This lens (number 7734948) was originally made available for the Pentax Spotmatic (SP 1000 etc.) 35mm film camera bodies. They have a 42mm screw thread and with an adapter can be used on modern DSLRs
The plant photograph was taken with this lens on a Pentax K-01 Digital Camera
These photographs were taken using a Pentax Espio 120mi, which I obtained from a charity shop for £1.50 and is an appropriate junkshop camera to take images of a low market, seaside, caravan site infested, blot on the landscape.
The village name comes from the title of Charles Kingsley’s novel Westward Ho! (1855) which was set in nearby Bideford. The book was a bestseller, and entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area. Which explains why a perfectly beautiful piece of coast looks like an inner city crap hole.
More and more people are turning to Charity Shops to buy goods. Other people’s castaways are somebody else’s ‘can use’. Not only can you purchase usable quality clothing, you can get (slightly) out of date technology – there is nothing wrong with something manufactured in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s. Like antiques and fine art, quality is quality.
Design initiatives make this a small and flexible camera – notably the physical size and overall quality of finish make this camera a stylish baby. It houses a good quality zoom lens (38-120mm) with plenty of features that enable a variety of picture taking settings.
The Espio is an autofocus unit with automatic exposure settings and a built in flash unit.
The focus and exposure system on this easy to use camera is an improvement on earlier Pentax compacts, giving sharp results and a decent contrast of tones. One of the most useful applications available on this model is ‘backlight compensation’ setting, which enables you to take a photograph using natural light in the background and flash in the foreground, giving an even tone across the image. Panorama mode is included in this little package which gives a different aspect ratio from most other cameras.
Fine art photography is suppose to be created with the vision of an artist. Fine art photography is the opposite of photojournalism or holiday snapping – which provides a visual account for either news or family events. Commercial photography is used to advertise products or services.
These images were taken using a Pentax SP1000 35mm camera. This camera was my father’s, who bought it from new in the 1970s. All Pentax Spotmatics (SP) use the M42 screw-thread lens mount. The lenses are focused at maximum aperture to give a bright viewfinder image for focusing, then a switch at the side stops the lens down and switches on the metering to enable the exposure to be set prior to shutter release.
I love the slightly over cooked vintage feel of these images, scratches, dust, and fibre strands -35mm film is far more fun than digital.
I have always loved the drawings of Degas. The way he portrayed women, sensually and simply is to be admired.
In the late 1880s, Degas also developed a passion for photography and this new skill influenced the composition of his paintings. He photographed many of his friends, often by lamplight, as in his double portrait of Renoir and Mallarmê. Other photographs, depicting dancers and nudes, which were used as source material for some of Degas’s drawings and paintings.
