NANPA is the North American Nature Photography Association. It’s a leading organization for nature photographers. NANPA events should not be missed.
I’ll be leading the birds track at NANPA’s Nature Photography Celebration in Asheville, NC, April 19-21.
Join me and my colleagues in bird photography, night photography, landscapes, flowers, fine art, and conservation for an unprecedented amount of field time with other photographers as well as classroom sessions and opportunities to share images.
My friends save $75 on registration with the FriendOfKathy promo code. More info: nanpa.org/celebration.
Northern parula might be a migrant we find during the NANPA Celebration in Asheville, North Carolina.
I’m working through a folder of photos I took on a recent photo tour to the Lofoten Islands. We were at Haukland Beach late in the afternoon. The weather was mild, wind was calm, and the sea was spectacular.
At one point, I found a large rock out in the surf that was stable enough to stand on. I extended my tripod legs to the max, stabilized the camera, and then let the incoming waves wash around me while photographing. It was an exciting experience.
Yet, when I looked at the photos on my computer there was no escaping the fact that the horizon was crooked in each shot. I made a novice mistake of framing the photo with a slanted horizon.
The usual correction would be to use the straighten tool in Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom. In this instance, though, that would cut-off part of the mountain at the top of the frame.
Slanting horizon in the original photo. Straight horizon with Crop and Content-Aware Fill.
Crop with Content-Aware to the rescue.
Adobe software allows us to crop with Content-Aware. Content-Aware fills in gaps created when we crop. Amazing tool! Here’s how to do it.
Open the photo in Photoshop. Click the crop tool on the left toolbar. Click the top left corner of the photo and drag to the bottom right corner. Make any adjustments by pulling the little guides on each corner.
Click the Straighten tool on the top tool bar and check the Content-Aware box.
Drag your cursor along a part of the horizon you want to straighten. Let go and your photo straightens. (The background color shows behind the photo.)
Now, click the check mark on the tool bar at top right. Wait, wait, wait for the process to finish.Viola! Horizon is straight and the gaps caused by cropping have been filled in. Intelligent software almost always makes the right choice. The last step is to save the file as a TIFF, JPG, or PSD.
Crop with Content-Aware. This is a handy tool!
I office Photoshop/Lightroom classes in the Houston area. Check out my schedule on my website.
Kathy Adams Clark 