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Thread: Throwing away the #&%@ level

  1. #1

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    Throwing away the #&%@ level

    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.

  2. #2
    Lachlan 717
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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    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

  3. #3
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Quote Originally Posted by Lachlan 617 View Post
    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.

    Bruce Watson

  4. #4
    Lachlan 717
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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Watson View Post
    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!!

  5. #5

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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    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.

  6. #6
    Tim Meisburger's Avatar
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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Quote Originally Posted by Lachlan 617 View Post
    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.. .

  7. #7
    Lachlan 717
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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim Meisburger View Post
    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.. .
    I have a friend who's a Lumberjack, and he'd tell you that the only way a tree looks good is horizontal!!!

  8. #8

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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Quote Originally Posted by bensyverson View Post
    ...
    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?

  9. #9

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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    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

  10. #10

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    Re: Throwing away the #&%@ level

    Hold onto your level for those landscape shots with horizons.

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