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For this photograph using a handheld Sony Alpha 700 dslr, taking in the foreground wildflower meadow, I neglected to maintain a level horizon.
Leveling the image results in too much cropping of this view from Torr Head, north. The best approach is to level the camera. When using the handheld technique, I found many lenses have guides in the view finder the horizon can be lined up against. This technique is useful for a tripod mount. Later camera models have a feature that displays a level, handy for use with a tripod. For the handheld technique, these cameras provide a viewfinder leveling grid.
The next few days I will explore some solutions to the problem of corrected for a crooked horizon.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
When this happens to me I usually end up with 2 derivatives … here I’d crop 1st to a horizontal view of horizon/sky – then a 2nd vertical view focused on the foreground, with a bit of sky (but narrower).
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We are on the same page……I cover both solutions, Jazz. Stay tuned!!
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Looking forward to learning from your upcoming posts.
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Thank You….there will be 4 this week, one each day.
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Who said a photograph has to be hung upright – that’s just a convention and I like this one being presented at an angle.
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Thanks for the support. I can’t make the case for this particular photograph. It is a four-part series, so needs to be considered in context.
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Since a major portion of my serious work is horizons – see my website – absolutely straight horizons are critically important to me. I have a grid set up in my view finders to help me line them up. In post production, the first thing I do is check for a level horizon. There are various tools in Photoshop to help you correct one. I usually use the lens correction tool. This is most challenging whenone is presented with an ambiguous horizon. Here on the Pacific coast, we very often have a fog bank way out. The fog bank can be uneven and present a real challenge. I can correct for the actual literal ocean’s edge horizon and have it look wrong because the uneven edge of the fog bank predominates. In that case, I will adjust until it “looks right.“ if I’m not sure, I’ll let it sit for a day or two and then come back to it and see if I still think it looks right.
The worst nightmare is when I get the photograph looking absolutely right to me and then post it on my blog. Then the moment the scheduled posting appears, it looks cockeyed. I have to immediately take it down, re-level it and put it back up again. Once I had to do that three times for the same posting. Drives me absolutely crazy.
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These are valuable insights. I have examples were towers look more correct when they are NOT exactly vertical.
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Thank you. I think a key element here is whether or not it LOOKS right.
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Absolutely!!
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Interesting discussion! Since I am not a master photographer in any sense of the word, I will be reading more. Thanks Michael.
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I appreciate that…hope you find this helpful.
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Michael, your experience with photography inspires me to continue looking for some quality experiences to document with my camera.
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Looking forward to seeing your results.
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