7 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
The New Friday

 

Ha, I liked the idea last week. I try to make Friday the facebook summary day. I will put all my facebook posts of the week into one article on this blog site, excluding photos that I put into separate articles every couple of weeks and excluding facebook posts that I consider unimportant or too personal (very few). I like this summary because it gives people who have never been at facebook or left again the chance to see what I share on facebook. It's also great for me to collect all the links to interesting articles on my own blog site and not only rely on facebook storage. Last it might be interesting for people who aren't very active on facebook but who are still interested in these links.

 

I included hyperlinks with most of the facebook screenshots, just mouse over. I excluded comments most of the time and otherwise marked out the names of people. This time I started with the oldest and then continue chronologically downwards.

 

Here we go ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you feel like tell me what you think!

 

Happy weekend!

 

KIKI

 

 

6 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Gear - Will there be a happy ending?

 

 

Zinger! Talked with Foto Maerz Berlin today, they are really helpful and nice over there. They told me that I was the first person last year with the AF problem but after that more and more people came with the same problem, also 1D X owners. Mr. Henze had tried for several days to solve it with my camera and couldn't fix it back then. He recommended me last summer to send it in to Canon Germany. They told me everything was fine  Yesterday I had an idea how to maybe find a walk around and told them today. We talked for quite a while and Mr. Henze told me he had called Canon last year to ask for a solution. They avoided to confess a serious problem but actually admitted it's something for which there is no fix and that it's "normal" deviation.

 

Mr. Henze told me about 1D X owners who actually were as speechless as I am because the sophisticated AF system of their 6.000 € camera was useless in the field. Same with 5D IIIs. Mr. Henze himself is speechless. He will now try to custom adjust my camera the way that it's somehow a compromise that I can live with. He told me I should report publicly about the faulty AF system and complain to Canon about it again so that this serious problem gets a bigger audience and forces them to find a new solution.

 

Story to be continued ...

 

KIKI

 

 

5 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Notes:
Gear - My most used device (almost), a small tablet ...

 

 

When tablets came out four years ago most people thought: Oh my god, I don‘t need it, as with most every innovation. And you may argue you still don‘t but you can‘t deny that most of the people think different by now. Tablets are taking over the PC market and for most usage scenarios a tablet can replace a clunky desktop or laptop PC, it‘s much better in so many ways. They are fast enough now to handle all but the most demanding tasks and although you‘re still limited regarding multitasking and getting work done on a tablet I think it‘s only a question of time when tablets can replace a laptop for most people. I still couldn‘t give up a notebook for professional photo editing and blogging or writing in general and the physical keyboard of a laptop actually is hard to beat, but maybe dictating is replacing typing in the future anyway. And today programs like VSCO Cam for smartphones and tablets are wonderful for most photo sharing needs.

 

So, why do I love my tablet? I got an iPad mini as part of a business data contract, that gives me 10 GB of LTE data per month and I can use it wherever I am in Germany, be it on a job, while travelling or when blogging in the park in summer. I can use it as wifi hotspot and do all that with my mobile laptop. I chose an iPad instead of an Android device because I still think Apple has the better User Interface. I never really had problems software-wise with my Macs. I also like the 4:3 screen ratio. It‘s much more useful for both vertical and horizontal browsing, the 16:9 of most smartphones actually is terrible by comparison in my opinion, too slim in both orientations. 16:9 is great for videos, but I don‘t watch many videos on a tablet, so that‘s just me.

 

I LOVE the mini for its size. For me it‘s just perfect, big enough to really enjoy mobile computing, yet small enough to be held in your hand when walking the streets. A bigger device to me is too big to really go everywhere with it and makes you look like an idiot when navigating on the street. The mini is much lighter and just perfect to hold in one hand. I love Maps on the tablet as much as I do all the other incredible Apps that are much more fun to use than their counterparts on a notebook.

