The Joys Of Friendship And Photography

Friendship is a massive part of my journey into photography. The kindness of friends whom have given me advice, the tools to enjoy my photography and confidence to try new things is very humbling. I have spoken previously of how I came back to film photography in 2017 after my stroke. I was helped in those early days by a dear friend to choose the right camera and lens to suit my budget. I bought a Pentax SP500 and Helios 44m-4 lens which didn’t cost very much money at the time. That friend also encouraged me to get out and do street photography, which gave me the confidence to get out once or twice each week and give my brain some much needed exercise.

After a few months I was helped by another dear friend who encouraged me to write about local Biker events I attended and take photo’s. The world of photo-journalism was opened to me and my brain really started to ache. I saved up and bought a Nikon D90 and a 70-210mm lens and began getting photo’s and articles published in a UK based custom motorcycle magazine. That gig paid for my Nikon D700 and a few more cameras and lenses during my time writing for the magazine. Sadly the magazine closed in early 2020 and I had to find another outlet for the writing I have grown to enjoy doing alongside my photography, which is where this blog started.

Friendship also helped me when I began to take an interest in Black and White photography. A dear friend found some expired film and gave it to me to help me out as I learned to develop my own film. Another pair of dear friends gave me their grandparents camera’s which included an Agfa Isolette 1 that I have learned to shoot medium format with. Yet another dear friend gave me a set of Pentax K mount Hoya lenses that I was using on my DSLR with an adapter. This led me to a conversation I had recently when I asked another dear friend if I could buy or borrow one of his k mount cameras for a while. He turned up with a Pentax MV and said I could have it as it was just gathering dust on his shelf. One quick clean and a fresh set of batteries later and it's working perfectly.

I am truly blessed to have friends who helped me on my photography journey over the last few years. Photographers are often told that camera’s are a tool, a means to an end, an enabler of our artistic creativity, but it’s much more than that for me. Each time I pick up one of my camera’s it has friendship and a story attached to it. Each photo I take is done with the desire to show my friends how much they have helped me by trying to get better with each photo. It doesn’t always work like that, sometimes I get some great shots and other days are a bust, but I still try to learn from it.

This week I learned that the Pentax MV is a very capable camera. It is an auto exposure camera which means the camera chooses the best shutter speed based upon the aperture chosen by the photographer. A simple traffic light system visible in the viewfinder shows red when the camera can’t choose a speed and green when it can. I also learned that Hoya Lenses are a hidden gem amongst the plethora of lenses from the glory days of film photography. I used a Hoya HMC 35-70mm f/4 zoom lens that produced some very nice images on a roll of Kentmere 400 that I shot and developed at 800 iso. I shot it at 800 due to a schoolboy error of not checking the film speed dial before I started and only realised half way through the roll. D'Oh! It turned out great thanks to the Pentax MV being a great camera for those days when a little automation makes all the difference.

I have also been busy putting my Pentax MV up against my Olympus OM-2, the camera that set the bar for auto exposure cameras. I will share that story and the photographs with you next week. Here are a few of the images I shot with my Pentax MV this week and I have put them and more in my Flickr account which you can visit via the link below.

This weeks blog is a thank you to all my dear friends who have helped me on My Journey Into Photography. May Karma smile fondly upon you always.

Pentax MV - Hoya 35-70 F/4 - Kentmere 400 at 800