Utopia on the canal

The Wise Alderman at Kidlington

IMHO a well-composed, colourful and interesting picture, with a lovely reflection and well-placed flower pot. But it's square format, and where am I supposed to look?

Roy has very kindly come to the rescue with a suggested crop.

Yes, which will spoil it.

It was a long time ago, but I think it was originally a portrait and then I cropped it square, because it didn't look good.

Your suggested crop is the wrong ratio.

There are rules about ratios? I didn't know that they must be standard or fixed. I thought the "right" ratio was what best happens to suit the subject and composition of each picture, and be tailored to it.

Roy's tight composition, with its lack of lead-in North and South, completely ruins what is a good picture.

There are no rules about ratios, but I like my stream to have some uniformity. I would normally use 3x4 or 4x6, but explained the reason for having a square in this case. Roy was only humouring you, as you seemed to be complaining about the square format, which I think looks okay in this instance.

It is others who dislike square format, not I. Almost half of my recent pictures have been taken at 1:1 AR.

If this were my picture I would Shepperton the sky top left slightly, darken the brickwork on the house a bit, airbrush out the drainpipe on the end wall, blue up the flower pot and darken the orange and yellow colours on the (slightly overexposed) rear windows and door on the LH boat.

Otherwise it's perfect as is.

So what are you whinging about? There are some occasions when a square format is preferable, particularly when the original is badly composed or contains visual blots, or when attempting an artistic arrangement, such as here below.



But I wouldn't generally use square format for landscape scenes, as you do. Many of your recent pictures are spoiled by being boxed into a tight square with no room to breathe, or by an imbalance between ground and sky, which shoots the eye upwards, above the main point of interest.

Who was whinging? Others have expressed dislike of my use of square format, and I just assumed that it applied to everyone's.

And I just assumed you were whinging.

Far from it. I was just humouring Roy by agreeing with him.

As for whinging, I rarely drink tea at home these days, and have never used a pot of any colour - I just pour water through a tea bag placed in a strainer. And I haven't got a kettle either; I had a Quooker installed a few years ago and swear by it.

No, Roy made his cropping suggestion in response to your whinging about the square format.

One of my best pictures is square format.

And I was (not) whinging in response to his criticism of my using it.

I think we're going round in circles here.

Inevitable when both insist on having the last word.

Say it with pictures instead.

Ones taken on a Radliffe camera, ideally.

Or taken for a ride.

At Royal Ascot?

Or perhaps the hat, surmounted by Jiminy Cricket, was worn at Lords or The Oval.

Did the gasometer rise to that occasion?

With big matches held so close to it, does it ever get lit and explode?

My bus wasn't tall enough for that shot.

Click here to see how Roy has squared it for you.

Aw! Must have been typing using invisible ink.

Wrong thread, but you were saying you liked your mother's house.

Sew what?

Not MY mother's house. I've found out where it was filmed - in Croydon. All those grand, big-gardened Victorian houses, alas, were demolished in the late 60's and replaced by nondescript modern townhouses and flats. Though the then quiet, leafy suburban street probably had parked cars removed from it during filming.

Temperature lower today - under 100 and steadily improving, so will go on a walk tomorrow, but will pack Paracetamol, Strepsils and a box of tissues and will wear a hacking jacket. Don't expect to see any new pictures though.

1. The trailers look interesting, but I can't find the full version on YouTube.

2. If you can manage with only one box, you must be on the mend.

2. I needed, and used only the Strepsils. The weather forecast was cloud and rain all day, so I took my hot and heavy waterproofs, and no camera. The actuality? Dry, sunny, and photographer's dream lighting and skies all day. At least I had my iPhone and got a couple of reasonable fungi close-ups.