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

I guess like a lot of people it’s partly a nostalgia thing. I remember as a child growing up my father having a camera but it didn’t really register. However, as I grew older I found out that this camera took over seventy images compared to my friend’s father’s thirty-odd. Turns out my Dad’s little camera was an Olympus Pen, which again meant nothing to me until many years later when, after a brief flirtation with digital, I returned to film photography. This time with both the knowledge and disposable income to investigate it properly.

My first half-frame was the Olympus PEN EE3 and it’s still my preferred half-frame. I’ve a PEN-D that I’ve used once and a Kodak Ektar H35N that I bought out of curiosity but again have only used once. The PEN EE3 is all I need in this format it seems!

What is it you like most about Half-frame?

The challenge of creating diptych, triptych and telling a story by the placing of images adjacent to each other in time and place. Not juxtaposed later but done there and then in-camera. I do like doing things in-camera. I also use the EE3 to create panoramic images of anything from four images upwards; they do create a challenge later when digitising from the negatives.

I know that the current “war-cry” for the half-frame format is all about getting 72+ pictures but for me it’s about telling stories, in two, three or four pictures normally.

Favourite subject and/or HalF-frame photo?

I am primarily an urban photographer and so urban scenes will always be high on my list of favourite subjects. However, panoramic photography is where my main interests lie so using the half-frame to create unique panoramic images will always come first.

Your top tip/s for shooting half frame photos?

Just let go and follow your creativity in whatever direction it seems to be leading you. The habit of looking for “the” shot is hard to break but unless you’re aim for using half-frame is simply to maximise the number of frames on the roll then you will need to start looking for interesting juxtapositions and pairings. Start simply, wider view and close-up of the main subject for example, and as your mind starts to free itself from the traditional view of the world it will become easier.