Skeletons From The Closet - Final Results Post From January's Camera - Pentax K1000 in New York City

I took the K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7, and SMC Pentax 135mm f2.5 lenses with me on a weekend trip to New York City. One of the nice things about living near Washington, DC is that I can grab a very inexpensive bus ride up to the city, even on a normal two day weekend. This time, I went up to meet my long-time friend Michael Williams and his family who were visiting from Australia.

 

I've already written about the photo tour I joined on that trip, hosted by NYC Photo Safaris. (Click Here) to read about that in my Whole Lotta Leica post. My choice of equipment (Leica M9 with a 1937 5.0cm f3.5 lens, the K1000, and only two prime lenses) did not match well with the class. That said, I still had some fun. Here are a couple of shots that I got using the Pentax during the tour:

 

Repeated Forms, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 135mm f2.5

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

Singers in Central Park, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

While in the city, I got a lot of walking in, as usual. I love just exploring the city. There's so much to see.

 

Storefront DJ, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

Hanging Out, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

Of course, Chinatown was one of my target locations. I love photographing in Chinatown - whether it be in NYC, San Francisco, or even the small version here in Washington, DC. There are always interesting people to meet and photograph.

 

Far Eastern Bluegrass?, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

Columbus Park Morning, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

I love how you can see the silhouette of the people practicing Tai Chi in the background on the left. The signs with Chinese characters also help to give a sense of place to this image.

And finally, here is a shot of my friends from Australia: Michael, Adele, Maddie, and Matthew (left to right).

 

Aussies in the City, by Reed A. George

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

I'm now well into February, and honestly missing my K1000, which is now back in the closet. I haven't had nearly as much time or weather to get out and shoot so far this month. I'll have to concentrate to have some results to show you for this month's Skeletons pick - the Super Ricohflex TLR. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

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Skeletons From The Closet - January Results Post #1 - Pentax K1000

I managed to get out a few different times with the my SFTC camera for January - the Pentax K1000. This is the first of a few posts to share the results with you.

 

My first outing was to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. I'll start with a couple of shots made there.

Studying the Rockets, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

The fast f1.7 lens did a nice job here in the Udvar-Hazy museum, where I find photography to be quite challenging. First, there is an incredible number of historic aircraft and spacecraft jammed into a single giant hangar. I mean everything from the Enola Gay (yes, the actual B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan) to a space shuttle. That makes it very difficult to shoot any particular aircraft without showing parts of neighboring ones, likely from different eras or locations. Second, the lighting is rough there. So, I decided to focus on people interacting with the museum. People are always a safe bet.

 

Gazing Up at the Space Shuttle's Thrusters, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

For my next outing, I took the K1000 to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. I've posted a picture or two from there recently, as part of my Whole Lotta Leica series.

 

This is a stairway in the gallery:

 

National Portrait Gallery, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

A main attraction for me at the gallery is the indoor courtyard. Naturally lit, it is also warm in winter. Warm enough that kids can play in the water, as long as their parents are willing to stay long enough for them to dry off before again braving the winter weather.

Playing in the Courtyard, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

Playing in the Courtyard, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, Pentax 135mm f2.5 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

I switched lenses, using the Pentax 135mm f2.5 lens for a little more reach. I'm pretty impressed with this lens, which I picked up for a song. I got the 135, a Ricoh 50mm f2 (untested so far, but reportedly a great lens), and a Pentax 50mm f2 for $30. The 135 does not get any love on the forums. But, I'm quite pleased with the results I've gotten so far.

Playing in the Courtyard, by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, Pentax 135mm f2.5 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

Of course, manually focusing it fast enough to keep up with playing children is a challenge, as it is will all manual focus lenses.

 

Here is my favorite image from this series:

 

Be Careful, Sister! by Reed A. George

Asahi Pentax K1000, Pentax 135mm f2.5 Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

I love how the little girl looks so worried about her sister, judging from her hand gesture. Not sharply focused, but I don't think that takes away from this image.

 

So, how was the experience of shooting the K1000 for a month? Well, you must remember that I grew up with this camera in my hands. So, it felt like going home. I was so comfortable using it, I think that affected how I used it. In the case of the kids at the Gallery, my K1000 got a conversation going with the parents. I sent them some of the pictures, which they assure me are going into their family album. That is rewarding to me.

 

The 50mm f1.7 was always my normal lens. Again, I felt very comfortable using it. The 135mm f2.5 is relatively new to me. It is a challenge to focus well, but when you do, you get nice sharp images.

 

Just carrying around a film SLR draws a lot of looks, and some comments. All positive, like "Hey, a K1000! I had one of those! Maybe I still have it, even."

 

The battery (required for metering but not for shooting in this manual camera) lasted the whole month with no issues. It will still be fine the next time I pick the camera up, too.

 

So, I had a great time with the K1000. In fact, I hesitate to put it down and move on to another camera. But, that's the plan - a different camera from my collection each month of this year. Tomorrow, you'll see the camera I've selected for February - quite a departure from the K1000...

 

I have a couple more posts of results from January to write up, so more to come!

 

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New Regular Column On DMC-365: "Skeletons from the Closet" - Using and Reviewing Cameras From My Collection

Now that I've officially completed my first year running DMC-365, it's time to freshen it up a bit. I'm still working on a list of ideas, but have one or two that I want to get started right away.
 
This one will be called "Skeletons from the Closet," meaning that I'll pull out some old favorite cameras from my collection (which literally is stored in a closet) over the coming year. In fact, my plan is to feature a different camera each month. I will write at least two posts on each camera - one introducing the camera of the month, and a follow-up, showing some of the images that I captured, and reviewing my thoughts on using the camera. Since these are film cameras, and I like to mail my film to The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com) for processing, the follow-up will normally come out mid month, the month after I use the camera. So, you can expect the first results around February 15.
 
To kick it off, for the month of January, I'm going back to where it all started. The Pentax K1000. Not just any K1000, this specific one. My parents bought it for me when I was in sixth grade, which must have been 1977. The K1000 came out in 1976. This camera moved across the country with me multiple times, and finally ended up with an old friend of mine during my 20 year hiatus from serious photography.
 
A couple of years back, my daughter asked about my first camera. The K1000 was my first serious camera, after a Kodak 126 Instamatic. On a whim, I called up my friend to see if he still had it. Not only did he have it, he was still using it. The meter was not working, but otherwise it was fully functional. I had him send it to me, and sent him an old Ricoh to use instead.
 
As soon as I got it back, I sent it off to Eric Hendrickson, Pentax Guru, for a CLA. Now it works as well as new. By the way, Eric is a great guy, and if you need a Pentax SLR serviced, you should contact him at pentax27@aol.com
 
Anyway, here's my first skeleton from the closet for 2013:
 

My normal lens back in the day was a 50mm f1.7 like that one shown above. I had to buy this one to replace the cheapo zoom that had made its way onto the camera over the years. The 50/1.7 is an amazingly good lens.
 
I may also shoot with another lens or two, most likely the 135mm f2.5 that I recently picked up for next to nothing.
 
So, wish me luck on this project! I have some real old beauties in store for the coming months.
 
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