Learning how to drive.

This week I took a trip to a local camera shop with my Mom. We had planned on taking her 35mm Pentax SLR in to get repaired, and learned that an alternative would actually serve us better. I ended up picking up a Pentax K1000 SE, and an extra lens, which for those who don't know is a widely used professional grade camera used by commercial photographers and students for many years.


I am happy to say my first two roles of film turned out pretty good, even though I have never operated a fully manual SLR camera before. I have been reading as much as I can on the internet and in a book I picked up The Basic Book of Photography, Fifth Edition which I highly recommend for anyone new to photography.

Having a fully manual camera to me reminds me of my days learning how to drive on a manual transmission. Learning how something physically operates, and operating it at it's most rudimentary form allows you to have more control over how it behaves, and this is extremely helpful in both driving and photography. Over the next month I will be testing out various lighting situations and film speeds, along with all of the various settings on the camera. I currently have a fixed 50mm lens which came on the camera, and a 28-80mm lens which came with a UV filter. My next investments toward the camera will be in order; Shoulder strap, 2x adapter, reverse adapter, and a camera bag. In January I plan on taking a class at Chandler Gilbert Community College, which will hopefully let me know if I wan't to extend my career in art.

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Much work has been going into taking and touching up photographs which are constantly updated on my web-site. My deviantART account has been getting more and more comments, and I am very close to getting a print account which will allow me to sell my art on their site. Here is the latest one, created and uploaded during the time this post was written.

Please feel free to check out my deviantART account and submit comments as you see fit.