Unlevel

Questions on editing, camera settings, equipment, critiques, how to upload photos, etc....
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Y@
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Unlevel

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The only editing done to this was the size change for the gallery. I know it needs cropped, sharpened, a little color work, and all that jazz, but I need help on how to level it. Nothing I do looks right. JT, HELP ME! :lol:
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Re: Unlevel

Unread post by ~Z~ »

CCW rotation of .75 I'd say by eyeballing it.
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Re: Unlevel

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Try to level it with the vertical on the engineer's side of the nose. There's a pretty good line there to level it with. I think that's probably what the screener saw. It looks like it needs a little CCW rotation.
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Re: Unlevel

Unread post by railohio »

If you used a tripod with a level you wouldn't have this problem.
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Y@
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Re: Unlevel

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J T wrote:Try to level it with the vertical on the engineer's side of the nose. There's a pretty good line there to level it with. I think that's probably what the screener saw. It looks like it needs a little CCW rotation.
Thanks JT, I never submitted that one to RP though. :wink:
railohio wrote:If you used a tripod with a level you wouldn't have this problem.
I'd rather not lug a tripod around with my DSLR all day. Really no point to that when you can level in photoshop.
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Re: Unlevel

Unread post by conrailmike »

Y@ wrote:
railohio wrote:If you used a tripod with a level you wouldn't have this problem.
I'd rather not lug a tripod around with my DSLR all day. Really no point to that when you can level in photoshop.
Why would you add one more step to your post-processing when you can eliminate it? The point is to not spend more time behind a computer. That's like saying "why would I get the exposure right in camera when I can just fudge it in photoshop?" There are tripods out there that are light and strong at the same time. Having said that, I don't use mine a lot only because it really isn't very light and it's more for studio work.

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Re: Unlevel

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conrailmike wrote:
Y@ wrote:
railohio wrote:If you used a tripod with a level you wouldn't have this problem.
I'd rather not lug a tripod around with my DSLR all day. Really no point to that when you can level in photoshop.
Why would you add one more step to your post-processing when you can eliminate it? The point is to not spend more time behind a computer. That's like saying "why would I get the exposure right in camera when I can just fudge it in photoshop?" There are tripods out there that are light and strong at the same time. Having said that, I don't use mine a lot only because it really isn't very light and it's more for studio work.
I just don't see the point to it at all? Why go spend more money on something that I really don't need?
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SD80MAC
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Re: Unlevel

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Only time I use a tripod is at night or when shooting video. It's a PITA otherwise.
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Re: Unlevel

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I don't always use a tripod either. Sometimes, you just have to catch the action as it happens and don't always have time to set. Instead of a tripod, how about a monopod?
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Re: Unlevel

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I'm with Y@. There's not much of a point lugging around a giant tripod when you're chasing trains, especially if you're in a crunch where you don't have time to set up and tear down. All you need to do is carefully level with your eye in the field, and if you screw up, it's only an extra thirty seconds in photoshop to fix it.

It's also possible to get unlevel photos even when using a tripod with a level. It's certainly possible to bump the tripod, misread it, etc. in which case you'd be back to leveling it in photoshop.
Why would you add one more step to your post-processing when you can eliminate it? The point is to not spend more time behind a computer. That's like saying "why would I get the exposure right in camera when I can just fudge it in photoshop?
Well it's a quick fix, not something that takes time. If you're shooting something like a wedding and you're pressed for time on the photographs and want to eliminate your post-processing time, then I could see lugging around a tripod. But as far as railfanning goes, it just creates more of a hassle to set up and tear down a tripod in a situation where you don't truly need it.

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Re: Unlevel

Unread post by conrailmike »

LSRC wrote:I'm with Y@. There's not much of a point lugging around a giant tripod when you're chasing trains, especially if you're in a crunch where you don't have time to set up and tear down. All you need to do is carefully level with your eye in the field, and if you screw up, it's only an extra thirty seconds in photoshop to fix it.
Not all tripods or even monopods are giant, there are quite a few nice, light, and strong models available. So what you're saying is, it's no time at all to fix the 250 photos you might shoot in a weekend? That time adds up. What do you think the guys do who shoot pro sports? Rarely do they have time to waste in getting the action shot and 99% of them shoot off a monopod.
LSRC wrote:It's also possible to get unlevel photos even when using a tripod with a level. It's certainly possible to bump the tripod, misread it, etc. in which case you'd be back to leveling it in photoshop.
That's just silly. Shoot off a monopod then or watch what you're doing.
LSRC wrote:Well it's a quick fix, not something that takes time. If you're shooting something like a wedding and you're pressed for time on the photographs and want to eliminate your post-processing time, then I could see lugging around a tripod. But as far as railfanning goes, it just creates more of a hassle to set up and tear down a tripod in a situation where you don't truly need it.
That thirty seconds adds up real quick. I don't shoot off a tripod at weddings only because of that reason alone.... I don't have time. You have to be ready for the moment, I MIGHT shoot off a tripod during formals but being pressed for time normally I don't because I can get it darn close if not perfect and I find it's a little easier to hide levelness with people than it is trains.

