Brilliant, so happy to hear you’re getting so much from the channel ❤️
Very interesting and creative video Alister. Subscribed;)
Awesome, happy to hear that
Wonderful teaching! Thank you.
Loved it! Thank you so much.
You are so welcome!
Some fantastic tips. Thanks
Great, thanks for that
Some interesting tips in there Alister
fototripper thanks man, appreciate that
Thank so much for sharing those great info, Alister!!!
Happy you like it, hope you're well?
@@Alister_Benn love it and we are ok here and hope you are all well there too. Stay safe!!!
Thx for the info and tips, great video 👍 Appreciate the sharing of your knowledge
Enjoyed, well done!
Many thanks!
Kompliment....it is the first vlog it shows and explain the technik of contrast and luminosity so good and with so much Detail!!!
Greatings from germany
Excellent, delighted to hear that. Thanks so much
Just superb.
Thank you so much 😀
Just found you channel and subscribed. this video is very helpful - I struggle with woodland photography - but this has helped me more to visualise my images and process them meaningfully in line with the vision. Thanks.
Very interesting. Great images too
This is Scotland in FEBRUARY?!! OMG, it's gorgeous!
Yes, today couldn't be more different - a week of blue skies so far! And warm!
One of the best tutorials on processing forest shots I've seen. Lots to consider and apply to my photography processing. I primarily shoot in the forests of The Trossachs. Thanks.
Well thank you. That’s really appreciated. The Trossach’s are gorgeous. We make it down there a few times a year as mum is still in Perthshire.
Thanks very much for this. I'm now living in a rainforest and appreciating the particular photography problems that this type of environment presents - so much to shoot, but often so hard to isolate with so much else going on!
I'm here because of the conversational video you did with Adam Gibbs. Randomly picked this session. Found it to be worth my time. You have a new subscriber.
Excellent, thanks very much
Wowh, very informative!
Gonna try this on my woodland shots too!!👍
Thanks!
Very interesting and useful, thank you.
Thanks so much for this video Alister. I stumbled across your channel today and have already gained a new appreciation for reaching my audience and creating a feel in my pictures because of your advice, observations and practical linking of photographic practice with how we humans perceive! Great stuff. I will enjoy applying some of this in Queensland Australia where there are both damp dark forests like this, and also open eucalypt ones in often harsh light. I can see many videos in your library for me to catch up on!
I love Queensland, I have been to the southern half, around Lamington National Park and loved the forests there (apart from the leeches!)
Great tips and approach to capturing some beautiful atmosphere.
Love Walking with you and enjoying the beauty of landscapes shown captured and presented aesthetically.
Lovely to hear that, I really appreciate such lovely feedback.
This video was great. Thank you 😊
This was excellent
Great, happy you enjoyed
Fantastic tutorial, thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much to share the simple and classic techniques of editing and shooting in the woods after raining days. ❤️
Thank you for your kind and encouraging feedback.
Fabulous video, Alister! Working through the process flow will help me work on the gnarly oak trees around where I live! Thank-you! :)
Glad it was helpful! delighted to hear that
You've got an excellent channel, Alister. Great images, great explanations, and topics that aren't just relevant to beginners. Looking forward to future uploads. I see rapid subscriber growth in your future.
Timothy Linn many thanks. It’s coming and we’re committing now to weekly uploads.
Loved seeing your processing techniques. Thank you!
I came to your channel through the Mads interviews and I'm so glad I subscribed. I like your calm and thoughtful advice. Just as importantly I'm enjoying the content of your videos. Thanks for sharing them with us.
Delighted to hear that and thank you very much for the kind feedback.
Alister, I am posting a second comment. I've watched the video several times as there is a wealth of information in this video. In fact I've written down all of these techniques for future reference (it's not that I am unfamiliar with the tools and what they do but it's the use of them together that makes them powerful). That being said, I have been using Lightroom for years and I have to say, your techniques go way beyond global adjustments that allow one to take their processing to the next level. I very much appreciate you sharing. Pat
Thanks for that, very much appreciated. It's good to hear
Another Great Video. Your location looks a lot like the Oregon Coast Range. I spent several years as a college student fighting wild fires in the Klamath Mts of northern California. The problem I have always had in the mountains is the contrast between sky and undergrowth. Also it is hard to separate the background from the subject. Keep up the good work... you have a unique way of looking at the subject and good technical skills to back it up.
Thanks for that, I truly appreciate it. And thank you for the fire-fighting. Hugely valuable and appreciated work. THANK YOU
Many thanks for this video, it helps me to proces my woodland photos. Unfortunately we don't have such beautiful forests in the Netherlands, but the technique as you describe it remains the same.
