I am a keen photographer – and was discussing with some friends last week that if I had a chance to have another career I think I would choose it.

I have a number of cameras, my trusty work camera is the Ricoh GR3 – which I blogged about here. It (and its predecessor the GR2) have been with me all over the world. It travelled with me to Shanghai recently and most of my images from the trip were from it.

I also have a Canon 40D SLR with an assortment of lenses – and this is my ‘serious’ camera. But it, and its accompanying lenses, weigh a lot. So there has to be a good reason for me to lug it around.

But I have another camera too – a four-thirds Panasonic GF1, which is halfway between the GR3 and the Canon. I have used it a fair amount, but I have now set it up in to work in black & white – but also in square format. It is very much like a pro-Blad or similar. The images it produces are just fantastic.

There is something about a black and white image. It really is timeless. and the square format makes you think differently. We have become used to TV frames – so working ‘square’ challenges you. It has a completely different dynamic. The way in which our eyes scan the image are different too – we still see in thirds, but in my square image those thirds now make equal squares.

I love some of the results I have had – including the image in this blog post. The image is straight from the camera. It has not been tweaked in any way. It could have been taken at the weekend or 25 years ago. There is no distraction from colours (and the subject building is perfect?).

I think this may well be the way forward! I love it…