Throwing away the #&%@ level

[Ben Syverson]

I recently shot 8x10 in a stand of spruce trees. The trees were beautiful -- incredibly parallel and vertical. So of course I slapped the level on the rear standard to get the camera nice and square. I got the talent lined up, took a few sheets, recomposed, re-leveled, and took a couple more.

Looking at the negatives, the trees are leaning to the left. The trees themselves were leaning slightly (1-3°) to the south. The shot is technically leveled, but the subject matter is not.

Meanwhile in the studio, I've used the level to get the camera nice and lined up, only to get back negatives with portrait subjects leaning to one side. The problem? My studio floors lean all kinds of crazy directions, and so do my subjects.

The lesson? I'm throwing away the &$%* bubble level! From now on I'm only trusting the lines on the GG, instead of leveling my shots in a non-level world. If it looks straight, it is straight.

[Lachlan 717]

You'll need to be careful with trees.

I remember thinking the same thing a few years ago. Lined up the trees to be "vertical" and the shots looked like rubbish.

Trouble is, we're hardwired to understand phototropism. Maybe from when we walked with dinosaurs!! I found that the images looked wrong when there were shadows. While we might not see light, we see its effects.

So, I would suggest shooting a roll of (sorry to say it) 35mm film to see your results (ir shoot digital, then have a shower to try to stop the feeling of being dirty), then look at them on the 'puter.

Lachlan

[Bruce Watson]

You'll need to be careful with trees.

I remember thinking the same thing a few years ago. Lined up the trees to be "vertical" and the shots looked like rubbish.

Yup. Same experience here. That's why I *always* level and plumb the film plane as a starting point. I find this especially important for trees that aren't vertical -- the leaning trees really seem to need the film plane to be correct (that is, level and plumb). Don't know why, but it seems to be true. At least for me.

[Lachlan 717]

Yup. Same experience here. That's why I *always* level and plumb the film plane as a starting point. I find this especially important for trees that aren't vertical -- the leaning trees really seem to need the film plane to be correct (that is, level and plumb). Don't know why, but it seems to be true. At least for me.

Bruce,

Probably the same reason people need to fix paintings that are crooked!!

[Nathan Potter]

Dunno. I use the levels only for a rough first adjustment. Then rely on the gridded GG for anything critical. But certain scenes can fool the senses and may never look quite right unless the camera is grossly repositioned.

Reminds me of a road in New Brunswick Canada that runs down a slight incline. The wind blown spruce trees along the road lean nearly orthogonally to the road yielding a distinct impression that the road is flat. But if you put your car in neutral it appears visually that you are rolling up hill.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Tim Meisburger]

Bruce,

Probably the same reason people need to fix paintings that are crooked!!

I do that! I was a carpenter for ten years before I moved on, and have no problem establishing level and plumb by eye, and pictures hung out of level drive me crazy. I always fix my neighbors pictures, those in my office, anything hung by my wife, or even pictures in hotel rooms!

That being said, I totally agree with the OP that if it looks correct on the GG it is correct, regardless of reality..:eek: .

[Lachlan 717]

I do that! I was a carpenter for ten years before I moved on, and have no problem establishing level and plumb by eye, and pictures hung out of level drive me crazy. I always fix my neighbors pictures, those in my office, anything hung by my wife, or even pictures in hotel rooms!

That being said, I totally agree with the OP that if it looks correct on the GG it is correct, regardless of reality..:eek: .

I have a friend who's a Lumberjack, and he'd tell you that the only way a tree looks good is horizontal!!!

[GPS]

...
The lesson? I'm throwing away the &$%* bubble level! From now on I'm only trusting the lines on the GG, instead of leveling my shots in a non-level world. If it looks straight, it is straight.

You want to trust the lines on the GG only, good. Why do you need to throw away the bubble level for that? :confused: :)

[sun of sand]

I never use a level though I usually carry one
I can eye up a reasonable level and sometimes don't want the camera level
lOl ..always within the bars, at least

Sun of "not always on the level" sand

[benrains]

Hold onto your level for those landscape shots with horizons.

[domaz]

I'm a beginner so maybe this is bad practice but I just use the horizontal grid lines on my ground glass and line it up with something straight in the scene. I just use a ball-head. Things work out pretty well that way.

[mandoman7]

Sometimes you have to make adjustments in order for reality to look like its supposed to.

If you're shooting down a long row of trees with your back set at vertical, you may find that the trees appear to converge or to be splayed in a way that you don't like. I see nothing wrong with setting the back to accomplish the look that fulfills your vision. With buildings its different.

[Bruce A Cahn]

Yup again. I never understood why the customers in this store make such a fuss about levels. You level with the lines on the screen.

[Vaughn]

I like my built-in levels on my 8x10. Nice to start out level, then tilt the camera if the images requires it. I prefer level, but don't let that preference get in the way.

Played around with back tilt today in the redwoods. With the camera back parallel with the trees in one shot today, the trees were actually all leaning towards the middle. So I "straightened" them up a with some back tilt.

Vaughn

[BennehBoy]

I find the levels on my P2 useful when using indirect rise - purely to ensure the front and rear standards are parallel.

[jvuokko]

Levels are nice, but it's way too often frustrating when taking a photograph of some architectural subject only to notice after developed the film... That the film wasn't perfectly horizontal/vertical on the film cassette. There seems always be a some freeplay that allows circa one degree error... Sometimes more with old cassette or cheap film that isn't cutted with so tight tolerances.

[Stefan Findel]

One should ALWAYS start with a level camera! Only relying on the grid lines of your GG can get you in trouble, especially when you have horizontal AND vertical lines to deal with. And if your camera isn't level to start with, tilts and swings and shifts can make things only worse, and you loose control.

[Ben Syverson]

My new method is to completely level both standards, THEN start eyeballing it. So I haven't thrown the level away, but I'm no longer trusting it implicitly.