Working on a project

I have not posted anything here since early November.  For me, that's a bit unusual, since I have posted something every month - sometimes several times a month. However, I have been busy writing and researching for a book that I plan to have out sometime in 2025, tentatively titled "Takumar Trek - the joy of working with a Pentax Spotmatic."  

This is sort of a passion project of mine, since I have always thought that the Spotmatic series and some of their forebears, the Pentax SV, for example, are excellent cameras, and were designed to be as unobtrusive to the photographer as possible.  Culminating with the Spotmatic F, which features open-aperture metering, these cameras are a delight to use.  However, the lenses are legendary, and I'm writing about them, too.  This has also caused me to go through my archives of negatives and find the films that were shot with Spotmatics.  So, I have also been scanning in negatives that I haven't looked at for over 20 years.  It's a good reminder that photography's tools may have gotten more complex and (ahem) more expensive, but a 50 year-old camera can be used for making good photographs.  

A bunch of Super Takumars

In the process of writing, I've learned more about the predecessors to the Spotmatics, and have acquired a few more of them.  I've also had the opportunity to try out what was supposed to be a working Pentax ES - one of two fully automatic exposure SLRs released by Pentax before the K-mount bodies were on the market.  It's a shame that the ES and ESII are flawed creatures, probably doomed by the electronics that made them quite the advancement for Pentax.    

I've also been encouraged by reactions from people that learned I was writing a book.  My hope is that it will be useful to a newcomer to film photography as well an old hand  that likes 35mm cameras.  Millions of Spotmatics were sold during 1964-1973, and they remain a good bargain for anyone wanting a simple, easy-to-operate 35mm SLR.

A lot has happened this year, and while I am extremely disappointed and angered in the outcome of the presidential election, I aim to work diligently on things that are meaningful to me in the years ahead.  2024 started with a great trip to Tucson, AZ, and I had many great little trips in NC, VA, and OH that provided me with some good photographs.    I also met some wonderful people that just happened to be photographers.  I published two issues of Monochrome Mania, and in December, a new issue of Panozine came out.  All are available on my Etsy store.  

I wish you all the best for 2025.  

The Takumar Trek

 

I have returned from my latest road trip, that accounted for 2,241 miles over 9 days - which had several objectives. Primarily, it was a trip to Photostock 2022 in Cross Village, MI, but it also included a US 23 journey, a visit with my sister and her husband in Canton, Ohio, and photographing small post offices along the way, and almost all of it was photographed using several Pentax Spotmatics and a Pentax 6X7.  My new to me Canon EOS M5 camera also got used a bit, as well as the Horizon 202 and Ansco Pix Panorama.  However, it was the lovely black Pentax Spotmatic SP shown here that was used the most.  I picked it up at Ball Photo in Asheville a few weeks before my trip, which started on June 20 and ended June 28.    

The lens that I used the most is the Super Takumar 35mm f/3.5, as its coverage is perfect for travel photography, and it's also a relatively small lens, especially compared with my 35mm f/2 monster!   The Spotmatic SPs and Spotmatic F (which was almost always paired with the 28mm f/3.5) accounted for about 15 rolls of film during this trip, mostly in black and white.  The Spotmatic F always had a roll of color C-41 film.  

Film waiting to be developed!

My route US-23 is a long-term project, and all that remains is to do the route S of Weaverville. There's a lot that I have photographed along it in previous years in Michigan, but it was never really a "project" at the time.  The northern terminus of US-23 is at Mackinaw City, MI where it ends at I-75.  I only did part of US-23 going N, because I had to cut over to Canton, OH to visit my sister.  That gave me the opportunity to check ahead of time for routes that would take through small towns with post offices. 

Hartville, OH

In Ohio, it was route 224 that took me from Canton OH area to I-75 N to MI and US-23.   On the return trip it was US-23S all the way from Ann Arbor, MI to Weaverville, NC.  Going N on US-23 in Michigan, I started in Standish, where US-23N splits off from I-75. The rest of that route follows the coastline up to Mackinaw City.