Thanks so much, Belgium has some beautiful forests, so that's not too far away :-)
My first video of yours that I have watched - most impressed and plenty more to choose from and now onto the next one.
Paul Hudson great, so pleased to hear that. Hope you enjoy.
@@Alister_Benn Certainly did enjoy them, you keep posting quality work and we'll keep watching them. Thank you.
Fab video tutorial Alister, a lot to learn even when you are not a beginner. You are very clear at explaining things, and love your relaxed energy. Thank you 🙏🏼
Watching your videos I'm getting very tuned in to the idea of contrasts and the transitions between them. It could be the obvious luminance but also warm/cooler, sharp/less sharp, complementary colours ( the classic blue/yellow which also equates to warm/cool) and anything where you can add depth, mood and atmosphere by comparing something against its opposite. Looking at what I do I tend to do this but in a much less considered way and your videos have enabled me to tune into this and really start to explore these ideas in greater depth. So many thanks for this. I think I should say thanks to you as well as do myself a favour and buy a copy of your Luminosity and Contrast book!
Excellent, I’m very excited by this comment. It really is a mission of mine to spread this message! At the beach now in an absolute storm loving life to the max!! Thanks again.
I love the way how you make the image have fluid separations/transitions in them just by using temperature and luminosity, it really makes the viewer want to look at it further, am starting to adjust my editing techniques via this perspective. Thanks for sharing Alister, wonderful tutorial!
Thanks for your comment, really appreciated. This is where the psychology of visual design really comes into play. We can "help" viewers to engage by creating differences.
@@Alister_Benn Yes, I completely agree Alister, and creating these differences, removing too explicit details makes the image more engaging, adding a certain feel even emotion to it. Im really learning a lot from your videos, i guess i am really to expressing something in an image and not just to show creatively. Many thanks, and keep safe always brother.
Thanks Alister! When I worked with Marc Adamus, I remember him mentioning he likes to start with a dark image and bring out the important highlights of the image. It's a very simple thing to do in CR-reduce exposure and bring up the whites, but it's easy to forget to use this very powerful tip for certain images! Great reminder. Thanks for sharing this
Thanks Jeff. Yes, Marc's a great guy. When he visited the house back in 2014 we sat at my computer together and he was showing me his clone painting techniques. It was around the same time I was experimenting with the History Brush and it was a massively significant time for me. Later, when we went on the Tibet expedition together, we chatted more about these techniques and I was certain that I liked this method as my own preference. His approach to processing is amazing and he is so skillful. I will be doing plenty of videos here to share what I've learned over the years.
This is the most helpful tutorial I've watched in a long time. Brilliant explanation of a difficult subject, thanks a million
I really appreciate these Alister. Thank you for putting them out there.
And thanks you very much too. Appreciate your support
Thank you for sharing your techniques. I have much I want to go back and redo now :).
Keith Meinhold and thank you. Any questions that may come up, please ask
Just found you channel mate. Fantastic tips and ideas. Thanks Ian
Awesome, thank you!
You’ve just got yourself a new subscriber. Excellent tutorial, well presented. Thank you
Many thanks, that is very much appreciated.
That was awesome 🤙
Awesome explanation!
...all Adam's hearty fault I found you. Grateful for stirring creative insights, rare calm allure Alister, thank you ~ especially as it was the Forest scene that tugged me on instagram. Be keen to join yourself and Adam on a forest workshop, but that remains a wee Dream, for now, yet working / creatively madly to make it possible 2021;) ~ wildling in SA.
Thank you so much for that. yes, Adam and I are still hopeful to run some trips together, a forest would be ideal.
This channel became one of my favorites. Thank you very much for this awesome videos.
Ramazan Kamari I am so pleased to hear that
I have recently found your videos on RUclips and have found them to be excellent, slowly working through them, this one has particularly inspired me because I have a lot of previously un-processed Forest images, not knowing where to go with them, I think this has helped me to see what I need to do to tackle them. Thank you.
Welcome, and thanks for the lovely comment. Hopefully you'll get lots of inspiration from the content.
Another thoroughly enjoyable and informative video Alister
exciting to see the different techniques to enhance an image
A real instructive & helpful video Alister. Your explanation on how to use light to get the best out of the images has really turned on a light for me, many thanks. PS LOve your work & have followed your images for a good while now.
Alan Coles that’s great to hear. Weekly videos from now on.
What a great video! I live in Sweden in an area which is full of mossy forest. I need to go back to some of my images and improve them after this.
Norman Nichols excellent, I love that you feel motivated to do so. Looking forward to seeing your work.
Very well presented. I find that the why is foundational to the the what. You have done an excellent job of that.
donniebel thank you very much for the great feedback.
Thank you for sharing this interesting vlog and wonderful pictures.
