For the last 18 months or so, I have been studying the works and teachings of master photographer, educator, writer and thinker Alister Benn. Alister is an award-winning Scottish landscape photographer who has a phenomenal YouTube Channel, operates a website, leads workshops and makes outstanding images. What attracted me to Alister was his contrarian approach to photography, especially the educational side of things. He once had a student ask him to comment on one of her photographs. Alister asked her what she thought of her own image. His point is that the photographer must internalize their own work and ask themselves for evaluations rather than some outsider who will tend to emphasize negativity. Alister discusses how camera clubs, workshop instructors, etc. have the habit of telling an artist “what is wrong” in their work rather than to help them become more “expressive”. When I read that, I immediately realized this is someone that I wanted to follow. Alister speaks of his own struggles with photography at a time when he felt pressured to make images to please others or to get “likes” on Instagram, 500PX and other social media sites. In fact, he went off to the Gobi desert, where he had only sand dunes, light and shadow to challenge himself to be more creative and expressive with these simple elements. He emerged from that experience with not only a different perspective on photography, but a transformation of his life. I found this humbling in that a man actually puts his life on pause and goes into the wilderness “to shake the devil off”…. Wow! Alister’s photographic teaching emphasizes “five tags”: Luminosity, Contrast, Color, Geometry and Atmosphere. He also teaches an understanding of transitions, distractions and consequences in image making, whether it be shooting in the field or processing in “Lightroom”. These are creative surrogates for the worn out “rules of composition”. His teaching of editing and processing utilizes the photographer’s emotional intent rather than mere technical movement of the “sliders”. Employing these teachings has enabled me to scrap many of my “old ways” and freed me to approach image making by engaging with the landscape and expressing my personal vision. In addition, my image processing has a better connection to my work in the landscape. Alister calls this Expressive Photography. I highly recommend his E-Books, “Luminosity & Contrast”, and the “Color of Meaning”, which can be found here: https://expressive.photography/education/
