Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I was cleaning out my grandparent's basement Friday and came across a lot of old photographic stuff - extra trays, an extra timer, a big batch of negs and contacts I thought had been lost in a flood 20 years ago, etc. One thing I found really struck me - the manual from one of my pair of Pentax MX bodies.
Back in 1977, I lived, breathed and ate photography. I shot for my school, I shot sports for the local weekly on spec, I haunted the firehouse for pics, took pictures of couples at school - you name it, I did it. At that point I was shooting a SP500 with a half dozen lenses - I remember a Tak 35/3.5 and a 50/2, plus a no-name 135/2.8 and 200/4 and one of those ubiquitous Spiratone 400/6.3 presets that were so common back then. I think a really bad 28, too.
I decided this was the life for me and put everything I had into savings for a pair of new bodies. I sold my coin and stamp collection, mowed lawns, sold dope (really), begged the family - I was a pest for almost a year. All this plus the money I was making from photography eventually added up.
Finally, I had saved up enough to order the start of my dream rig - a pair of black MX bodies with Motor Ms and NiCad battery packs. I originally was only going to buy one motor, but the dealer offered me such a good deal I bought two. This unfortunately made it so I could only afford one new lens, a 50/1.4. This new 50 stayed on one body; I picked up a K-SM adapter which stayed permanently mounted to the other so I could keep using my SM glass.
Not long after I managed to get a slot at the local bi-weekly. I was pretty much forced to switch to Nikon to use pool gear, so all the Pentax stuff went away.
There are times I really miss those lightweight MX bodies! I don't know why I never went back to them for a personal system.
This was a reminder of fun times - I kind of miss always smelling like house fires!
Back in 1977, I lived, breathed and ate photography. I shot for my school, I shot sports for the local weekly on spec, I haunted the firehouse for pics, took pictures of couples at school - you name it, I did it. At that point I was shooting a SP500 with a half dozen lenses - I remember a Tak 35/3.5 and a 50/2, plus a no-name 135/2.8 and 200/4 and one of those ubiquitous Spiratone 400/6.3 presets that were so common back then. I think a really bad 28, too.
I decided this was the life for me and put everything I had into savings for a pair of new bodies. I sold my coin and stamp collection, mowed lawns, sold dope (really), begged the family - I was a pest for almost a year. All this plus the money I was making from photography eventually added up.
Finally, I had saved up enough to order the start of my dream rig - a pair of black MX bodies with Motor Ms and NiCad battery packs. I originally was only going to buy one motor, but the dealer offered me such a good deal I bought two. This unfortunately made it so I could only afford one new lens, a 50/1.4. This new 50 stayed on one body; I picked up a K-SM adapter which stayed permanently mounted to the other so I could keep using my SM glass.
Not long after I managed to get a slot at the local bi-weekly. I was pretty much forced to switch to Nikon to use pool gear, so all the Pentax stuff went away.
There are times I really miss those lightweight MX bodies! I don't know why I never went back to them for a personal system.
This was a reminder of fun times - I kind of miss always smelling like house fires!
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