 

Notes is great and with iCloud it‘s just a dream to have everything everywhere, always instantly synced. You can just leave the house with the iPad and an article or an updated note on it you just wrote on your desktop PC. That's amazing. Same with Pages, the Word equivalent on Macs. Just write something in a document and rush out with your iPad without ever having to think about syncing.

 

Calender and Contacts are much nicer to look at on a tablet compared to a smartphone, automatically syncing with your Macs, too. Apps like facebook are great on an iPad and browsing/reading in general on a tablet I would say is the most perfect digital consumption experience of all available devices. For that actually the bigger iPad is even better, but you compromise on portability.

 

Photo sharing with apps like VSCO Cam is a joy on the go. I just plug in my SD card into the Lightning reader for iPad, import, edit and share in a heartbeat.

 

The tablet is so much nicer to share with people around. My HTC One XL with its relatively big 4,7“ screen looks just tiny by comparison. Having the iPad for a year now I hardly use my phone for anything more than making phone calls, listening to music and writing SMS. It‘s only replacing the iPad simply when I don‘t take the latter, for example to a club. The mini is so portable I have it in my bag all the time when I go out.

 

I love the iPad mini because as with most Apple products craftmanship is simply unbeaten, so is design in my eyes. It‘s just a joy to take in your hand and look on the gorgeous display.

 

I really LOVE the iPad for books. It‘s amazingly useful. I had all the Lonely Planet guide books on the mini on my last photo trip instead of lugging multiple paper books around, great.

 

Everything is better on an iPad compared to a smartphone apart from fitting into one‘s pocket or making phone calls. Latter being possible with Huawei‘s upcoming phablet, the Mediapad X1, a really great 7“ HD device with a nice 16:10 screen, recommended. A tablet can do most everything a computer can apart from having a nice physical keyboard and multitasking. There's just no comparison regarding portability, a tablet is just perfect here.

 

If you still think you don‘t need a tablet I have to agree, you don't but it‘s much nicer to have one ;-)

 

Update: If you have work to do and/or need to do it or other things fast, there's no comparison, the tablet just can't cut it. Typing on a MacBook Air for example is a dream compared to the virtual keyboard on the iPad, especially for blogging, writing letters, mails and longer posts.

 

Happy living ...

 

KIKI

 

 

5 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
NIKOLAIKIKI Exhibition 2014

 

Opening event for this year's exhibition will be Saturday evening, 31 May 2014. Invitations coming this month ...

 

 

Keep you posted

 

KIKI

 

 

5 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Tech tips 6/14 - 10bit colour and HD resolution

 

Do you need a 2.000 € high-end 10bit colour monitor for photo editing? Maybe. I'm using an 8bit Dell U2412 for 250 € and I'm very satisfied. Prints often turn out different to your screen somehow anyway, so there's not really much use in ultra precise colour for me. I think it's far more important to see how images look on 99,9 % percent of the screens we look at everyday, especially on our smartphones, that's 8bit RGB colour. There's a lot of money to be saved on things others make us believe were necessary ...

 

People get ecstatic about their high resolution HD TVs. Do they know that even Canon's cheapest little camera, the Canon IXUS 145 for 90 € still has 8 times the resolution? This is called the megapixel myth. The 2 MP HD resolution we all love are good enough for most everything. 36 MP are impressive but don't make your photos any better ...

 

Update: Canon silently released a new pocket camera, the Powershot S200. The S120 is still my top recommendation but the S200 could to be as good for most people. It seems like Canon took an old S110 and added some useful things while some are missing compared to the S120 to make people buy the more expensive one who don't know better. The S200 can't shoot RAW, so I wouldn't buy it, but 99% of the people don't use RAW anyway for which you need expensive programs in most cases. The S200 is lighter and has a better Image Stabilizer and everything you need for fast photo sharing via wifi. For 280 € as of March 2014 it's my top pick for nomal people who just want great images. You can tweak them to your liking on your phone or tablet using VSCO Cam for example. It's lighter and smaller than the S120 making it even more portable. I think it's a really great little secret bargain for the smart shopper who doesn't want to fiddle around with RAW that slows everything down, is uncomfortable and takes more storage space. Highly Recommended! For tips on which camera to buy, read my article What camera to buy and why.

