Nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop...

After spending a couple of glorious days in Kerry - soaking up the only sun of the entire frickin' summer, I'm increasingly convinced that I have reached a potentially dangerous plateau with my photography. The last year has been largely exhilarating; learning new techniques, in the camera and afterwards in post-processing, as well as rules and tips about exposure and composition. And it worked. I'm not an amazing photograper - I probably never will be - but I'm almost immeasurably better than I was this time last year. Looking back at old photos is (sometimes painful!) proof of this.

However, the whiny emo at the back of my mind is finally telling me that my best stuff may be behind me; I reached my level and this is where it stays, ridiculous though this may be for somebody who has only taken photography seriously for less than a year. I've spoken previously about how my will to learn new techniques drives me forward and motivates me to take photos, and even though I view this as to some extent negative, an even worse scenario is one where I don't feel I can learn anything at all.

Perhaps I've just reached a stage where I am a technically competent photographer. Perhaps it is time to learn other, more important skills; how to think creatively and how to 'see' a photo before putting your eye to the viewfinder. I'm also extremely interested in the other side of the lens - controlling lighting and in some cases subjects. Skills I certainly don't possess at the moment. While I realise I have much to learn, I have a feeling I'll never get that concrete satisfaction you get from seeing an obvious, indisputable improvement in your work.

Gear is another issue; Somehow I feel that acquiring new stuff could be the key to moving off this plateau and back to an upwards slope in my photography, despite the irrational argument here. I have an almost painful lust for an ultra wide-angle lens (the Sigma 10-20mm), and although I try not to, I often think that it will be the answer to all my problems. Which it won't be. As it could be a long, long time before I can afford even that inexpensive piece of kit, I'll have to make do with what I have and not let it make me complacent and lazy.

After that musing, I should probably post some photos (the first time I post something without photos I will probably delete this blog - I'm bad enough as it is) As I mentioned above, I was in Kerry for a few days last week; one of the most glorious places on earth in good weather: one of the most miserable in bad. Luckily we had the former. Despite the weather, I came away with fewer 'keepers' than I was hoping for. It's difficult to make time for photography when you go away with one other person, but that's a subject for another day... Without further ado, some photos. Click on the image below to go to a slideshow of my favourite images.

New Camera (sort of)

It's probably an awful thing to admit too, but I've never taken a photo on film that hasn't been from a disposable camera. I'm probably part of the first generation of fairly serious hobbyist photographers for whom this is the case. All this is going to change, however, as now I have access to, and part-ownership of, a beautiful old film SLR - a Pentax ME. Behold its might!:



Ok, that's not the most informative picture, but I want to build up the suspense slowly, so by the time the camera is fully revealed you will be weeping at its beauty and lauding me as the bestest blogger writer on the Whole World Web. Here's a slightly more informative picture, but it is in black and white and a close-up, so it's still 'arty' and 'cool':



Pretty, huh? Here's the last one, because I need to get this over with so I can buy cigarettes before the shop closes:



I'm largely terrified of it: I have no idea how to take photos successfully, and it's very difficult to fathom not being able to review your picture immediately afterwards to see if it's ok. Thinking about the camera has really led me to gain a new respect for photographers who use film - imagine being so good and confident in your ability that you could take just one or two exposures for every shot, perhaps knowing that this could be the only time you will experience the moment? Digital has taken all the risk and suspense out of the craft, something of course helpful but at the same time it is sad to see it go. Never again will there be an extraordinary event such as happened when Robert Capa's photos of the D-Day landings were almost ruined, but resulted in some of the most iconic imagery of the 20th Century. For me photography will always be about perfection and confidence, and no matter how much I use a film camera, digital will still be my medium - I'd be kidding myself if I thought any different. Oh well, I'll just have to embrace it!

Onto the camera itself - what struck me first was the the looks of the body (did I mention it's pretty) I really love that style, it makes my new-fangled Nikon D50 look cheesy and uncouth. I think any camera produced up until the mid-eighties had this timeless style, something now long lost for mainstream cameras. Unfortunately the lens is far too bulky, but seems to be of good quality - it's a very useful zoom range and has a great widest aperture: 1/2.8. This is something that can be easily fixed, however, as brilliantly I can buy a brand new Pentax lens and it will work perfectly on this camera.

The last thing that struck me was the quality of the viewfinder - it's large and bright. It's a real pity that they don't put these on cheaper DSLR's today, although I suppose 90% of the people using these cameras aren't going to manually focus and that is the main reason for needing one.

Hopefully someday I'll put up some photos I've taken with it!