Until I had bought the LX3, I had felt quite handicapped when trying to compose square images without any guidelines in the viewfinder. As I feel a certain affinity for that aspect ratio, most images with the LX3 I created in that mode. In the bright mediterranean light, the LX3 without EVF is no joy to use, so without any resentments the DSLR again became my tool of choice. And, unexpectedly, now I am much better in composing the image into the square. I admit, precision is sometimes still lacking, but framing a tiny bit looser and precisely cropping on the computer screen helps a lot. Anyhow, the viewfinder is not 100% precise, so making use of sometimes unexpected slack is nothing new for me.
Hmm … you have a fabulous run lately, and this image is another favorite of mine. Great!
Another good image. It’s strange, but I’ve become quite taken with the square format and most of my images end up being that way. I think that my vision has changed and that I see “square” without even thinking about it.
Well, for me that is thanks to three people: Juha, Mark and Ted. Ted only works occasionally in squares, but when he does, oh dear!
Like so many things, you have to learn seeing squares. Once you do, it’s natural. My real reason for buying the LX5 was exactly that: I wanted a camera with a native square format.
Andreas, Colin: sorry for not replying promptly, but internet here is a volatile affair (at least as I couldn’t convince myself to get up at 04:00 in the morning).
My own enamoration with the square began again after fruitless efforts with a Mamiya 330 in my youth – at that time without tangible results. Now with digital there is much more possibility to play and try, even to try a different camera. And, as Andreas pointed out, there is a lot of excellent examples to enjoy and learn from.
Here’s another master of the square: Shannon Richardson. I’ve been following his blog “Electrolite” for a long time. B&W only is not exactly my thing, but his compositional strength is marvelous.
Andreas, thanks for the hint. After only some pages I wholeheartedly agree with your remark about his compositioning powers. And, yes, b&w only – is at least quite terse.
Well, if you keep going back, there are color images as well, although I find his B&W work more convincing. Or maybe only consistent. Anyway 🙂
Thanks to Andreas for pointing out Shannon Richardson – I didn’t know about him. Admirable work, worth studying.