JJenna Caplette migrated from California to Montana in the early 1970s, first living on the Crow Indian reservation. A Healing Arts Practitioner, she owns Bozeman BodyTalk & Integrative Healthcare. She says, " Health is resiliency, a zest for the journey. It’s about coming awake to the joy of being alive. As a practitioner, its a privilege to facilitate that healing process, to help weave new patterns of health & well-being. “ And by the way, healthier, happier people help create a healthier, happier world..

Though square photographs seem hip and new, they are a big part of our photographic legacy. Cameras like the Kodak Brownie, the classic Rolleiflex and the iconic Hasselblad all shot squares. Eventually 35mm rectangular format prints became to the standard.

Nowadays, many cameras, your iPhone and iPad will capture square photos and hundreds of apps can help you edit a rectangular image to a square. As you edit, you’ll notice that you pare down to the simple essence of the image. 

Think about this: what’s the nature of a square? Yes. Exactly. Stability. Balance. Squares have four equal sides and four right angles. It’s simple to superimpose a circle right inside. And that’s part of what makes square photos cool. They invite your eyes to move in a circle within the frame of the photograph. With a landscape or portrait orientation image your eyes move up or down or side to side.  Squares anchor your attention in to the image at hand.

When composing a square photo, keep things simple.  Picture the where and how of the square before you start taking photographs. Frame interesting leading lines, shapes, color and texture. For a smaller object, try placing it in the top or bottom of the image.

Because square images are, in essence, minimalistic, they can be especially evocative in black and white or with a vintage look. 

F-11 Photographic Supplies’ designer, Brooke Welch, takes square photos because she posts to Instagram. She edits in the evening and recommends Instagram’s Aden, Amaro, and X-Pro II features. She prefers a vintage look for her photos.

Welch prints her squares and bundles them up until she can make time to put them in a . . . square frame or photo album. For the albums, she says she adds description by writing on and inserting a white square but that a lot of apps allow you to add text to an image.

F-11 Photo staff member Katie Efstathiou silk screens her square images BIG, like 40 x 40 inches. What she likes is that when she views her square landscapes, she feels like she is in the image. She also likes to stitch images together. Rectangles “stitched” together become . . . a square. 

So, go square. Capture simple details of your environment, indoors and out, things you usually overlook. Celebrate Montana’s spring awakening, discover how and what you see changes. Make one  — or more — square photos a day. Edit. Print. Have fun.