Squares
I’m in the final prep stages right now for what has become, for me, an annual photographic and, dare I say, spiritual journey. It’s time for another cross-country roadtrip. As I approach this trip, as with each trip, I’m in the process of determining what cameras to bring (contrary to popular local myth - I do not actually travel with all of them all the time) and how those choices will influence the images I make, and hopefully the stories they tell.
This has me thinking a lot about aspect ratios… the fancy-dan technical term for just what form of geometric shape my images will take on. For those of you old enough to remember Y2K - you’ll recall the most significant change relating to aspect ratio coming from when your television switched to High-Definition broadcasts. That switch brought on vast improvements in color and detail in the shows you watched… but it also made everything you watch more “wide-screen” in nature.
In the photographic world - the aspect ratio is one of a myriad of stylistic choices that you make every time you pick up a camera. Especially a film camera. Most of my assignment work exists in the 2x3 world commonly associated with 35mm. It’s what you generally associate with most photography. Even your smartphone defaults to this aspect ratio.
My film work tends to take on a less “wide” aspect. My two favorite cameras to photograph with, especially when traveling, create images that are 6x7 and 4x5 respectively. What does that mean? Not much really - just that my eye naturally composes in rectangles - but not really wide ones.
Two angles of the same building in Tucumcari, NM from last year’s roadtrip. 35mm (2x3) on the left, and 6x7 on the right. I prefer the one on the right.
Those cameras will be along on this trip to DC as well. But my primary focus will be to do something that quite frankly I struggled with last year… shooting in square format.
Two angles of the incredible scenery in Sedona from last year. There are a lot of reasons the 4x5 image on the right is better (use of a red filter, for one) - but the way my eye constructed this composition worked better in 4x5 than in square. The goal this year is to compose better in square format.
I’ve always been reasonably comfortable shooting portraits in a square format.
I suppose that comes from a life-long obsession with music and specifically, album covers. All of those years spent pouring over vinyl and cd’s rendered my eyes comfortable with seeing people in perfect squares.
Now the challenge I’ve set for myself is to be as comfortable documenting the world in square format as well.
In the past I’ve not done “here’s the challenge I’ve set for myself” posts, frankly, because I’m notorious for getting on the road and changing my mind entirely about everything. However, I’ve been working more and more in square format for the past few months - and getting more and more comfortable with it along the way. I feel reasonably confident that I will continue to do so on this trip.
I will have the 4x5 and 6x7, just in case, though.
More from the road next week…
