It's been a thrilling few months, but I'm afraid that my participation in
three camera-related lists has taken me away from freelance essay writing
(spell-checked, unlike my postings) and my wife and girls. WIth my lens
collection complete, I am quitting all the list (and two others:
rangefinders and streetshooting) so that I can reclaim a life, and my
family can reclaim me.
These months have given me the chance to return in kind the help that I
received when building my SLR kit, with its collection of some 17 lenses.
Until recently, I shot only candid and slice-of-life people shots. Thanks
to this list, I've been able to expand my vistas to include friends'
weddings, indoor and outdoor sports, indoor theater, and even a bit of
nature and macro photography.
On another front, I recently had the chance to begin mentoring a budding
photographer. I was at an exhibition of middle-school art, when the art
teacher's 16-year-old daughter inquired about the Pentax SLR hanging from
my neck. "Last year my father gave me his old MX," she told me, "and ever
since, I've been studying photography."
"You're kidding!" I exclaimed. "I've been looking for someone like you.
I've amasses a large set of world-class fast lenses, and I'll never use
most of them as often as they deserve to be used. I'd love to lend them to
you, 3 or 4 at a time. You could see how the focal length suits you. And
with lenses of this quality, you'll see how good your photos can be. Are
you interested?"
"Really? Of course!"
A week later, she and her mother came by, and the girl spent a good hour
trying out different lenses, finally leaving with my Carl Zeiss Jena
20/2.8, Pentax SMC 24/2.8, Pentax SMC 35/2M, and Pentax SMC 105/2.8K.
I also lent her a few collections of photographs taken by photojournalists,
her favorite genre and mine. Also, I gave her an entry form for the
photography contest being held by our county library system.
She'll be trading the original lenses and books for new choices this
weekend.
I have spent probably hundreds of hours collecting opinions, ratings,
prices, and facts and figures about Pentax and Pentax-compatible 35mm
lenses. It would be a pity if my 11x17-inch chart--now 78 pages long--would
no longer be of use to anyone. If anyone is interested in having a copy in
PDF, I'll be glad to email it to you (not spell-checked or cleaned up in
about 18 months!).
Warm regards,
Paul Franklin Stregevsky, Technical Writer
NEC America, Inc.
Mail Stop VA-4610
14040 Park Center Rd.
Herndon, VA 20171-3227
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
W: (703) 834-4648
H: (301) 349-5243
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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