 

Maybe someday I buy some of these NEC 30" displays ;-)

 

KIKI

 

 

2 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Society - Berlin today ...

 

A minute of silence for the 94 killed Ukrainians during their protests on the Euromaidan in Kiew. I shot the image today in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin at a demonstration against Putin's threat to make war in the Crimea region in southern Ukraine. Hope this won't happen ...

 

 

Cruel world!

 

KIKI

 

 

1 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Society - Für's Wochenende ...

 

Die Geschichte vom kleinen Vogel!

 

 

... Es war einmal in der Schweiz. Ich war auf einem Samstagsspaziergang unterwegs an einem wunderschönen, warmen Herbsttag, einmal entlang der Thur bis zur nächsten Brücke im Westen und zurück. Unterhalb der Kartause, einer alten Klosteranlage, am Wegesrand eines Weingutes, bei dem die Reben mit riesigen Netzen zum Schutz vor Vögeln abgedeckt sind, bemerkte ich einen kleinen Vogel, der sich in dem an der Seite der Reben herunterhängenden Netz verfangen hatte und hilflos herumzappelte, um sich wieder zu befreien. Ich eilte ihm herbei, musste dabei aber feststellen, dass er sich fürchterlich in den groben Maschen des feinfadigen Netzes verheddert hatte, was mit seinen hoffnungslosen Versuchen loszukommen nur noch schlimmer wurde. Die Fäden hatten sich mehrfach um sein Körperchen und sein Köpfchen gewickelt und sich in seinem Gefieder verknotet. Ein Faden hatte sich außerdem in seinem Schnabel hinter seiner Zunge verhakt. Ich hielt ihn mit der linken Hand vorsichtig umklammert, während ich mit der rechten versuchte, ihn zu entknoten. Dabei spürte ich, wie sein Herz ganz schnell schlug und er hatte sich vor Angst auch in sein Gefieder gemacht. Er hielt zu meinem Erstaunen relativ still, wenn er mich auch skeptisch mit seinen kleinen Äuglein anschaute, so als ob er sich in seiner Not irgendwie freute, dass ich da war. Sein Geruch erinnerte mich an unseren Wellensittich namens Peterchen, den wir früher als Haustier hatten als ich noch ein Kind war. Auch wenn es mir gelang, den widerspenstigen Faden aus seinem Schnabel zu lösen, dieser Zustand war am besorgniserregendsten gewesen, konnte ich ihn auch nach mehreren Minuten nicht aus dem Netz befreien, zu fest und verknotet umsponn der Faden den Unglückseligen, ich hätte ein Messer oder eine Schere gebraucht, die ich natürlich nicht dabei hatte. Zwischenzeitlich hatte ich mit Christiane telefoniert und ihr berichtet, dass ich in einer Notlage half und meine Rückkehr sich deshalb verspäten würde. Jetzt aber musste ich feststellen, dass ich ohne weitere Hilfsmittel nichts ausrichten konnte und überlegte, was ich tun konnte. Makabererweise sah ich am Fuße des Netzes bereits ein verwestes Vogelopfer. Ein Verhängnis, dem sich mein kleines Kerlchen ebenfalls ausgesetzt sah, würde ihm nicht geholfen werden. Da das Vöglein zwar nicht befreit werden konnte, ich ihn andererseits aber relativ sicher und ohne akute Gefahr für sein Leben für eine Zeit in dem Netz hängen lassen konnte, beschloss ich, mich auf den Heimweg zu machen, um von dort eine Schere zu holen und den Vogel damit freizuschneiden. Ich hatte auch daran gedacht, auf dem Weg zum Auto vielleicht bei Anwohnern zu klingeln und nach einer Schere zu fragen, um die Zeit zu verkürzen, denn der Abend brach bereits an, es bot sich aber kein nahegelegenes Haus dafür an. In der Hoffnung, mein gefesselter Kumpane würde sich in meiner Abwesenheit nicht verletzen oder gar vor Erschöpfung sterben, machte ich mich forschen Schrittes zurück zum Auto und mit diesem zurück ins nahegelegene Frauenfeld. Auf dem Weg durchschlich mich merkwürdigerweise die Überlegung, die Aktion einfach abzubrechen, einfach zuhause zu bleiben und den Vogel seinem Schicksal zu überlassen. Die räumliche Distanz schaffte also schon nach wenigen Minuten eine Art Gleichgültigkeit, ganz nach dem Sprichwort: "Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn". Das war wirklich bemerkenswert, ich musste mich mich zwingen, aber die weiteren Handlungen waren viel mehr von Pflichtbewusstsein getrieben denn von natürlicher Selbstverständlichkeit. Mit zwei Scheren ausgestattet begleitete Christiane mich bei meinem zweiten Rettungsversuch, wir konnten mit dem Auto diesmal sogar auf dem kleinen Sandweg bis zur Stelle vorfahren, an der das Vögeln hing. Schon vom Auto aus konnte ich sehen, dass er noch lebte und ich freute mich riesig, ihn gleich freischneiden zu können. Christiane half mir dabei. Da er so wahnsinnig verknotet war, hielten wir es für eine gute Idee, ihn erstmal von dem Netz loszuschneiden, um ihn dann im Auto mit besserem Licht vorsichtig von all dem Fadengewirr zu befreien. Es dauerte eine Zeit, so kompliziert hatten sich die Fäden fest mit seinem Gefieder verbunden. Schließlich aber waren alle Fäden entfernt und ich hielt das schiere Federfiech in meinen Händen. Ich bat Christiane noch, ein Foto als Erinnerung zu machen, bevor ich den kleinen Vogel dann endlich wieder in die Freiheit entließ. Ich hielt die Arme ausgestreckt und öffnete die Hände. Der Vogel flatterte nach Osten in die Abenddämmerung davon, dabei zwitscherte er laut und hektisch, es klang wie Schreie des Schreckens und der Freude zugleich, jedenfalls machte ich mir keine Sorge, dass er irgendwelche bleibenden Schäden davon getragen hatte, höchstens die Erinnerung an ein besonderes Ereignis an einem wunderschönen Herbsttag. Glücklich fuhren Christiane und ich nach Hause …