But hey, to each his own I guess....

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Re: Unlevel

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Not all tripods or even monopods are giant, there are quite a few nice, light, and strong models available. So what you're saying is, it's no time at all to fix the 250 photos you might shoot in a weekend? That time adds up. What do you think the guys do who shoot pro sports? Rarely do they have time to waste in getting the action shot and 99% of them shoot off a monopod.
It's true that not all monopods or tripods are giants. But I've found that unless you're foaming alone, you're going to have to collapse and fold the legs (or leg). That takes time. For example, I was shooting a train on Monday evening. I had less than twenty seconds to park the car, grab the camera, run to the top of an icy hill, and focus if I wanted to get that shot. Had I been using a tripod, I wouldn't have gotten the shot.

What I'm saying about time and editing is that it's not relevant with railroad photography. I shoot, dump my photos onto the computer, back them up, and I'll edit them sometime in the future when I'm bored. I can't think of a single person who makes a solid living doing nothing but railroad photos, and very few that might need to get the photo editing ASAP and can't spare the extra thirty seconds. Thus, the thirty seconds it might take to level a photo doesn't matter with railroad photography.

But, it does matter when you're shooting things that matter more, such as sports or weddings. I photograph weddings, and I know that when you come home with thousands of pictures to short through in a short amount of time, that thirty seconds adds up. That why I understand why other (and myself sometimes) shoot with a tripod for important events, or why I do a custom white balance before each wedding ceremony. The speed of your editing does matter when it comes to weddings and such, but not trains.

And though I haven't done too many sporting events, but I'm guessing most professional sports photographers shoot with a monopod for stability when using a long, heavy lens and for convenience (weight issues). I wouldn't think leveling would really matter to them, but I might be wrong.

Maybe because I went straight to digital photography and not film, but I try to level my photos with my eyes in the field, but a lot of the time I get wrapped up with what's going on in the scene, and making sure I have the correct exposure, focus, etc. that I often let leveling get the better of me. Anyways, I just wrote entirely too many words for my argument, when all I really should have done was agreed with your last statement, do whatever you feel. It's the photographer's choice.

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Re: Unlevel

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Conrail Jon wrote:Only time I use a tripod is at night or when shooting video. It's a PITA otherwise.
That and I'd need some kind of way to mount the tripod to the top of a Subaru... :twisted: :lol: :lol:

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Re: Unlevel

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conrailmike wrote: Why would you add one more step to your post-processing when you can eliminate it?
One more step? It literally takes less than 10 seconds to level a shot in photoshop. How long does it take for you to set up your tripod, make sure it's level, etc? Aside from that, even if you think you have it perfectly level because a little bubble on your tripod told you it was, chances are quite good that the shot will still be unlevel to some degree.
The point is to not spend more time behind a computer.
The point is to not spend more time setting up a shot when a train is approaching.
That's like saying "why would I get the exposure right in camera when I can just fudge it in photoshop?"
No, it's not like that. Very poor analogy, IMO.

Anyway, tripods for daytime shooting when you're a very fluid photographer are VERY impractical.
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Re: Unlevel

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I'm with JT on this one. I used to have a tripod, but disposed of it because it was bulky and inconvenient to set up. If you depend on one for a level picture it must be on level ground or you have to make adjustments to get it so.

When shooting, I try to keep the camera level, but if I'm off a degree or so it a very quick and easy fix in Photoshop that only takes a few seconds. Then I can crop to my satisfaction. I don't worry about RP because I've never sent them one.

Just an opinion, but it would be nice if every DSLR had a small pendulum in the viewfinder to indicate the horizon is level. Probably never happen, but it's a thought.
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Re: Unlevel

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Norm wrote:I'm with JT on this one. I used to have a tripod, but disposed of it because it was bulky and inconvenient to set up. If you depend on one for a level picture it must be on level ground or you have to make adjustments to get it so.

When shooting, I try to keep the camera level, but if I'm off a degree or so it a very quick and easy fix in Photoshop that only takes a few seconds. Then I can crop to my satisfaction. I don't worry about RP because I've never sent them one.

Just an opinion, but it would be nice if every DSLR had a small pendulum in the viewfinder to indicate the horizon is level. Probably never happen, but it's a thought.
They do make little levels that attach (stick?) to the camera, Norm. I've seen a few photographers that have had them, I've just never really thought about getting one.
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Re: Unlevel

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What's the big deal about level? Just grab the edge of you monitor and turn it 'till it looks right! :twisted: :lol:

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Re: Unlevel

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MDH wrote:What's the big deal about level? Just grab the edge of you monitor and turn it 'till it looks right! :twisted: :lol:

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