Why did you want to be involved organising WWHFPD?

For the last year or two I have been making a conscious effort to get outside of my comfort zone and try new things. The film photography community has been fantastic with advice, inspiration, and its generosity of spirit and I wanted to be able to give something back. In the past I might have seen the call-out and scrolled past, but I saw this instead as a perfect opportunity to get involved, and hopefully build new skills which can be useful in the future, whilst helping to build appreciation of the fantastic half frame format.

What made you want to try half frame, and what was your first camera?

I’ve always had a camera since I was about 8 years old. First there was a disc camera, then 110, and next a basic ‘focus-free’ 35mm compact. As I grew up I never really thought about half frame although in hindsight it would have been a great format for a child to shoot. I moved up to an Olympus bridge camera which was great but very bulky. A compact Canon APS camera joined me on my travels, and it was definitely a compromise with regard to image quality but I liked the convenience and 40 frames per roll. A few years after that I decided to get into photography properly and bought my first SLR, and then medium and large format cameras followed in time.

I follow a lot of Japanese photographers on various social media platforms. A couple of years ago one of them posted an exquisite colour image which was clearly filmic, holding lots of detail, and crisp and sharp throughout. The caption said it was shot on a Pen F and my mind was blown. I had never conceived that such quality was possible with half frame, and my interest was piqued. I’ve not shot as much film in recent years due to the cost rising significantly so seeing high quality results and getting double the exposures per roll was really attractive.

Last year Steve from Chroma Camera posted some images online from a prototype camera and in discussion he revealed it could also shoot half frame with a mask. I reached out to him to see if I could help test it for him and he kindly agreed. The beta Chroma Click arrived and of course the first roll I shot was half frame. It was so much fun that now I can’t imagine not having a half frame camera.

What is it you like most about Half-frame?

You really can’t argue with the extra shots per roll, but for me the best aspect of this is how liberating it can be. The cost per shot is halved, so it’s less daunting to experiment, to try different angles or approaches, or just generally taking photographic risks. It’s a format which really suits and encourages spontaneity, which helps the photographer address the subject. I also love that the format is natively a vertical composition. Vertical 5:4 is probably my favourite aspect ratio so this really suits my style, with minimal cropping needed.

Favourite subject and/or HalF-frame photo?

I’m primarily a snapshot photographer so I’m constantly looking for beauty in my everyday life, whether it’s the way light reflects on a shop window, a small weed in bloom on the pavement, or the way unrelated objects juxtapose in a pleasing way. Being able to shoot film with similar abandon to shooting digital is great for this genre.

Your top tip/s for shooting half frame photos?

A lot of people shoot diptychs with half frame, and the format does work really well. But for me, passing on shots because they won’t pair well defeats the purpose of shooting with a format that encourages spontaneity, so my tip is don’t let your half frame shooting be ‘forced’ – shoot how you want, when you want. Don’t overthink it, shoot freely. Channel your inner Daido Moriyama and just get out and shoot!