 

So, jetzt aber: Schönes Wochenende!

 

KIKI

 

 

1 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Society - A new Friday or Saturday ...

 

When I started this blogsite last year I wanted to make every day of the week a special topic day, but as the early weeks and months past I realized that it was too hard to keep track and that it actually restricts my idea of free thoughts.

 

I am very active on facebook despite having my blog, simply because facebook is so much quicker and much more interactive. With all surveillance in mind it's still much more personal. Things you post you only share with your friends (and the NSA).

 

This blogsite is more professional and requires me to think more thoroughly about what to publish because the whole world could potentially read it.

 

Anyway, I'm a strong proponent of freedom of speech and to be honest everything I post on facebook I would express in public as well. I thought yesterday that it could be a good idea to look back on the things that I posted during the week, which automatically lets me reflect about my words. Today I collected all posts from facebook since Monday without the shared photos I included in my last blog post, screenshot them and edited them to fit this blog roll using Photoshop. This new Friday/Weekend post could be especially nice for people who've never been facebook members or who just recently left. First post is the most recent, last the first from Monday ...

 

Update: I included the hyperlinks to the articles this morning!

 

The Pelican.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And another related link.

 

If you like it I try to do it this way in the future (I will try not to publish or mark out names, when I think comments are not meant for public use; you may of course tell me and I delete your comment entirely), already preparing a for some time when all of us move up to the next big thing after facebook ...

 

Have a great weekend, see you next week!

