Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 | Tracking the Light

The Aspect Ratio Feature as a Compositional Tool.

Amtrak's Vermonters meet in Palmer, Massachusetts, October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio. — Amtrak’s Vermonters meet in Palmer, Massachusetts, October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

One of my primary image making tools is a Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3. I mentioned this camera in yesterday’s post, East Brookfield Station, October 25, 2009 and I’ve also detailed its use in previous posts.

See: Lumix LX3—part 1 An Everywhere Camera.

The Lumix LX3 has a sliding switch above the lens that allows control of the camera’s aspect ratio (in other words the relative dimensions of the frame). This gives the photographer the ability to compose images using different proportional rectangles and easily change from one to another as it suits the composition.

I find this an extremely valuable tool when making railway images. There are three basic ratios, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9 (popular as the HDTV video format), as well as a 1:1 square ratio (that must be accessed using the camera menu). Most of the time I use the 3:2 aspect because this makes maximum use of the sensor area.

The 16:9 aspect gives a broader rectangle that can be very useful in landscape style images. It is a good format for photographing railway locomotives and equipment broadside, and can be used to accentuate a variety of compositions.

New England Central GP38s work the interchange track at Palmer, Massachusetts on October 17, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

Keep in mind, the aspect ratio simply determines the dimensions of the rectangle and does not affect the focal length of the lens (controlled separately).

Someone might ask, ‘why not just shoot everything with the sensor at its maximum and then crop later?’

I find that using the different aspect ratios in the field changes the way I see and thus allows me to compose images that I might not recognize otherwise. While I could certainly crop after exposure, having the ability to work on site produces a different photograph (and perhaps more intuitive) than one cropped later.

New England Central locomotives at Palmer, Massachusetts. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio.

I’ve included a variety of 16:9 aspect images exposed over the last ten days. Along with a comparison between a 3:2 and 16:9 aspect of the same subject.

Trolley car. — Connecticut Trolley Museum’s New Orleans Public Service car crosses a road near East Windsor, Connecticut on Sunday October 20, 2013. Lumix LX3 with 16:9 aspect ratio. The broader rectangle facilitated this split composition that both features the streetcar and the road it has just crossed.

Pan Am Railways. — Pan Am Railway’s symbol freight 190ED at East Deerfield Yard on October 18, 2013. Using the 16:9 aspect ratio made it easier to include the colored foliage on the right while retaining a strong image of the locomotives. LX3 photo.

This pair of image demonstrates the relative dimensional difference between the 3:2 aspect ratio (top) and the 16:9 aspect ratio (bottom).

New England Central symbol freight 611 waits for a crew at Brattleboro, Vermont on the morning of October 18, 2013. Exposed using the 3:2 aspect ration. — New England Central symbol freight 611 waits for a crew at Brattleboro, Vermont on the morning of October 18, 2013. Exposed using the 3:2 aspect ratio.

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Close Ups, Details and Alternate Views: A Look Beyond the Obvious.

While photographing Ireland’s Bord na Mona narrow gauge last week, I was looking for different angles. I’ve made nearly a dozen trips to the Bord na Mona in the last year and I wanted to capture the essence of the operation up close.

This is a gloss free industrial railway. It’s like a big beat-up tin plate train set that has seen lots of use, and doesn’t adhere to prototype railroading in any normal conventions.

Tracks are laid down here and there. Curvature is very tight, in many places there’s no ballast. Junctions appear with little notice. And the trains bounce along at a grinding amble.