Ulrich Schön you are most welcome and thanks for taking the time to comment
Love your work and your very helpful tutorials.
Michael Blanchette brilliant to hear, thank you very much
I recently discovered your channel and it has rocketed to the top. I appreciate your focus on compositional theory rather than gear. Thanks 😊!
Many thanks - It's easy to get sucked into the concept of click bait - I resist :-)
Thank you! so much I live in Newfoundland, where overcast days are what mother nature serves up most days so these processes will help me in my processing everyday. Incredible light is wonderful, but you can get to a point where you stop taking your camera if it's not gorgeous out. I'm glad I came across your channel!
Excellent comment, thanks so much. Yes, I don't really chase great light, I have, but I am much happier in anonymous landscapes, even in the raid :-) Must get to Newfie one day, I hear it is beautiful.
You're and absolute star Alister! I just completely transformed one of my photos with this editing process. Thank you so much!❤❤
That's just awesome to hear, so happy for you and for being the catalyst.
Really nice video!
Alister, thanks to your video, I will revisit some images from the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park that had been frustrating me. Unfortunately had a week of atypical blue skies so had to shoot before sunrise or deal with hot spots after. I think some of the techniques will allow me to present some in the way I wanted or imagined.
I'm delighted to hear that. It's funny with technical aspects of processing, sometimes the tool we use allows or blocks the path to creativity.
So helpful to take my Lightroom efforts to greater results. Subscribed, bell checked, liked and shared with someone else. Cheers
A Mills really appreciated and thank you so much
This is an excellent tutorial. Thank you
Thanks very much. I am getting a load of pleasure making these. Really appreciate your feedback.
Incredibly good video. Super processing skills, thanks for sharing.
Simon Burn no worries, much appreciated, many more coming
Looks like you're in for another stormy week ahead Alister; you'll need to batten down the hatches! In the meantime, thank you for another wonderful tutorial. BTW I believe I'm now on my third or fourth reading of your highly recommended eBook 'LUMINOSITY & CONTRAST' - I now use 'transitions' to lead all my image processing decisions. Best wishes.
Sandy Weir thanks so much for that. Well, not a stormy week ahead as we leave for Morocco in the morning 😀
@@Alister_Benn :)
Absolutely fantastic tutorial Alister, this is worth money. Thank you for sharing it with the world.
Thanks man, very much appreciated. Sorry I didn't see your comment sooner.
Alister, only my third video in to your channel and I have to say you have done a wonderful job. You've created a terrific resource for nature photographers. I thoroughly appreciate your insights and thoughtfulness in the way you describe your workflow and creative process. Thank you!
Thanks again James, I really appreciate this feedback.
Hi al, to be honest I found you completely by accident. I'm a huge fan of Adam Gibbs work and stumbled on your interview with him, so glad I did as your vlogs are a breath of fresh air. I find your post processing so very easy to understand with simple explanations. You also produce some work Al and as others would agree you give us huge inspiration. I subscribed immediately (you're only the third person I've subscribed to, Adam Gibbs being amongst them). Your forest video was extremely compelling and reminds me of another photographer I hold in high esteem (Neil burnell). Anyway Al I can't thank you enough and I send my sincere highest regards and warm wishes. Please keep safe as I would like to see lots more of you in the future........davey
Firstly, thanks so much for the message of support, I take this feedback very seriously and appreciate it when people take the time to write. You'll see I also often write quite lengthy replies to people when they ask something than triggers a mad stream of thought from me :-)
Now our workshop business is in limbo, we';re throwing all our energy into online content. I'm writing for Fstoppers, OnLandscape and Landscape Photography Magazine. Plus the Vision & Light weekly videos. Add to that our own creative output for the Sunday video and we're not short of things to do.
Thanks again man...
@@Alister_Benn cheers Al, can I ask just one question? With you primarily being a landscape photographer what are your thoughts on "sharpness"? To be completely honest al I'm not on the best wage and have just got myself a Pentax k5 along with 18-55 kit lens and a 50-200 of the same iq as the kit lens (both weather sealed as is the body so going out in stormy weather has its advantages). Ideally a full frame kit would be more suitable for landscapes but obviously being on a tight budget was out of the question. I understand if you can't reply Al, you must have quite some workload but would have been interested in your thoughts. Kindest regards Al......davey
Sorry, only just seen this! Sharpness is totally over rated. I'd say your kit lenses are probably sharper then the best lenses available in the 1970's. I don't sharpen at all in my workflow, and I know Adam Gibbs is the same. Nothing looks worse than over sharpened images. Enjoy what you point the camera at and creating your vision. The less we worry about technical imperfections, the more likely we are to find beauty in our own (imperfections!) that is.
