Tradition, or something like it

When I was a kid, my parents would take me and my siblings to Fort Myers, Florida often. We would spend anywhere from a few days to a week at the Red Coconut RV park and lounge in the sandy beaches, reading and playing and enjoying time with one another. After many years away, the Covid shutdowns saw Steph and I take our family back to the West coast of Florida and restart the tradition.

These last few years, we've actually stayed in Cape Coral and driven to Fort Myers or Sanibel for beach, opting for the quieter Cape. It allows for us to disconnect from the stresses of life and reconnect as a family. I brought two cameras with me, each with two lenses, which I'd normally say is overkill for a week on a quiet family vacation. But there was a purpose to this.

Two vintage cameras and a shot glass arranged on a wooden table with a yellow bowl of berries and flowers in the background.

I had recently acquired two-thirds of the legendary Pentax holy trinity of lenses, the FA 43mm f1.9 Limited and FA 77mm f1.8 Limited lenses, and had fallen in love. The 43mm in particular had clicked with me in a rare way. But I had also just acquired a mint condition original Leica orange filter from the 1950's for my beloved Summitar 50mm lens. I was in love with the way that orange filter looked with black and white film, having just put a roll of Kentmere 100 through it, and I didn't want to limit myself to just color. So I packed my Pentax MX with the 43mm and 77mm Limited lenses, and also packed my Leica M3 with the Summitar 5cm with orange filter and my newest rangefinder lens, the Summaron 35mm. I would be shooting Kodak UltraMax and CineStill 800T for color and Kodak Tri-X for black and white.

Relaxation

We rented a spacious house with a screened in pool. We always travel with Storm, the family Labrador, and having enough space for everyone to either be together or apart is important. The pool is necessary. Link and I are definitely beach people, but Steph and Wes, and particularly Wes, are more into pool lounging.

We had very meticulously planned a week of absolutely nothing. The idea was to hit the beach once or twice, hit Sun Splash Family Waterpark once, and spend the rest of the time hanging at the house. Sort of a staycation away from home.

For a few months I've been exploring still life photography more seriously. So I made a point to do as much still life as possible here, with a new environment and all that. Of course, where my family is concerned, I will always make portraits.

Family and dog relaxing at the edge of a swimming pool on a sunny summer day.

Cue the 77mm

Young child wearing blue nose plug plays in swimming pool with castle toy balanced on head.

Vintage-style portrait with oversized brown gradient sunglasses against soft blurred background.

A child wearing orange water wings gazes downward with a pensive expression and dark bangs.

I didn't utilize the 77mm much, but I did want to test it out on film as I loved the way this lens looked with my digital camera. It did not disappoint. It's Sonnar design is evident in how it draws its subjects and its bokeh. The above photo of Link is one of my favorites from this entire trip. He is such a silly kid, and when he hits that perfect balance of silliness...well he is a riot. I can't remember what exactly he was doing here, but wearing Wes' cup was definitely a fashion choice. Wes pretty much lived in that Spider-Man floaty all week. He'd wake up and want to get in the floaty and into the pool before he'd even had breakfast. Steph had to work throughout the trip, but found time to get in the pool and sip on margaritas. One thing was certain with these few photos I made with the 77mm: if I had a portrait assignment, this is the lens I would use.

Decorative ornamental grass plumes sway in front of a blurred blue building on a cloudy day.

A black bird perches atop a green tree against a clear blue sky on a sunny day.

Water lily pads and yellow flowers float peacefully on a calm lake surface reflecting the blue sky above.

I made very few photos with the 77mm outside of those first three portraits. However, there is another purpose for this lens other than portraits: cinema. It has an ability to render cinematic looking images with incredible flare control. I am a big fan and proponent of flares. But there are instances in which I want flare control and predictability. Whether wide open or stopped down, I know how this lens will render images. That's a godsend with film, which won't yield your resultant image until after development.

43mm, the New Normal

While I love the sort of images that short telephoto lenses, and the Pentax 77mm in particular, deliver, at the end of the day I am a normal lens sort of guy. My recent-ish review of the Sigma 45mm f2.8 revealed my love for this 40-50mm range and the SMC Pentax-FA 43mm f1.9 Limited hits that sweet spot in spades.