The northern terminus of US-23N at I-75 in Mackinaw City, MI

Photostock was held in Cross Village, MI this year, and Bill Schwab, the organizer, did a wonderful job putting together a meeting and event that brought photographers together for a couple of days. It was fun sharing our work, seeing old friends and making new ones in a very laid-back atmosphere along the Lake Michigan coastline. It was a long trip for me, and I'm glad that I went, as it became part of the Takumar Trek. 

I have yet to process my film from this trip, but I will get started on it shortly.  I'll be sharing some of the images here, on Instagram, and of course, on my Flickr account (all mfophotos).

Waiting for the train to do its crossing at Standish. 

Paul Bunyan and Babe, in Ossineke, MI

I had some time to kill before Photostock, so I stayed two nights in Mackinaw City, and on June 23, I took a short trip into the Upper Peninsula to revisit some spots along US-2.  

Gould City, MI

Naubinway, MI

I returned to the lower Peninsula in the early afternoon, and drove down to Petoskey, in time to attend a lecture and exhibit by Henry Horenstein at the Crooked Tree Arts Center.  If you have heard Horenstein's name - it's probably because he has authored the best manuals for b&w photography.  His exhibit  - Honky Tonk, is a wonderful look at people, musicians, and bars from the 1970s.  I highly recommend it if you are going to be anywhere near Petoskey, MI.

The next couple of days were all at Photostock, and while I mostly shot film there, here are a few images from Cross Village.

It's pretty tough to beat a Lake Michigan sunset

After Photostock, it was back on the road - southward, and eventually on US-23 from Ann Arbor all the way home.  That's for another post!

Spotmatic II - SP II Joy

 Out and About With A Spotmatic II

The SP II

I have always loved Pentax Spotmatic SLRs.  I was able to borrow one in college (late 1970s) which I used on a research trip to the SW in 1980, and before that, used it with extension tubes to shoot macro of the wasps that I was working with for my thesis.  My own SLR at the time was an Exakta Exa 1a which lacked so many features that the Spotmatic had.  By the time I was working and needed to buy a new SLR, I bought a Pentax MG, which is pretty much the same camera as the Pentax ME.  Had I thought about it, I should have purchased a used Spotmatic F or Spotmatic II, which although they were M-42 mount bodies, were superior to the MG in build and had match-needle metering.

This Spotmatic II (SP II) came to me recently to sell, and it is in wonderful condition.  So good, I should have bought it for myself, but I already have the better camera in the Spotmatic F.  The Spotmatic F features open-aperture metering with SMC-Takumar lenses, whereas the SP II still uses stop-down metering.  Not really a big deal, but I do like the open-aperture metering.  I decided to test the camera out and shot a roll of the FPP 200 BW film - now known as FPP LOVE BW.  

First of all, the SP II was produced from 1971-1977, and based on the serial number of this one (5407261), it was probably made between 1971-73.  So, it's about 50 years old.It is in excellent condition. I have seen very few Spotmatics that look as minty as this one, which is probably because it was kept in a never-ready case. The SP II is as elegant and as simple in operation as metal-bodied SLR can get Everything about it seems precise and ergonomically correct. The shutter is fairly quiet, and advancing the film is easily done.  The camera came with the typical 55mm f/1.8 Super Multi-Coated Takumar (SMC Tak), which is a great lens, and one of the best in the M-42 mount.

A thing of beauty

I took the camera around the River Arts District in Asheville, and also on a short trip into Pisgah national Forest near Barnardsville, NC. I also had my Spotmatic F along loaded with color film.  

I processed the FPP 200 in D-96 for 8 minutes.  The results were pretty much as I expected. The meter works well, and for a 50-year old SLR, it works as good as it did on the sday it was made. Not too big of a surprise, really, but the camera confirmed why I like Spotmatics.  They are great to work with, and while some people don't like the screw-mount lens system, I don't feel it ever hindered me.

Of course, there are other places on the web with far more information on Spotmatics than I am going to give here, Casual Photophile's blog is a good place to start, and the Camera Wiki has more information.  I just don't understand how the Pentax K1000 gets all the attention, while the more refined Spotmatic F is a far better body. Pricewise, you can pick up the SP II for less than $50, and M-42 lenses are similarly inexpensive.  

A few images: