Spur of the Moment - Pentax K1000 in the Snow and Ice

I am a firm believer in having a camera (or cameras) with me at all times. For example, in my office at work, I keep a Pentax K1000 on my bookshelf. Completely functional (except for the dead battery), and with a 40-80mm SMC Pentax-M f2.8-4 lens mounted, this camera is ready to go at a moment's notice.

Pentax K1000 at the Ready, by Reed A. George

Photographed with Apple iPad Air(!)

 

A couple of weeks back, on a cold winter afternoon, the cabin fever just became too much. I loaded up a 24 exposure roll of Walgreens iso 200 film and went out to shoot the entire roll in about half an hour. Here are a few results from that outing:

 

 

 

All Shot with Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax-M 40-80mm f2.8-4 Lens

 

This little diversion really helped me get my head back into work. Every time I use the K1000 I'm reminded of my photographic beginnings, and the joy I've derived from it over the years.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Some Questions Are Forever - Like the Best "Walkaround" Lens

Nikko, Japan, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens at 140mm

iso 400, f5.8, 1/400 sec.

 

I read an interesting entry on The Online Darkroom blog, whose motto is "Keeping alive the black arts of analogue photography." The post is about how younger photographers coming up in the digital age but now exploring film photography probably don't have access to the "Frame of Reference" that we older folk picked up from the photography magazines of the past.

 

(Click Here) to read the post.

 

The blog's approach, which I like, is to post scans of some vintage articles dealing with photographic questions and practices from back in the day. The article included in this particular post deals with the question of what is the best single lens solution for an SLR shooter. I think you'll find the author's response oddly similar to what you'd hear today. It all depends.

 

I have fallen for the all-in-one lens lore more than once in my past. Actually, that's a little negative. That experience has exposed me to a couple of good (perhaps not great) lenses, like the 18-200mm Nikkor lens (only useful on DX cameras) and the 14-140mm Lumix lens for Micro 4/3. Both of these are capable lenses, but really only in great light. And neither is the sharpest around, either.

 

So, in general, I carry prime lenses with me, even though that means having to change lenses and carry more weight. On rare occasions when I really want to avoid lens changes or heavy bags (such as shooting my daughter's paintball battles), I still use one of the wide-range zooms.

 

(Click Here) to see some paintball pics made with the Lumix 14-140.

 

But, my real point is how some of the interesting questions around photography will likely go on forever. And never have a definitive answer.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com