I utilized this lens for the majority of my time there. In fact, I'm so gaga over this lens, that I used it more more than my beloved Leica Summitar/M3 combo. There is something special about this lens and the way it renders subjects and..not subjects.

And a big part of that is its minimum focus distance. Able to focus down to .45 meters means that this leans can get close. Really close.

A young child wearing a light yellow shirt smiles warmly with spontaneous joy while looking upward at the camera.

I've got two boys that understand boundaries even less than they do lenses minimum focus distances. So, they are often very, very close. In the past I have relied on the Leica Elmarit-R 35mm for really close focusing. But I prefer the rendering of the Pentax 43mm along with the field of view it offers.

This first photo of Wes is a perfect example the kid was hanging off of me and even that was not too close for this lens. Moments later I made this photo of Link in his post-breakfast digestion phase, which was again very close.

The 43mm's ability to render sharp and 3D looking images, with smooth and beautiful backgrounds without blowing them out entirely in bokeh is amazing. Few are the lenses that I have clicked with quite so quickly.

A young child in a yellow t-shirt rests their head on their arm while sitting near a window.

My favorite photo of the trip was made with this lens.

I was making a portrait of Steph. I had just commented on how I hadn't made any portraits of her on the trip up until that point. And she said she wanted to have her portrait taken. I was widening my stance and getting into what my sister calls "dad-stance" when I noticed that Storm was coming over to see what the fuss was about.

Storm is a shy dog who doesn't like to have her picture taken. She usually shies away from the camera. The fact that I was able to get one good photo of her, much less the many good ones I got, is nothing short of a miracle.

Anyway, I had both eyes open while composing and realized I had an opportunity to have my two favorite ladies in one frame. So I waited. I told Steph what I was doing in a not so direct way because I swear that Storm understands human-speak. And as soon as she dipped her head into the frame I released the shutter.

Photo-bombs may be a thing of the past, a product of the early aughts digicam craze, but I love them. They are natural and funny. The fact that Steph flinched as Storm came in very, very close? It doesn't bother me. The smile on her face says it all: her favorite girl has come over to check on her.

And, because I was on the 43mm, I was able to fit it all into the composition. This really is the lens that keeps on giving. Wide enough to do it all, and tight enough to leave out anything you don't want in the photo. If I had to whittle my lens collection down to one (ugh...why even bother going on) it would be this lens. I am, in a word, smitten.

A black Labrador dog peers over someone's shoulder outdoors on a sunny day as they wear sunglasses and white top.

Close up view of someone enjoying time in a swimming pool with wet hair and a bright smile.

Someone sleeping peacefully under cozy patterned bedding in soft natural lighting.

There is another aspect to this lens that, to me specifically, has become increasingly more important: focus throw.

My first lens collection was a set of Leica R lenses. These are outstanding SLR lenses that I have written about multiple times. I cannot say enough great things about these lenses. But something Pentax does better than Leica, at least for me? Focus throw. When I can focus a lens quicker thanks to a shorter focus throw, that's when convenience meets my style. Especially for photographing kids with manual focus lenses, it is imperative to have accurate focusing, but not at the cost of having to adjust a focus ring for days. The only Leica R lenses that come close to this focal length are the 35mm and 50mm lenses and both have focus throws that are significantly longer than the Pentax 43mm. Win, Pentax.

It isn't only useful for kids, but for animals too.

We invited our friends Brian and Caro to stay with us and told them they had to bring Prime, their Golden. Storm and Prime got along swimmingly (intentional pun) and many great photos were made of them.

But dogs might be less willing to work with a photographer than children are. So the shorter focus throw meant that more photos were possible of these two beautiful creatures.

This one of Storm and Prime playing together in the golden hour sun after early morning walks is a perfect example of this. Could I have framed this better? Sure, as I unwittingly cropped out Storm's tail. But I was able to get this photo at all thanks to the insanely fast focusing that the Pentax 43mm offers. For a family vacation on film, this is critical.

Two dogs playfully interacting together on a tiled floor with turquoise chairs in the background.

