Pentax ES II + Fujifilm X-T3 + Weimar Light MeterThis post could be subtitled “how not to shoot with a film camera” or maybe “how to look like you don’t know what you’re doing”.
As I’m still trying to decide on which camera I’m going to retain as my main film camera and I don’t have any additional images to add yet, I thought I would write about my experience when testing the Pentax ES II recently.
Kodak Tri-X 400Following on from my previous post, a couple of weeks after acquiring an old Pentax ES II film camera the perfect opportunity arose to give it a test outing. I enjoy street photography, especially with a group I belong to on Meetup.com, and I stumbled upon another group that looked interesting.
Pentax ES IIIt’s been over 25 years since I last shot with a film camera but recently circumstances conspired to put this little beauty in my hands. I was actually looking for a small bag in a junk shop, but the one I found had this camera inside which I knew instantly I was going to buy purely to get the lens – an Asahi SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4.
Trafalgar Square – ISO 800; 14mm; f/7.1; 1/1700 sec (click image to view larger size)
Another short post from me as I’ve just spent an hour “curating” this selection of images and my dinner is calling me!
Today was the Fujiholics London Photo Walk. A great event with about 60+ people attending. Not enough time to speak to everyone, but good to chat with those I did get to speak to, some familiar faces, some new and some surprise meetups with people I’ve met on my walking group.
Photo City Exhibition – ISO 400; 14mm; f/4; 1/3200 sec (click image to view larger size)
This is a short post (for me), just to show some images I took while viewing the Photo City exhibition and later while I wandered the streets of London with my X-T1 for a couple of hours and popped into the Tate Modern – one of my favourite locations.
Daffodil – ISO 400; 60mm macro; f/11; 1/125 sec (click image to view larger size)
In English, Happy St. David’s Day!
Being Welsh, I thought I would mark St. David’s Day with an image of a daffodil, the national flower of Wales. After all, I can still remember having a daffodil pinned to my jumper before heading off to school in the 1960s!
I didn’t want just any type of image though, I wanted to try a technique I’ve known about for a long time but never managed to get around to using before – creating a black background without actually using a physical background.
This technique uses nothing more than the absence of light. It’s quite simple really, once you understand the principle. You don’t need a studio or any fancy lighting gear (I certainly don’t have any), just a flash that you can fire off-camera.
Mist Over The Punch Bowl – ISO 800; 14mm; f/5.6; 1/60 sec (click image to view larger size)
I’ve paid two visits to The Devil’s Punch Bowl at Hindhead over the past two weeks, firstly on a scouting mission for walking routes and secondly to conduct a 1-2-1 workshop which was then followed by a 2-hour stroll to scout out some more trails.
Fate – 27mm; ISO 200; 1/250 sec; f/2.8 (click image to view larger size)
Last week I attended another photo walk with the Surrey & Hampshire Photography Group. A small group of about 15 walked a route that took us from our starting point at Sloane Square to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, down to the River Thames and over Chelsea Bridge, into and through Battersea Park, crossing back over the river on Albert Bridge, along the embankment, up through Chelsea and into Brompton Cemetery, around 5 miles in total.
Snake’s Head Fritillary with Aphid
A change of perspective can often improve your results when out shooting, as discussed by Scott Bourne in his blog post I read recently, and most photographers are well aware of this. In my case, the change in perspective isn’t to do with moving my feet, or lying down or even selecting a different lens. It’s being unable to get out as much as I normally would due to a bad back. It’s not horrendous so I shouldn’t grumble, it’s just frustrating. When I think back to spring last year, I was out 2-3 times a week in search of bluebells.
Ferry & Opera House – 35mm; ISO 200; 1/680 sec; f/7.1 (click image to view larger size)
Australia trip part 2 (part 1 here – Blue Mountains).
Our visit to Australia started in Sydney, but we also returned there after our jaunt to the Blue Mountains and again at the end of our stay before flying home. So by the end of it, we’d grown quite accustomed to Sydney.
47 Photography by Martin Griffett 