Thanks again for your comment, really appreciated.
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts , vision and editing.
I still have photos to edit from November. (Ariundle) I will keep this video in my mind !
Johan Pannekoek local patch for me :-) thanks very much for commenting
Very informative Alister, we sometimes forget just how powerful the Raw converter is without jumping into all the various Plugins.
Let's hope February brings some Winter-like weather, January has been a damp squib so far!.
Douglas Ritchie thank you and absolutely. We have the most ridiculous amount of control. I was talking with Marc Adamus a few years ago and we were agreed that as humans. We are the weakest link in the creative process
Fabulous tutorial, I learned a lot. Living in the rain forest I am constantly challenged to represent them well. You are a great help.
Brian Aikens thanks mate, love to help. Hopefully today’s new vid will also help :-)
Thank you very much. Fascinating insights and so well put across. I shall try and look at woodland in a different way now!
Beautiful images and very useful information, Thank You for sharing!
Peter Tym many thanks and thank you for commenting
Great video Alister, certainly gave me some inspiring tips on processing.
Dave Reeves photography brilliant, that’s the name of the game
Loved how you created the atmosphere in the last image, it really looked amazing for a gloomy day!
Yeah, that is a very useful technique. - Thanks so much for your comment.
Superb video....well explained...
Thanks a lot 😊
Great video Alister really interesting to see your thought process from start to finish👍🏻
PhotoNinja thanks mate, loads more of this coming up.
Excellent images, a very informative video. I will be trying the process on my next set images from the Forest/woods. Thank you very much.
Ian Hill thank you, much appreciated. Any questions you may have, please ask
Exactly what I was looking for Alister! Extremely helpful and inspiring as is usual with your channel!
Thank you for sharing your post-processing steps - incredible results and some real insights for me about how to emphasise and express mood in forest imagery. I have saved this video to watch again while I'm actually processing some of my own images. I'm wondering how I might adapt these to some recent Australian bush scenes I captured that were infused with smoke haze from the bushfires....
Tragic the fires, but yes, the eerie atmosphere I'd imagine would be very powerful. Best wishes and thanks for the comment.
This was incredibly useful and understandable. Thanks for sharing your techniques and your thought process. Your explanations make me understand things I've read or heard other photographers explain but never quite clicked the way they did with this video.
heguiluz that is really excellent to hear, I am putting a lot of focus into this channel, and I am very energised by your comment
I really love your work! Very inspirating!
I don't work with Lightroom, so I tried it with Affinity Photo and ACDSee, but there are different sliders and the names of the sliders you use are hard to read plus I am not a native speaker.
Do you know, if it would work with Affinity Photo or ACDSee? Or does anyone else know it? I am not so happy with the results yet. I would really love to push my photos into a more mystic scene, if you know what I mean. It would be easier if its german...
But really great work! Go on :)
Excellent... love your way of analysing images
Thanks man, sorry, only just saw this!
Just saw your movie on F-Stopper and subscribed - I am glad to have found you :)
Achim Recktenwald so pleased to hear that, thank you
Wow... just discovered you!!! Teriffic!!!
snickersglny brilliant - thanks for that
absolutely great video, Alister! I miss the pink floyd music though...
Markus Viol ya, okay, we’ll maybe I need to dig out the Ibanez RG ;-)
This has got to be one of my favourite landscape photography videos. I keep coming back to this get inspiration. Alister, I'm really interested to know if this photo would work as a large print. The one on your 'Music from Dark Space' portfolio. I'm really fond of your style editing and I have been editing my own photos in a way that emphasizes the difference of shadows and highlights. I made a photo that I really like.. But when I took the photo to a local fine art printing shop, they told me there needs to be a more details in my shadows. Otherwise the dark spots would look smudgy.
Any advise would be appreciated. Also if you can make that photo purchasable as a print, this has got to be my favourite landscape photo. Thank You
Ah, that is a very interesting point about your shadows. I will make a video about this and post on Sunday.
Brilliant tutorial, thank you so much. Glad to see it’s not just my Mac that hates the brush tool! Every other local adjustment is fine, but the brush cripples it!
Thank you for the lovely feedback, much appreciated. I have switched to a custom built PC for my main work machine now! 128Gb of RAM and an insane Threadripper processor seems to have conquered the Adobe requirements!! :-)
Given that you posted this awhile ago, I don't know if you'll see this question. I was curious how you choose your exposures while in the woods. Do you basically just want there to be no clipping on either end or do you try to get something more on one end or the other? I discovered your channel recently and am loving every video I watch!
Thanks Bethe and welcome. Exposing in the woods is generally the same, I go slightly under as I like them moody.
@@Alister_Benn Thanks!!