Happy Little Accidents
Going through my journey with film photography, I have been able to transition fairly easily since the camera I was using had Auto Focus capabilities. Once I started getting comfortable, I wanted to try my hand at the fully mechanical experience, primarily so I could see what it was like before we had all of the nice technology we have in cameras today. One of the nice things about these cameras, is that you can likely find them at an affordable price.
I say that because that's how I came across the camera I'm talking about today. A neighbor of mine was moving away after her husband had passed, and she was having an estate sale on everything she did not want to take back with her when she moved. I was exploring the sale for picture frames, and I happen to come across this camera: An Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F in really good condition. I looked on ebay, facebook marketplace and a few other sites to determine the value of the camera, which was being priced between $50-$150, and I was able to get it for $25, an absolute steal.
History of the Company
I started doing some research on the camera, and the history of Pentax is actually quite fascinating. The first thing I found out was that my specific model was bought overseas, because of the Asahi name above the Pentax Logo. In the US, the camera was labeled with Honeywell above the Pentax logo. The Spotmatic was developed by the Asahi Optical Company, founded in Tokyo back in 1919. Asahi was originally established to fabricate glasses for individuals, which they actually still do today.
Asahi Optical did not jump into the Camera game until the late 1920s and 30s, when they started producing lenses for Minolta cameras. After World War II, Asahi expanded their production of lenses for Nikon and Canon. It wouldn't be until the Korean War era that the company would begin development of their own camera model: the Asahiflex. The Asahiflex was the first Japanese 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) camera to be produced, which makes it the father of the SLR camera system. The design was using a mirror, the photographer was able to see and compose the image using the lens instead of a separate viewfinder. The mirror would rise up when the shutter was released to capture the image, but the issue with this design was that the mirror had to manually be reset once the shot was taken. Asahi went back and developed the instant return mirror, which would reset back into viewing position once the shot had been taken.
Camera Systems
For those who don't necessarily understand how the these camera systems work, the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera system utilizes mirrors and a prism to allow the photographer to see what they were capturing using the lens of the camera. The pre-existing systems were the Rangefinder system, which used a separate viewing window, and the Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, which used one lens to capture the image, and a second lens that allowed the photographer to compose their image.
The major drawbacks to the Rangefinder andd TLR systems were that the captured image was a little different from what was seen through the viewers. The introduction of the SLR system allowed photographers to see exactly what they were capturing, which made it easier for photographers to maximize the quality of their shots.
Image courtesy of the Darkroom, read more about this by clicking on the image
History of the Spotmatic
Asahi developed and released the Spotmatic in the 1960s. The camera touted a newly redeveloped all over average metering system, making for more consistent results. Pentax would continue to produce these models in the Spotmatic line during the 60s, 70s and 80s, all of them utilizing the K-Mount lens systems. The Spotmatic F and ESII were Pentax's venture into the bayonet style mount that other cameras were making mainstream at the time. The K-Bayonet system allowed for older camera lenses and bellows to attach to the camera with no problem. The Spotmatic line would eventually get replaced with the K & M series of Pentax cameras in 1978, utilizing the K-Bayonet lens mount, as well as improving on the timer and metering functions.
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What You've Been Waiting For
You've been very patient, and now to the section you wanted, the photos I took with it. Full disclosure, I would have had three rolls to pick from, but I did not load the first roll very well, so the shots never advanced. I do have two rolls to showcase what I shot, as well as some highlights of my favorite shots.
Lomography 400 "Earl Gray"
Kodak Gold
Sunset Pavilion
This shot was taken using the Lomo 400 "Earl Gray" film stock. This shot peaked my interest when I was on my way home, and seeing the shadows as they stretched across the ground and the pavilion. This has been key to my enjoyment of black and white: capturing the shadows.
Praise the Sun
Took this on Kodak Gold. had driven by this building several times for work reasons, and was really intrigued by this sculpture they had up front. This was supposed to be an artistic representation of the sun, and the way it was placed on the site had very strong hierarchical progression as you approached the building entrance. I'm really impressed how these came out, the grain was impossible to see, which is not normally an issue to me, I love the grain.
Night Life at the Queen
Took this on the Lomo 400 "Earl Gray" filmstock. I was headed back to my car, and the thought occurred to me to capture this since I was not usually downtown at night. Nighttime street photography is slowing growing to be a favorite subject of mine. I love the popping contrast of the lights in this shot. When it came back from the lab, I immediately got classic 60s Vegas vibes from it. Definitely love this shot. I think the only improvement would be a higher quality scan.
The Astin Building
This was taken using good old Kodak Gold. I liked the "Wes Anderson" feel of this composition, so I tried my best to get the shot as symmetrical as I could get it. Architecture has always been one of my favorite things to photograph, and finding special instances like this are just a treat.
