----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Johnston" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "William Robb" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: March 12, 2001 11:20 AM Subject: Re: See ya! > Bill, > Thanks. > Listen, I've already unsubscribed, but I had one last message in my out box > that I forgot to post. I guess I can't post from off-list (is that right?). > Anyway, would you mind passing it along? Half of it will be of iinterest to > people, the other half is just an answer to Chris's question about what > people shoot, which is--typically for me--too long. > > Thanks in advance, > > --Mike > > > > > >>> > I've already unsubscribed, but two little items of business I should follow > through on before I disappear: > > First, the Pentax MX reliability survey--I didn't tabulate all the answers > because a number of them were verbal and anecdotal, but generally the 22 > respondants reported less reliable operation than I had anticipated. Only 4 > people said their MX's were bulletproof and an equal number said the > reliability was unacceptable; the predominant answer was "not as reliable as > expected." > > The other thing that emerged from the survey is that most people who > answered are not using their MXs much any more--either they are not using > them at all or are using them in a secondary role. > > Fully six people mentioned that they found the K1000 more reliable than the > MX. > > > Second, Dan wrote: > > > So, what do you shoot? And why that? > > For 20 years now I've shot 35mm black-and-white for myself. I would say I > basically shoot out of curiosity. I'm interested in how photographs work and > what they mean, and I try a lot of odd things in order to find out more > about what makes a good photograph. > > I also like equipment, mainly lenses, and I do a fair amount of shooting > just to find out how different lenses "look" and behave in a variety of > situations. I love this kind of experimenting too. > > I'm interested in photography mainly as a recording medium. I take pictures > that might be considered "diary" shots of real life. I go in with the > realization that most of them won't "turn out" to be "good" photographs, > which is okay with me. > > My shooting at this point has dropped down below 100 rolls a year which is > the lowest amount of shooting I've done since 1982. I make maybe 600 prints > a year, maybe a tenth of which are fine prints on 8x10 or 11x14. My favorite > part of the process is workprinting, making quick'n'dirty 8x10's on RC paper > to see what various negatives look like. I love the sense of rediscovery, > seeing what worked and what didn't. I love looking through my stacks of > workprints, too. Naturally as a former custom printer I can work very fast > (15-30 work prints in a few hours is about average) and people not > infrequently tell me that my work prints look better than their final > prints. When I do final prints I make maybe 2-3 prints in the same time it > takes to do ten times as many work prints. I'm a better printer than I am a > shooter. > > The photographs I'm interested in least are "standard" or "stock" or > "pretty" shots, and I'm allergic to anything that is dishonest or faked. I > would much rather make an honest photograph than a pretty one or one that > other people will think is "good." Despite having had a public role in > photography for a number of years as a writer and editor, I see my own > photography as purely a personal hobby and I try not to engage in any > activity that would make my work more public--I haven't accepted a > commission for money since I quit doing professional work in 1993, and I > don't exhibit. It's not that I mind doing these things, or that I don't > think they're good to do, but I just like the feeling of freedom that comes > with just working for myself and I've been trying to guard that. > > Buh-buh-ba-duh dat's all, Folks! > > Adieu, > > --Mike > > - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
