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FlavMogo blog: • My recent photography in articles • News about the world of photography and the equipment • Current news and events • My take on all of the above

October 29, 2010

Flight delayed... Fuuuuuuuuu

First my train was an hour late, after sleeping like a russian drunk on very uncomfortable train seats i find myself in the thick fog covered city of Timisoara. Couldn't take the bus because of the train's delay, had to pay ten times more for a taxi. I arrived just in time.
Can't complain about the airport security cause i didn't get any problems, not even as much as a second glance, didn't even take my shoes off (yeey). After wandering like bum through the terminal people finally started queueing for the boarding, just to find out after 15 minutes that the flight was delayed by at least an hour due to weather conditions..like duh, you can't see more than 100 feet in front of you. Now i'm sitting on the airport tile floor, which is surprisingly clean (I think that they make people take their shoes off to clean them inside the x-ray machine lol), all the seats are taken, I wonder where will they fit all these people....
My consolation is that i finally get to see my girlfriend after 2 months of unsatisfactory (due to bad connections) of skype/google/yahoo chats. My reason for not going mad with rage is Beethoven's 6th symphony, and yeah, let's not forget venting trough writting, this helps too.
Now a guy startet playing the harmonica...why didn't they take that from him at the security check? Not only it can be transformed into a lethal weapon (yeah, i can name 10 ways you could kill someone with a harmonica) it's highly disturbing.
Now i'm just picturing him getting hit in the the mouth while playing, lodging the wide instrument into his throat like a scene from tom&jerry.

Can you name 10 ways a harmonica could be lethal?

October 28, 2010

Picture of the day: Cristi

My brother on his wedding day, 3 years ago. I was sporting a Canon Rebel XT back then (the 8 mpixel 350D) - my first camera that I owned.
Added a studio background, picture was an instantaneous with natural light. Slightly retouched.



CameraCanon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperturef/3.5
Focal Length28 mm
ISO Speed100
Exposure Bias0 EV
Date and Time (Original)2007:09:16 17:32:16
Lens was a 28-70/3.5-4.5. Doesn't appear in the EXIF data. Oldie but goldie, it was one of the first zoom autofocus lenses from Canon. It had a screw loose inside and i took it apart, was never able to put it back, though i didn't really try to be honest, it was worth seeing how a zoom EF lens is built and put together.

October 27, 2010

Picture of the day: Cristi & Anca 2

Proof that you can get nice bokeh even with a 4x zoom lens (but having a Full-Frame camera helps alot).


CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperturef/4.5
Focal Length105 mm
ISO Speed500
Exposure Bias-2/3 EV
LensEF28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM


Feedback is greatly appreciated!

October 25, 2010

Picture of the day: Panorama of Tarnița Lake


Some specs:
28mm, F/5, 1/60, iso 200. Right before the sunset. Several portrait shots stitched together. Original size was 5895 x 2206 px. Stitched in Panorama Factory, Sharpened and applied Curves in Photoshop.

October 24, 2010

Picture of the day: Oana


Oana on leafs.
I love how this photosession turned out
Check out more pictures from that session here.

Portraits: Oana in autumn


























General settings for most of the above pictures:
CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure1/50 - 1/2000
Aperturef/2.0 - f/4.5
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed500
Exposure Bias0 EV
SoftwareAdobe Photoshop CS5 Windows and some actions
LensEF50mm f/1.8 & EF28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

Comments and suggestions are welcomed!

October 23, 2010

Picture of the day: Panorama of Cluj

Taken two days ago from Feleacu Hill (the Cluj-Napoca's equivalent of Mulholland drive).




Taken with my Canon EOS 5D camera and EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens in the cold Thursday evening. Stitched with Panorama Factory and enhanced in Photoshop a tad.

To my followers and frequent visitors: Camera cake!


Yes... that is a cake, shaped like a camera! Hmmmmm, 1Ds with 50L ... :X :X yumm

October 22, 2010

Picture of the day: Cristi & Anca. Summertime

Taken in August.

CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperturef/2.0
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed100
Exposure Bias-1/3 EV
LensEF50mm f/1.8

Best lens for the money, ever = 50mm f/1.8

October 20, 2010

Picture of the day: Cristi si Anca

This is fresh out of the camera, taken less than 5 hours ago.

CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperturef/2.0
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed200
Exposure Bias-1/3 EV
LensEF50mm f/1.8

CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperturef/2.0
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed200
Exposure Bias-1/3 EV
LensEF50mm f/1.8

Which of the two pictures would you prefer?

October 19, 2010

Negreni V: Panoramas










Canon concept camera with 4096p video

Canon comes up with a new concept. Close to no information is available about it.
I'll start by showing you what they came up with at the World Expo in Shanghai. This is a concept, mind you, and as most concepts, it's presented as being Superman, when in fact it's Batman, and if any mass-produced product will follow, it will be Kick-ass.
Basically, it's a camcorder with a very big zoom, and of course, very good still imaging capabilities. Canon claims it has an infinite depth of field... my guess is that the sensor uses less pixels, using a smaller part of the sensor.
So, sit back and watch the fireworks.











Now, at the Canon Expo 2010, this month, they presented a new concept, more down-to-earth this time. This camera looks more realistic firstly for having an actual L lens they developed for this concept, adapted from video camera lenses, of course. It features a 2/3 inch (9/6mm) sensor - it's very small, but it packs 4096 pixel video according to Canon. It also takes 8 mpixel still images. The professional non-interchangeable lens has a 20x zoom: from the all satisfactory 24mm to the super-telephoto 480mm (35mm equivalent).








Canon's concepts: not MY future of photography
This is all very exciting... one thing bothers me - people who say the process of photography as we know it will be obsolete, that you will be able to capture very high definition video and never snap a shot, just take stills from the footage.
Yes it's convenient, but the process of taking the camera and knowing you only got one shot is what makes you constantly search for perspective, i think just filming everything and later taking stills will make "photographers" lazier.

October 17, 2010

Negreni IV

Another set from Negreni fleamarket.
Read all about in this previous article:














































Comments are encouraged! Thank you for viewing!

Victor Borge - At piano comedy

Victor Borge is the man who has fist merged comedy with classical music and became famous for doing so in public performances. I don't know his motivation for doing this, maybe danish people are just generally funny, I can tell you though that he was a very very good pianist, he did not do this just to achieve some fame, he could have very well continued to be a concert pianist. He was also a child prodigy, haven given his first recital at 5!
He left Denmark for the states in 1941 (damn nazis!) and didn't speak a word of english, but learned quickly from movies and such. He started doing performances for Bing Crosby, played in a movie with Sinatra and in 1946 he got his own show on NBC.
He carried out performing classically with and conducting some of the world's most renowned orchestras such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Always modest, he felt very honored when he was invited to conduct the Royal Danish Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992. He died 11 days before his 92nd birthday and left behind a great legacy of laughter and an original genre of comedy.
So here i present you this great playlist that's really worth your time if you know a thing or two about music, and even if you don't know a note or a composer you're guaranteed a chuckle.

ENJOY!

I LOL'd, a lot!

Reached 80 followers. Not that it matters very much, but i'm pleased to see there's so much interest in my personal blog. Thank you for visiting and coming back!

October 16, 2010

Picture of the day: Balloons at the end of the road

Yet another picture taken at the Negreni flea-market.


Exif data isn't really important for this one i think.
In a nutshell: 28mm, tight aperture, low iso, low contrast for the dynamic range.

October 15, 2010

Hohenzollernbrücke und die Köln Dom

Hohenzollern Bridge is one of the most iconic symbols of Cologne (Köln). You can see the Kölner Dom, which is also known as Cologne Cathedral if you are an anti-cultural philistine, in the background, the bridge is a straight pathway to it, the train tracks deviate only after reaching land. It has no roads just a walkway besides the tracks. It's a very beautiful structure and it's only shadowed as importance by the mighty Dom which has it's back turned to it.


CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperturef/8
Focal Length19 mm
ISO Speed50
Exposure Bias0 EV

Please comment if you want to.

My mom's a videographer now!

My mother just came from Israel 30 minutes ago. She went on a christian site-seeing tour. We gave her a Full HD video camera to record interesting stuff she wants to capture.We though she might not really use it, turns out she recharged it every night -yes- she depleted the battery daily, recording stuff.
I can't wait to see what kind of shots she got!
She might be lucky enough to get videos featured here! jk

P.S.: Daily Picture will be coming soon.

October 14, 2010

Romania in turmoil


Bucharest, Romania (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters rallied Tuesday in Bucharest over government austerity measures that have cut state salaries.
About 8,000 people demonstrated in front of the main government building, unions and security forces said, and they represented a wide range of sectors.
The protesters were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Emil Boc and his team for deciding on a 25-percent cut to all state employees' salaries as of July 1. The demonstrators want the money back and also want the government to raise the minimum wage stipulated in the current contracts.
They displayed red cards written with the words, "No to austerity."
A march then took place through the capital so the protesters could express their anger in front of other government ministries.
A delegation of protesters was due to meet Boc and the work minister later Tuesday, at the end of the protests, to discuss their demands, a government spokesman said.
The Bucharest protests were taking place a day before wider demonstrations over government austerity measures in more than a dozen other European countries.
The day of action Wednesday was being organized by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which includes trade unions from 36 European countries and says it has a total of 60 million members.
The main demonstration was planned for Brussels, Belgium, but a general strike was also planned in Spain, and workers were also expected to strike in Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, according to ETUC.
Source: CNN

My summary:
Romanian government cut state salaries by 25% this summer as a measure of alleviation of the financial crisis, in the same time rasing the VAT from 19% to 25%.
These measures brought very harsh critique from the people and some of the press. The Finnancial Ministry's employees are on strike rallying in front of the minister's office.
The people are asking for the resignation of prime-minister Emil Boc.

It's all understood: while Barack Obama tries to stimulate the economy, dumping money into the industries and financial institution, Traian Basescu, the romanian president (who I am honestly ashamed of and does not nor did he ever represent my thoughts about politics, society...and even the human condition. He once striked a kid right in his face because he was shouting "Go Geoana" - the opposition to the presidential chair for the 2009 election - right in front of the stage where Basescu was holding a populist narrowminded speech, he leaned down and striked the little boy in his face!)

All of this makes me sick to my stomach and I trully hate the condition this country has come to. A very big portion of the romanian work-force is state-employed and they suffer the most from these measures. It's a disgrace unworthy of a civilized European country.

Seriously Romania... this guy?... wtf?


My hands are clean, I never voted for him. Just as I always thought Bush was America's biggest mistake, since the moment he stepped in office.

Picture of the day: Eagle trough crowd

I took this picture at the Photokina 2008 event. They had a demonstration with eagles flying from one podium to the next. It's a panning shot, pretty difficult considering it was taken with a telephoto from the crowd, and yeah.. the subject was flying! The Canon 70-200 is an excellent lens considering the Canon EOS 5D has a mediocre AF speed - the 5D mark II isn't an improvement though - this is my main problem with the successor of the 5D which i crave anyway. I took very nice shots with the lens, including sports (soccer, from the outskirts of the field) - though i would really recommend a smaller sensor or a longer lens.


CameraCanon EOS 5D
Exposure0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperturef/4
Focal Length150 mm
ISO Speed400
Exposure Bias0 EV
LensEF70-200mm f/2.8L USM

This picture is completely unedited, the single modification to it is a slight crop and resize from it's original size.

October 13, 2010

More from Negreni

So sorry about the Ads :( will do something to fix the formatting problem soon.






































































Will post more this week.