I brought my Pentax K1000 (a combined birthday and Christmas gift in 1988) back into service in 2021, after a decades-long hiatus from it, and after 15 or so years of not shooting film at all. I was surprised to find myself every bit as happy to be shooting film as I had been when I was quite a bit younger (though a camera with diopter adjustment is helpful these days!) Seeing things in black and white started to come back to me, and no doubt the familiar old K1000 in my hands was jogging my memory.

I remembered Kodak T-MAX very fondly from my first days shooting 35mm on a proper SLR, developing and printing them in my high school darkroom, and I was excited to revisit this stock. I was also quite looking forward to shooting on some Tri-X 400, which I’d loaded into my Canon EOS Elan to shoot alongside this one. I grew up in Rochester, NY, where Kodak (especially back then) was the only game in town. My memory is that T-MAX was pretty common, but Tri-X was more for the pros and rarer, and more “special”.

Imagine my surprise when, dusting off my old late-80s / early-90s negatives, I found that nearly ALL the images I’d made back then were in fact on Tri-X (it was bulk-loaded and labeled safety film, which I’m certain my teacher had said was T-MAX!) It seemed I’d only put one roll of T-MAX through my O.G. Pentax, with its original kit lens. Now I was even more anxious for the results, especially through a lately acquired 28mm Pentax M-series prime.

Very happy to say that the old Pentax itself is apparently very healthy. I don’t know what I was expecting from this film stock: maybe my memory of it as common gave my subconscious the idea that it was somewhat pedestrian. Now, with my T-MAX 400 scans in hand, I can’t imagine how I could be more pleased with the results.

I found the contrast in these images, straight from the camera, to be striking. Alongside that, the smoothness across the entire range of midtones is just silky and seductive. Outdoors under sunny skies and grey ones, indoors under tungsten light and fluorescent, I’m super happy with the tonality and handling, and impressed with this stock’s versatility. I can’t wait to try out some 120 in my 645.

My first roll was only 24 exposures, but as I was shooting alongside two other bodies, I moved through it slowly, and it got some miles on it before processing — from the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, to NYC, and finally to Asheville, NC.

What more could I ask from my re-entry into film?! It’s like returning to an old friend, and finding out you didn’t know them at all! A great lesson for me, for this stock and all stocks; a reminder to keep a beginner’s mind.

~ PJ

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7 responses to “5 Frames… From an old, familiar Pentax K1000 on Kodak T-MAX 400 (35mm Format / EI 400 + SMC Pentax-M 28mm f/2.8)”

  1. Alasdair J Mackintosh Avatar
    Alasdair J Mackintosh

    The waterfall shot is beautiful. I love the strong highlights in the flowing water, and the hints of detail in the shadows.

    1. Thanks so much! Back at a waterfall shot, I had to remind myself not to fall into the same “blurred water” trap I loved when I was a kid and hadn’t developed taste yet ^_^ I think this was 1/15.

  2. Daniel J Castelli Avatar
    Daniel J Castelli

    Hi PJ,
    It’s nice to hear you revived the K1000 camera. A great camera for bare-bones photography. I like the light fixture shot; it’s almost like a jellyfish riding along. The portrait is cool, nice tones and contrast. I’m betting that the photography is a good way to de-stress after working all day as a pastry chef.

    Thanks for the mention of your high school photo teacher. I’m a retired HS photo teacher that taught for 33+ years. All film & darkroom based. It was never really like work. I had too much fun teaching. The funny thing was, however, I did little personal photography until I retired. I rebuilt my darkroom and picked up doing personal work.
    Regards,
    Dan

    1. That’s so great that you have your darkroom up and running again! I really wish I would have taken photography in high school. I always have felt like I missed out. I was on the yearbook staff and got my photography itch scratched that way, but I never got to experience a dark room.

      1. Hi Lance, thanks! Not quite up and running again but nearing it! I am starting to remember the smells and sounds, and even sights of the darkroom. Never too late, I hope, to get that up and running again. I’m about to relocate and I’m curious to see if there’s a photo department left at a local college, and maybe revisit the craft that way before whole-hogging it in my own home! (Which has no basement!) Do you know the Film Developing Cookbook?

    2. Thanks Dan for the comment, and sorry it took me so long to reply! I’m hoping to revive my darkroom game soon, I’m about to leave NYC for a rural life and excited by the possibilities!

      Greatly appreciate your feedback – I thought the same thing about the light fixture (at MoMA) as I saw it! And my nephew (also shot at MoMA) was a very patient and still subject, as I shot 400 ISO in a dim corner. Hope you are enjoying your own revival of personal photography!

    3. Thanks Dan–I thought I’d replied to this comment long ago! I appreciate the feedback–the light fixture was at MoMA–one of my favorite things is to take pics in art museums of things that aren’t intended to be art.

      I still remember the HS darkroom, the smell of the chemicals, the squeaks of the tongs on fresh prints, the smooth pull of the squeegee. I miss it!

 

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