Post Your Square LF Images

[Ari]

Thank you, Ken.
And I agree, the square is an adventure in minimalism and rigidity.
It's a discipline, like other formats; in some ways less forgiving yet more rewarding.

Is it time to start a triangle thread?

[pipoca]

I shot with only a Hasselblad for many years, the square is a very rich format for me.
In re. cropping, I don't, but I'll make exceptions when printing a portfolio, for the sake of layout and flow.
This is an image begging to be cropped as the top and bottom were completely black areas.



Shanghai 100, HC-110, 65mm lens

I would disagree about begging to be cropped. I think the black looks wonderful and adds to the atmosphere, as well as adding to the progression of tonality. I think it also adds to the sweeping form/curvature on the top by being so juxtaposed to the sky's gray. I think the heavy line carries you off into the city.

[IanG]

Why not? Do all your subjects conveniently fit precisely the shape of the format you happen to be shooting?

I happily crop away if the composition is improved thereby. Just another tool.

Why not? Aspect ratio is a creative tool, just like exposure and development.

The fact that a particular image was rendered on a particular piece of film does not mean that it's the only interesting image on the film.

I must presume from your statement that you always carry 35mm (1.5:1), 5x7 (1.4:1), 6x4.5 (1.33:1), 4x5 or 8x10 (1.25:1), 6x7 (1.17:1), and 6x6 (1:1) cameras with you, and pull out the one best suited to the desired image. True?

Or do you simply ignore images that don't fit the format at hand?

- Leigh

Interesting questions but with a simple answer. I shoot to whatever format I have at hand. Usually 6x6, 6x17 or 5x4 sometimes 10x8.

I dropped 35mm about 6 years ago but lamost always have a 6x6 TLR as well as a 5x4 camera whenever out shooting,

Ian

[h2oman]

I went through a stage of enfatuation with Michael Kenna's work (and I still like it a lot), so I was cropping a lot of things square at the time. I have a viewing frame that I can set for 4x5, 6x12, 4x10, or square (or any other ratio for that matter, but I have those marked). I have only one camera and, like many others here, no qualms about cropping!

[Ari]

I would disagree about begging to be cropped. I think the black looks wonderful and adds to the atmosphere, as well as adding to the progression of tonality. I think it also adds to the sweeping form/curvature on the top by being so juxtaposed to the sky's gray. I think the heavy line carries you off into the city.

Thanks, P.
Actually, before i cropped the image, the black extended another bit, top and bottom.
It was just a hulking mass of a black hole, thus the crop to square.

[Shailendra]

Brilliant!

I went through a stage of enfatuation with Michael Kenna's work (and I still like it a lot), so I was cropping a lot of things square at the time. I have a viewing frame that I can set for 4x5, 6x12, 4x10, or square (or any other ratio for that matter, but I have those marked). I have only one camera and, like many others here, no qualms about cropping!

[Steve Gledhill]

I've just taken a look at my finished files and found that I've trimmed 1 in 12 of my images to square. I know that I see a significant proportion of those as square at the time I make the image and the remainder I discover once I've seen the full frame image. It's an aspect ratio I find very appealing and powerful, but I don't go out of my way to find square images. Any aspect ratio is ok with me as long as it complements the image. That goes for any of the spectum of aspect ratios from square to wide panoramic.

Here are a couple that for me only work as square.

Misericords in Shakespeare's Church



Churchyard Elms

[Jim Cole]

Steve,

Churchyard Elms is especially nice presented as square. It's a great image overall.

[h2oman]

+1

[austin granger]

I'm a big fan of square pictures. Though I usually make mine with a Yashica Mat, here's a 4x5 I cropped down:

Telephone Poles, Salton Sea