Tools of the Trade

When I was around 14 years old, my dad gave me his  Pentax K1000, a great 35mm film camera that became a powerful muse for me.  As a teenager, my friends and I entertained ourselves by roaming around backroads, graveyards and woods with our cameras. Once I learned how to use the dark room, photography became my main passion.  I could spend hours on end in the darkroom, trying to get that "perfect print."

My first love - the Pentax K1000.

Photography still remains my preferred method of expression, but since moving over into the digital realm, my relationship with the camera has become more distant and fleeting.  I love my little Canon point and shoot, and I've found that I can capture some gorgeous scenes on my iPhone.  However, my relationship with these tools doesn't hold a candle to what I had with my K1000.

One of my primary goals going into this adventure was to rekindle my love for photography, and a big part of that was finding a camera that I could truly connect with in a way that honors the relationship I had with my K1000.

I am happy to report that I believe I have found my new muse:  the Pentax Q.

I'm falling in love with my Pentax Q

What I love most about this camera is that it feels familiar - like a miniature version of my K1000. While it has a lot of the bells and whistles we've come to expect with digital SLR cameras, the body emulates the old film cameras, the lenses screw off and are interchangeable, and I can set it to be 100% manual, with the focus ring on the lens.  Yes!

You'll be seeing a lot from this little camera and I hope you'll enjoy following along as I explore new places and get to know my new muse.

I've already discovered one of my favorite settings - the one for photographing food.  Since I especially enjoy how my friend Colleen posts photos of the interesting things she is eating as she travels the world, I believe that I will follow her lead and also use my blog to share my culinary adventures.  I took my camera for a test drive at Bamboo Sushi last week and was rather happy with the outcome.

Seaweed Salad

The Green Machine

Taylor with sake

Sticky Bun