This is a group I’m a part of at school; they’re a good bunch of kids. Ostensibly we’re the Visual and Performing Arts Club but so far all our members save one are all musicians from one school ensemble. I decided that day to forgo the keyboard and represent the visual arts. Taken back in October with my new (to me) Pentax ESII. This is the most recent roll of film I’ve shot.
I’m really loving the ESII so far. It’s a spotmatic with aperture priority, which is awesome, if you happen to have SMC Takumar lenses. Thankfully I have a few now, but the one non-SMC lens I have is the 135mm Super-Takumar, which is primarily what I shot here. Thankfully, the ESII also has manual speeds 60-1000 which are good to use with any of the older (or non-Pentax) lenses, or one can use the depth-of-field preview button on the side to stop down the lens, allowing aperture priority of non-SMC lenses. I forgot a few times to stop the lens down and it led to a few blurry pictures. In most circumstances it wouldn’t be much of a problem to compose, focus, and then stop down the lens before taking the picture but things were happening too quick for me, if I’m trying to get a particular look or pose it ended up being easier in manual. I’m just grateful that I have the option!
This was my first roll of Arista Premium film, but since everyone knows it’s re-branded Tri-X there’s really no point calling it anything else. For less than $3.00 a roll it would be crazy not to pick some up; who cares if it’s about to expire? Remember, expiration dates for black & white film are more like guidelines than actual rules. I bought myself a 10-pack in September and you can bet I’ll buy more as soon as I have the funds.
Does anyone else think these scans look just a bit too contrasty? I do, but since they’re lab-scanned there’s not much I can do about it at the moment. However, I am finally breaking down (again) and will be buying another film scanner in January. More on that later…
The Resurrected Camera 
Now I’ve got to buy myself an ES II. I love aperture priority shooting! And I love my SMC Takumar prime.
These shots are a touch contrasty but I didn’t think about it until you pointed it out. I was too busy enjoying the emotions transmitted on everyone’s faces.
Nice job. Have fun and keep shooting.
Great shots, and I like the look of the film. It really gets me excited about using Tri-X in the future. Also, I look forward to reading about your film scanner buying experience as I’ve been thinking about getting one myself.