macro abstract

A typical photo session for me often encompasses a couple miles of walking along the river.  Limiting my field of view to a table top can offer as many opportunities for finding images, but at a different scale.

These images were all made with the Pentax SP and a +4 accessory lens screwed onto either the 1.4/50 or the 2.8/135.  The TMAX 100 was processed in Rodinal 1:100 semi-stand for an hour.  I liked the results ok, but medium format would likely have given me a little wider spectrum of tones.

a perfect body

A generous friend gave me this pristine Pentax Spotmatic SP.  It is very nice to have a reliable camera to which I can attach my assortment of Takumar lenses.  The SP model appeared on the market in 1964 and it signaled the arrival of a new vision of photo technology for a new era.  Pentax would refine the Spotmatic's features over the next decade, but this early model had all the essentials: pentaprism eye-level viewfinder, auto aperture stop-down, instant return mirror, through-the-lens light meter, a large number of accessories, and a big lineup of extraordinary lenses.

Here are some shots from the first roll through the camera.  I've been shooting a Spotmatic for over forty-five years.  Makes me wonder why I bothered with anything else.

This is not the best photo I've done of San Felipe de Neri, but it is interesting for me because it is the first I've done with my 24mm Super Takumar.  I like the the depth and sharpness.  There was very little light for the shot.  I think I set the speed to 1 sec. and the aperture to about f5.6, though I couldn't really see what I was doing.  I braced the camera on the back of a pew and hoped for the best.  I'll go back to try this again.