The Takumar Trek Part 2

Homerville, OH Post Office, Svema FN-64

It's been a couple of weeks since I returned home, and I am finally caught up with developing and scanning of the film from my trip. I am pretty happy with the 18 rolls that I shot, and as I have been scanning them, it's given me time to evaluate where I shot and my results from the different films and lenses.  One of the constraints imposed on myself was of course, the use of fully manual cameras, and not my typical Nikons.  The three Spotmatics - two SP - one silver, one black, and the Spotmatic F, each worked well, and at any time where I felt that the metering wasn't quite right, I reverted to my own intuition/sunny-16 to override the camera's indication.  In all, almost all of my exposures were where they should have been, and the Takumar lenses performed beautifully.  

Standish, MI

My favorite combo was the black Spotmatic SP with the 35mm f/3.5 Takumar lens.  I rarely used a different lens with that body, and it's made a believer of me that 35mm is a great all-purpose travel focal length.  This trip was also the first time that I used a Spotmatic exclusively on a road trip since 1980.  My photographic skill set is much improved since then, as is my appreciation for the place that photography has in documenting the ephemeral.  In 1980, I was a 23-year old graduate student using a borrowed Spotmatic for my thesis work, and on a field trip to the SW US.  Now, I'm a 65 year old retiree that's looking backwards on these road trips, knowing what's been lost as I travel forward. The Spotmatics that I used are basic photographic tools - had I made such a trip in 1974, the Spotmatic F would have been the latest model, and the last, as Pentax moved to the K-mount series of SLRs.  Now, the Spotmatic F is considered to be an old classic, not on par with a Nikon FE, but more like a Nikon FM.  However, as I found on this trip, once you immerse yourself with a specific set of gear, you get comfortable with its operation and abilities, and it becomes effortless to use.  To me, that's the hallmark of good ergonomics and design.  The Spotmatics are not quirky to use, they work smoothly, and don't get in the way of making a photograph.  Also, it was a revelation to me at just how good that 35mm f/3.5 Takumar lens is at street/documentary images.  For the longest time, I have thought that the 50mm was "it." I still like 50mm for a lot of things, but as I found with my Leica M2 and the 35mm f/1.4 Summilux, that slightly wider view is better suited for travel and roadside adventures.

Standish, MI

close-up of the gull slide, Tawas, MI

I didn't shoot too many different film stocks on this trip - Eastman 5231 (thanks, Bill P!), Kentmere 100, Kentmere 400, Ilford HP-5+, oh, and my last roll of Svema FN-64 that I had already loaded in my new-to-me black Spotmatic SP that I had purchased at Ball Photo not long before the trip.   It was C-41 only in the Spotmatic F, and the roll of Lomography Color 100 was a nice surprise in how it rendered colors.  Also, a probably expired roll of Rite-Aid 400 (shot at 200) was lovely - maybe it was Agfa?  My results from Fuji 200 and Kodak Gold 200 were as expected.  I think my favorite emulsion on this trip was Ilford HP-5, which I used a lot for the candids at Photostock, and they came out beautifully.  I know there are a lot of photographers that swear by Kodak Tri-X, and I have certainly shot it a great deal in the past -- but I love Ilford's HP-5+ and Kentmere 400 so much more. That's the beauty of film, though - you can find an emulsion that suits your style, regardless of the type of camera or system that you use.  Whether it's a 1950s Leica or a 2000s Canon EOS or Nikon FM3a, you can get the kind of image you want just by changing the film. These simple cameras like the Spotmatics do one thing really well - an uncomplicated view, a reasonable set of shutter speeds, and a variety of excellent lenses, to let a photographer really "see" and produce an image that is made as much in the mind as it is on the piece of film.   I never once worried about my battery life while traveling with the Spotmatics.  To me, that IS freedom.

Part of US-23 in Michigan - the best part!

As I have been transferring what I wrote in my journal onto typed pages, I gathered together the maps that I used to trace my route, and it's far more illuminating than trying to see it on a computer screen.  I  love using Google Earth to see where I was, and also to check things out ahead of a trip, but you can't possibly see a trip like this in its entirety at a comprehendible level on a single screen.  Laying out the road maps, seeing the relationship of the route with other features and in context with a greater area, gives more understanding to the 2,241 miles that I traveled in 8 days.  This intersection of digital and analog involves not just photography, but also cartography and writing.  As I have often stated, a paper map doesn't tell you where you are, it shows you where you can go.  On that small screen of the Garmin GPS attached to my windshield, I can see where I am, but it's not showing me the possibilities that a paper map gives me. 

Not far from where 23 ends at I-75 in Mackinaw City

Oscoda, MI

Port of Cheboygan, MI

Cross Village, MI

US-31, N of Petoskey, MI

That is part of the fun of doing these trips - encountering the unknown and the unexpected.  Part of my reason for taking US-23 was just that -- the unknown.  It took me through the coal regions of KY, WV, VA, and the Ohio river valley, the flat expanses of agriculture in Ohio, and up into the beauty of the lakeshore in Michigan.  If you truly want to see America, you need to drive it. US-23 is one of the original 1929 US routes, and whether you pick the Lincoln Highway, Route 1, Route 2, Route 11, the remnants of Route 66, or some other secondary road (not the Interstates), you'll see more of every day America and can make your own conclusions.   My next goal is to take US-23 all the way to Jacksonville, FL and document that trip.  Maybe it will be with Spotmatics  for Takumar Trek II!

I shot a lot - and some images are reserved for ongoing projects, some for an upcoming zine or book, and I'll show a few more here.  Check my Flickr account (mfophotos) for more.

  

Paradise, US-23 and Lime City Rd, Ohio

Petoskey State Park, MI

Louisa, KY

Pound, VA, US-23

The Pikeville, KY  "Pyramid" on US-23

Worthington, OH DQ, US-23

Clare, MI rest area

Some Photostock 2022 friends

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!