 

KIKI

 

 

27 Feb, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Photography - What happened in 2014 so far?

 

... a lot, here are some snaps from the last two month ...

 

Südstrand, Friesland

Munich

Ferry to Constance

Some very nice front garden in Baden-Württemberg ;-)

Friends

Icons

Alpes

At Lake Constance and wine

Fernbus

An arty case from Thailand in 2009

Bathroom

Crossing

Double Bounce

Books from Cambodia

Stretch Bus

Berlin Industry at Night

Wiide

Last Party at old Picknick

Views

First Teaser

Alexa

Fog

Street Lights

Shelf

Jandorf

Celeb

Red Bounce

Orange

New National Gallery

Green Week

Russian products

Kyrgyz Brandy and chocolates

Eye Art

Warhol

Mai and me

Thanks

Last photo of Lilith, R.I.P.

On old snap from Las Vegas

Stratosphere Tower

Fukuoka 2009

Organic food

Old and New

Sayings

Broken

Old & New

Old & New

Reflections

The Box

Tidied up desk

Ukraine and Putin

Facebook profile pic and sun in my room

Hallway

Kitchen

Sun coming back

Park in the morning

Crossing

Backyard

Moon

Strings

New Setup

Guitar Rig

Limbotoric

Mollberg

Tron

Dangast

Friedeburg

A snap from Hong Kong airport last autumn

Somewhere in China in the middle of the night

Laos 2009

Brunnenstraße

Alex

Picks

 

In two days it's March, spring is coming, yay!

 

KIKI

 

 

21 Feb, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Society - Some thoughts for the weekend ...

 

 

I'm very touched by how people fight for freedom in the Ukraine and don't give up although dozens have lost their lifes yesterday and in the weeks before. We the people all over Europe and in the world watch in consternation and admiration at once. Your fight will be successful in the end and a glorious example of the power of the people, for everybody. Deep respect!

 

WhatsApp is undoubtedly handy because "everybody" uses it (I never used it and survived), so is facebook. BUT, apart from facebook getting all your contacts now there's always alternatives and wouldn't it be funny if those 19 billion dollars where badly spent? Even if people in the world all used different secure services like Threema, Silent Circle or ChatSecure. Is it such a big deal to write different people on different platforms? Come on, we got dozens of apps on our phones. I think it's not too hard to overcome laziness for data privacy in this case. I don't mind writing to most people via Threema and some others via Silent Circle ...

 

Some crazy roofing pictures ... http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/02/20/hong-kong-meets-heart-attack-spectacular-rooftopping-photos-show-city

 

A list of companies that use products of Monsanto ...

 

 

Habt ihr neulich auch die Doku über Krupp gesehen? Da wurde wieder gezeigt, woher der Ausdruck "Hart wie Kruppstahl" eigentlich kommt, von Adolf Hitler! Is so ähnlich wie die Geschichte der Quandts, wobei ThyssenKrupp ja nun zum Großteil eine gemeinnütze Stiftung ist und die Erben im Gegensatz zu den Quandts ihre maßgebliche Rolle im Nationalsozialismus versucht haben, durch Entschädigungszahlungen wieder gut zu machen ...

 

Did you know that the hyped brand Hollister wasn't founded in 1922 like they print on their shirts? It's just made up, the brand is from 2000 and owned bei Abercrombie. 1922 just looks better ...

 

And finally I have to post what bugs me for years. Apple is using some idiotically made-up versions of photos of their MacBook Airs that are simply false compared to the real world laptops. They even have those photos in gigantic size in their stores and nobody seems to care, not even the staff itself. Come on, this is ridiculous. And they have different versions on the same actual website when you scroll down. Stupid!

 

The right one is completely made up and has nothing to do with how a 13" looks bezel-wise. 

This is how the bezel actually looks in reality. Look at the completely wrong position of the iSight camera ...

 

 

Don't get spoofed during the weekend ...

 

KIKI

 

 

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