Over the last few months I’ve been watching a lot of photography videos on YouTube. I’ve learned quite a bit in general and picked up some useful tips, but a lot of my enjoyment comes from the video footage some landscape photographers shoot of beautiful locations, including from drones.

I’m never going to be the kind of photographer who travels long distances just to get a specific shot, or who hikes up a mountain, down a steep cliff, or miles through a forest to get to a great location. But I can do that vicariously through others and enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Below I’ve listed four of the channels that I’ve especially liked so far in case you’re interested in checking them out.

I’m not linking to specific videos because I can’t guess which topics will be of interest to others, but if you search on YouTube with their names and the word “photography” you should have no trouble finding an assortment of videos from these people. You’ll also get suggestions for a lot of other people’s videos and will probably come across someone who fits your style and interests if these specific people don’t particularly grab you.

Another tip is to look for videos of photography talks held at B&H (a NYC mega camera store). They have talks from pros on almost every conceivable topic.

Nick Page

Page is a landscape photographer who lives in Eastern Washington in the Palouse region, so part of what I enjoy is that a lot of his videos are shot in Washington and Oregon. He does a lot of explaining about choosing locations, how he sets up his shots, and why.

Thomas Heaton

Heaton is a landscape photographer in the UK, but a lot of his videos are from trips to other countries. He specializes in using filters and long exposures. He talks a lot about scouting locations, light, and composition. I like that he talks about both the good stuff and when things don’t go well, and I really appreciate his deep love of the outdoors.

Eric Marks – Finding Middle Earth

I found Marks’ videos when I was thinking about which camera to buy because he’s an enthusiastic Fujifilm shooter and I was heavily leaning towards Fuji. Though, he uses the X-T2, a higher end camera than my X-T20. He lives in Georgia and does location videos and videos in his home about gear and photo editing. I like that he tailors a lot of his stuff to beginners and I enjoy his enthusiasm about what he’s doing.

Tony and Chelsea Northrup

This husband and wife team in Connecticut do all kinds of videos and they also publish photography related books. They do camera tutorials, gear reviews, podcasts, and live photo critiques. I don’t always agree with their take on things during the critiques, but so much about photography is subjective and I still learn quite a bit.

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them in the beginning, but I kept going back and watching more, and now I appreciate their low-key, easy-going approach. They both have an offbeat sense of humor, especially Chelsea, and some of their videos are just silly jokes that have no purpose other than to be fun. Their Wanderlust series about a trip to California is worth watching, even if you aren’t interested in anything else they’re doing.