Another shot of the fly. He posed for me for some time on this wooden railing. Some might think that the image is just a crop from the previous post but, in fact,it is a different exposure altogether. I really attempted to get this fly from as many angles as possible. It's what some people call working the subject. It really is amazing what moving half a step to either side can do to the composition. Even a few centimetres makes a bit difference. I must admit it's what I do too little of, I should practice what I preach, it seems I get too excited when I'm out there and I tend to rush around. The trick is to slow down and think about what you're doing. That's why I like to use manual lenses, it just slows you down automatically and gets you thinking about things.
Notice that this was taken in the square format (1:1 ratio on most cameras). When I started out many years ago it was the only format available, unless you went for medium and large format cameras. That just wasn't going to happen. I had too little time and resources for that type of photography. The 3:2 ratio was the 35mm format and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to "see" in this format until the 4/3 sensor from Olympus came out. At first I didn't even bother to even think about the system, the price was simply too high, especially with SHG lenses Olympus were bringing out for the system. They were expensive and still are today. Then Panasonic brought out the GF1, which to me, was the perfect format body. But now I had to see in a totally different format and at first I just couldn't get around this change and I didn't use the camera as much as I thought I would. My Canon system seemed to be in my hands whenever I went out. Slowly though, I did use the camera more and somehow got used to the format and much preferred it to the 3:2 35mm format.
I bet your thinking "Where is all this going?". Well, for some time now I shoot a lot in the square format; it seems to suit my eye and my may I do things better. It seems much easier to compose the shot and I can see things in this format that I didn't see in any other format available. I also like to switch to the 16:9 format for a lot of shots but I now always seem to come back to the square format. What I'm trying to say here is that you get used to everything, and sometimes you get stuck in a certain way. This applies everything you do in life and a change is as good as a rest. Try different formats when out on a shoot, or just take one single prime lens with you and try that out for a few days. You never know, you might hit on a certain format or focal length that changes your photography totally.
For me, right now, it's the square format image.