Capturing the Vibe

Part of the documentary and photojournalist style that I am a student of is capturing true and honest images that are also stylistic. So candids are a big part of my vacation photography. The subjects of these photos have to trust you, but also kind of ignore you. Finding the balance between photographer and vacationer can be difficult, but the key, I think, is in fluidity.

Not making a big deal about situations and constantly posing people is of paramount importance. My love of street photography comes into practice here. Recognizing moments before they happen, anticipating when to release the shutter, and composing with intent is all important.

Like this shot of a scrumptious scallop dinner. The balance and symmetry of Caro and Wes at the heads, with Link balancing our the weight offered by Brian and Steph is not by accident. Framing everyone with the window and art work, including the hanging lights knowing that they'd provide some signature CineStill red halation, it is all intentional

A group gathers around a dining table for a meal under warm lighting with blue abstract artwork on the walls.

But storytelling is more than just those wider shots. It's about the details too. That wider scene, when combined with this tighter framing of the scallop soup makes for a better and more accurate documenting of the vibe.

Brian, being one of Miami's best chefs and caterers, cooked a world class meal for us. How could I not photograph it. But better than just showing the soup, delicious as it is, is including a hand and a spoon! The interaction of the human with the still life, as I wrote earlier, is something I'm experimenting with. And it makes for both interesting and challenging compositions. This mixing of wider "establishing shots" with these tighter "detail shots" makes for a better storytelling experience for me as a viewer of these photos after the fact, something important for a dude with memory issues.

A spoonful hovers over a creamy white soup garnished with crispy toppings in a white bowl on a blue tablecloth.

Didn't you mention a Leica M3?

Someone was paying attention!

While two cameras is overkill, there is a certain level of convenience in having two different bodies. For starters, it makes it possible to decide whether I want to make color or monochrome photos. There is something about black and white that for me is almost necessary in photography. And I say this as a photographer who makes and consumes primarily color photos. But there is a classic and timeless quality to black and white film.

For me, it is almost always Kodak Tri-X. I love that I can go without a meter and not worry about exposure. I read the light and shoot.

So, I made judgements based on how I was reading light and how I wanted to depict these moments.

Three people enjoying a swim in a pool while a black cat walks along the edge in black and white photography.

Black and white photograph of a sunlit entryway with a glass-paned door and console table casting dramatic shadows.

Black and white photo of a child sitting on a couch near a window with a toy truck visible on the table.

Black and white image of a laptop computer and coffee cup in a cozy indoor setting.

There is something about stripping a photograph of its color that allows the raw emotionality of the moment to shine through. I find that black and white dilm helps me isolate my subjects and their intended purpose in the narrative of the frame.

Take this photograph of Link, for example. What he was doing and what I wanted to show are two different things. That is, after all, the power of still photography. I knew that without color, the image of a boy beyond the age of a toy truck holding said toy truck in a pool would look like a rediscovery of a childlike wonderment. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic and wanted Link to remain a kid just a little longer, but it was easier to tell this story without color. The same is true of the above photo of Wes, sitting in the morning sun with the very same truck Link would pick up in the later photo. The sense of peace and tranquility in the early morning sun poking through the window is very evident.

A swimmer enjoys the water in a swimming pool on a bright day, captured in black and white photography.

I also find it useful to employ black and white for the disconnect to the human element.

Using this photo of the aftermath of a salsa and guac snack, I felt that making this photo in black and white was the right choice. By using a shallow depth of field I was able to lean into the emotional weight of Tri-X and emphasize the abandonment of this delicious snack. Feeling the void is easier with this.

Also, can I just take a moment to say that The rendering of the Summitar with an orange filter is just amazing. The bokeh has this incredible swirly quality that leaves me wanting to dive deeper and deeper into the photo.

A black and white film photograph shows everyday objects on a table with figures silhouetted in the background near windows.

And then there's photos that just end up working because of luck. Sometimes I'm not intentionally looking to make a monochrome photograph, but it happens organically.

I had such a fortuitous moment when Storm walked by and framed herself in this high contrast way. I focused quickly and released the shutter when it felt right and worried not about anything else. Another win for me and another capture of my beloved Storm on celluloid.

But we did more than just hang out at the AirBNB. We hit a water park and the beach. But that will be continued in part two!