I've been everywhere, man
Foto.Feola.Friday for April 19, 2024
I was totin' my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road
When along came a semi with a high an' canvas-covered load
"If you're goin' to Winnemucca, Mack, with me you can ride"
And so I climbed into the cab, and then I settled down inside
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and sand
And I said, "Listen, I've traveled every road in this here land"
I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere
Foto.Feola.Friday
Last month I wrote about my love for The Little Lens that Could, the SMC Pentax-M 135mm F3.5. I bought it because it was cheap, and just thought it would fall out of my bag once I dropped a month's salary on the legendary SMC Pentax-A* 135mm F1.8. But the 3.5 is still in the corner of my bag and spends time on my Pentax K-3 III Monochrome. It's small and light and somehow is just easy to shoot.
Turns out Steve Ross is also a fan of the Little Lens That Could. This one has been to maybe 30 countries, mostly hot, damp places in Asia, India, Africa. Still works well. AND it exploits the resolution of my K-1 with 36mp sensor. I have a pk to Sony adaptor for my APS-C mirrorless cameras. Focus peaking, pick your stop, let automatic ISO expose... I'd use it more with the Sony, but my 18-135 native Sony glass is terrific.
 Same thing on the Pentax mirrorless 16mp. Honestly, if Pentax could ever afford to make an EVF upgrade to that body, a lot of folks with old lenses would be quite happy.
This was never sold as weatherproof but no water seems to have found its way inside.
Next on Perfecting Equilibrium
Sunday April 21st — There will be no 2nd Civil War The US Civil War was the first great conflict of the Industrial Age, won in large part by the manufacturing might of the Union. Such wars have faded away along with the Industrial Age. Today’s conflicts are being fought with cheap homemade drones and cyberattacks and electronic trade. If there’s a Third Battle of Bull Run, only electrons will see it.
And yes, Chris asked my permission to recount my Pentax lens passion. Brings up an interesting point, though. I have a lot of Pentax equipment, and I use it fairly often. I live on a windy, sandy oceanfront beach. New England weather has a lot of rain and snow. No problem. Could probably use the K1 to knock snow off my windshield.
So the Pentax stuff works great, never stops working. How the heck can Pentax survive without getting much revenue from its most loyal longtime customers? True, the KIII Monochrome is enticing, but I have TriX and litho film and a P3n (!) to satisfy that itch. And if I did buy the Monochrome KIII and found a place to put it, I already have about 20 lenses for it...