JJP Designs | Photo Ninja

So I was putting my DSLR away and glanced over to my film shelves... There sat my gorgeous little 1980's Pentax-M 1:2 50mm... The KP is a crop sensor so effective is 75mm. I looked at it... I looked at my KP... I looked at it... I looked at... ... ... Okay, so we all know where this is going! I popped it on my KP and went straight down the stairs to my favorite test ground... Say it with me: kitchen table flowers. My beautiful wife discovered years ago that fresh flowers on the kitchen table are something that just gives me a little inside smile no matter what the day brought - and since my rose garden isn't 100% consistent she always tries to have fresh but flowers from the flower shop on the table for me. Sorry, folks, she's taken - lord knows why she puts up with me, but so far looks like she's stick'n around. Brand new body | 40 year old glass | A little sunny 16 math... Break out the sun glasses and black leather jacket 'cause this was Fonzarelli leve...

So I decided to take the KP wearing the smc Pentax-M 1:2 50mm (Nifty 50) out for the day when my wife and I had some free time - Jr. had a party to go to so Mom and Dad got a little grown-up time together so off we went to lunch and an hour or two of conversation and strolling... I did let the 'green button' do some of the maths for me when I needed them fast, but I also tried a little old-school 'sunny 16' on-the-fly when I found myself in a scenario where I could slowdown and think through a scene... I even went full 'ninja' - stealth mode by flipping the LCD up for waist viewing, rigged for silent running via electronic shutter only, and focus preset for anticipated range so as to not be 'fidgeting' with focus as I walked and squeezed off shots... I'm not super fast with adjusting settings with this manual lens on the KP just yet - but getting there... On my film cameras I move a little quicker because I mentally switch to 'film m...

The zoo is always fun for me with my camera, but I can say that there are a few shots each visit that are not what I had expected to shoot. Most of our trips to the zoo start a day or two ahead of time with some discussion about a new zoo baby or an animal we haven't visited in a while - so I usually arrive with those particular animals and potential images in my head. My plan for today - bring the K3Mii wearing the Tamron 70-200 2.8 to get some shots of the Albino American Alligator and the KP wearing the Pentax 100 2.8 Macro just in case since the Lego exhibit is also there. For the most part I am usually successful in getting those shots - the ones in my head prior to arrival... Got alligator shots... Got Lego shots... they were okay - nothing to write home about. Don't get me wrong, they were totally cool to see - but the alligator was solid white and not in a great position for photographs... and the Legos - well, they were Legos... maybe it is just me, but I do...