Several cameras I bought last fall and winter have piled up here. I’ve been busy shooting with them, including a Kodak Monitor, a Kodak Retina IIa, and a Minolta SR-T-101. Writeups are on the way! An Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 8o, a Polaroid One Step 600, and a Polaroid Pronto are waiting their turns.
But one recent afternoon when I unexpectedly had some free time, I found myself hankering to try the 55 mm f/1.8 lens that came with my Pentax KM on my easier-to-handle Pentax ME. I’ve also been itching to shoot black and white lately. I credit the influence of Mike Connealy, a fellow collector whose black-and-white work I really enjoy. You can see his cameras and his photos here. So I bought some Kodak T-Max 400, dropped it into my ME, attached the aforementioned lens, and had some fun. My other cameras can wait.
The Pentax ME was just as much a pleasure in my hands this time as last. But my shots tended to come out a little overexposed. I was able to rescue many of the shots, including this one, in Photoshop Elements.
I planted some daylilies last year and their ongoing blooms really make me happy.
My dog Gracie was still fluffy after a bath the day before. I love how her fur has silvery tones, especially across her face. In color, she’s orange.
I visited Broad Ripple, a frequent destination when I have film in a camera. This faux graffiti advertises a restaurant in the building onto which it is painted.
This old railroad bridge is becoming a frequent subject.
Finally, my youngest son made this pencil cup for me when he was in preschool, which was nine years ago now. His older brother made the flower pen when he was in Kindergarten. I took this on my desk at work using the good light streaming through the window.
This was fun. I think I’ll shoot black and white more often.
I added these and several other shots from this roll to my Pentax ME gallery.
The last time I shot black and white film, I got this photo. It remains one of my favorites.
