Sunset at Summerland Point.

[rayallen]

Sunset at Summerland Point on Lake Macquarie, NSW.


_IGP7688 by Ray Allen, on Flickr

[dje]

A nice peaceful image Ray. The reflections work well. Have you applied a warming filter ?

Cheers Dave

[rayallen]

Thanks for your comments, Dave. No warming filter but it did get a bit of help from a gradient filter.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ray,

I think I'd have panned a little right to place the yachts more centrally for composition.

I would definitely level that horizon! (sorry, pet hate)

Exposure good and sharpness not bad at all, we can see some rigging and it doesn't have halos (another pet hate)

Cheers,

[Harpo]

(sorry, pet hate)

(another pet hate)

Hey Dave… I dont know if this is a UK thing… but over here we call it a "pet peeve" Just wondering if its a different take on the same thing in a different country!?

I often find the different slang used on this site interesting considering there are so many people from different countries aboard! It adds flavor!

[rayallen]

Hi Ray,

I would definitely level that horizon! (sorry, pet hate)

Cheers,

Leveling the horizon is always the first thing I do. I just rechecked this one by dragging a guide down from the top. OK, I'll admit that it is not completely level but it is only a fraction of a degree out. Certainly not enough to cause me any concern.

I'm not sure where you measured.

[Dave Humphries]

Leveling the horizon is always the first thing I do. I just rechecked this one by dragging a guide down from the top. OK, I'll admit that it is not completely level but it is only a fraction of a degree out. Certainly not enough to cause me any concern.

Hi Ray,

I'm not sure where you measured.

No, I didn't measure as such, here's what I do;
make image big
go to a fine scroll mode
scroll up slowly until horizon starts to disappear under the browser menu bar
if one side hits it first, it isn't level

but here's the thing - I only do it when I see a problem by naked eye (to confirm my suspicion)

This finds errors of less than half a degree, what can I say; sorry?

It also highlights other lens distortions like barrel or pincushion if there's enough horizon on display.

Hi Mike,

Yes, "pet peeve", "pet hate", same difference

Cheers,

[Bobobird]

Hate is a stronger word then peeve.

[jeeperman]

Very nice image, although while I may not be as strict as Dave....the horizon is what bothers me about it as well.

[Colin Southern]

Very nice image, although while I may not be as strict as Collin....the horizon is what bothers me about it as well.

I think you might mean Dave, not Colin. If you just remember that Dave is the good-looking one then you won't have any trouble telling us apart

[jeeperman]

I think you might be right Da....uhm Colin. Where did I come up with your name? Must have been a previous thread.

[rayallen]

Thank you very much for your comments and your attention to detail. I will now pay much greater attention to my horizons (mainly because many of my images contain horizons).

I wish my eyes were able to easily see such small amounts of not being exactly level but you were right and an adjustment was required. So, I went back and reprocessed the image. The only change was to get it dead level. I then checked it using Colin's method. I am pretty sure it is now correct but I know you will tell me if it is not. Here's the latest version:
For me, the horizon line intersects the cabin of the R/H boat.

[Rob Douglas]

I wish my eyes were able to easily see such small amounts of not being exactly level but you were right and an adjustment was required.

Not sure what camera you are using but maybe a focusing screen with a grid would help? I got one for my Canon 50D and have had to level less shots in PP as a result. Helps out with the rule of thirds as well.

[Dave Humphries]

Hate is a stronger word then peeve.

Not when I use it like this, but point taken, no offence intended

[Dave Humphries]

Not sure what camera you are using but maybe a focusing screen with a grid would help?

I have a V/F grid and still I often get it wrong

Now I have a shoe mounted spirit level for use when using Live View at odd/low angles - I've yet to see how accurate it is

[Rob Douglas]

I have a V/F grid and still I often get it wrong

thank the camera Gods for straightening tools in Lightroom and CS5 LOL

[rayallen]

thank the camera Gods for straightening tools in Lightroom and CS5 LOL

Yes, dead right, Rob.

To answer your prior post, I used a Pentax K10D and it has an issue with the viewfinder image not being exactly level (long story!) and thus I now just wait until PP and use the tools to which you refer to get the horizon level.