06 November, 2010
03 November, 2010
The 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G?
Hi guys, currently I own a 70-300mm f/4-5.6G and a fast prime 50mm f/1.8D. Since March when I got my D700 and the two mentioned lens I got plenty of occasions to use it.
And as I grew accustomed to the D700, I came to realize what a pain in the neck could be when you see this awesome building, and you want to capture all the facade in one shot. I – most of the times – have the 70-300mm on, and from a reasonable distance, that's impossible to!
Now, if I want to catch let's say this facade with the 70-300mm, or a decent portrait, I either have to walk away to put some distance between me and the building or the subject, or... to spare 2 mins to remove the 70-300mm and to put on the prime 50mm.
With the 50mm, another pain! Is a prime lens, although fast, but rigid (!) – it gives me no focal range, and I need focal flexibility, especially if I'm in a dynamic environment.
See my point? The 70-300mm gives me a nice focal range, but it lacks wideness. The 50mm is wider – true – but rigid nevertheless. I am a casual photographer, and almost always I find myself at times when I need wide-angle. My actual gear does not match my expectations... I need a multi-purpose lens, to avoid switching from one to another, or to walk in and out on the subject.
So that's why I was considering purchasing a zoom wide-angle lens, either the 24-85mm f/2.8-4D IF, or the 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. But! Nikon has just released the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G... which sort of caught my eye.
This is only 4mm narrower at the wide end than the 24-85mm and the 24-120mm, but goes all the way to 300mm. Let's not forget that Nikon threw in the VRII, the ED glass, which I miss on my actual 70-300.
I know that if I intend to go wide-angle, every mm counts at the wide end... my question is: would I be getting a good deal should I "sacrifice" the 4mm at the wide end, but I win on the telephoto end at least 180mm? As I said, I'm a casual photographer and I need a multi-purpose lens... I'd drop my two lens right away should I buy this one.
PS: follow this thread here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikond700/discuss/72157625179484813/
27 October, 2010
How to test your shortsightedness
It did not work for me. I see Einstein.
I can only see Marilyn in the thumbnail version, though: 
*from http://www.dump.com/2010/10/27/are-you-short-sighted-pic/
26 October, 2010
No cat, no nail
I woke up this morning having a litle scratch on the tip of my nose: I aint got no cat, no sharp nails, no girl with sharp nails, no devices having scratch-enabled mode on hidden in my pillow, and… I'm no sleepwalker.
25 October, 2010
10:57
I noticed I have an inner aggressiveness directed at two certain individuals from my close circle of people, and I can't seem to be able to get rid of it. Although I am calm and peaceful and rarely ever violent or aggressive, it seems that even the mere sound of their voices drives me nuts. I am not sure if they've noticed my hostility towards them, but for whatever reason they act nice and show interest in my persona. And this is 1 more reason in + to make me bite my fist! This is not normal! You don't act nice when somebody is hostile to you, the least you could do is ignore!
...and I can't control it. Hate it when there's one thing about me I can't control. I like to think about myself that I am a good, carrying and positive person, that I have high spiritual values, but slowly I start to believe that trying to stay positive and good in an environment totally gone the opposite way would finally assimilate the one opposing it. Is all gettin' me...
15 July, 2010
Away for 1 month
Counting from… NOW!
I’ll be travelling for 1 month, I will [re]visit the western Europe, Italy, Spain, France, Italy. Back in Prague on the 16th of August.
I’ll be mostly posting on my facebook page… presuming I manage to access internet.
27 June, 2010
Perle din liceu
Am facut liceul in Uzina II in Brasov. Dl. Vasile Macovei, cel mai stimat si apreciat profesor din scoala, avea un stil aparte, prin care te facea fie sa il super simpatizezi, fie sa nu. Nu cred ca ar fi existat alta alternativa. In clasa a 12-a a fost promovat ca director.
Faceam fizica cu dansul. La una dintre ore, se uita la un coleg ce purta cercel. Se uita atent, oarecum insistent, incearca sa spuna ceva, ezita… apoi intr-un final i se adreseaza:
- Comane, cercelu’ ala al tau spune multe…
- Ce spune, dom’ profesor?
- …creier mic.
- Cum de stiti asta, dom’ profesor?
Si oarecum ne asteptam sa ii dea un raspuns serios, sau sa deschida o dezbatere. Dar in schimb, zambind in barba, abia stapanindu-se sa nu pufneasca in ras, ii raspunde linistit:
- Pai am purtat si io vreo doi ani…
____________
Alta, si mai tare decat cea anterioara! De data asta protagonistii din “perla” sunt moldovenii. Intr-o atmosfera fff relaxata si funny, profu’ ne facea o descriere detaliata despre cat de lenesi sunt ei, despre cat de alcolisti si inceti la minte sunt + pacostea Romaniei, etc etc. Acestui discurs i-a urmat desigur intrebarea fireasca:
- Cum de stiti asta, dom’ profesor?
Si raspunsul – care efectiv ne-a dat pe spate pe toti – nu a intarziat sa apara:
- …pai sunt din Vaslui!!
Imagineaza-ti rasete pe urma 
. Ani de liceu, vai!! Ce mi-i dor!
26 June, 2010
[Prague Castle] View from the attic
The Prague Castle. Shot taken from Petrin Tower, at 21:50 local time. Not completely dark outside, and I exposed for 6 s only. This is a huge 26,3 megapixel image, in real size it is 2,82 x 1,15 meters if printed @72 dpi. See it a little larger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~About me: website | facebook | flickr | deviantArt | last.fm | twitter | youtube | contact
*automatically published via Blog this! from flickr.
20 June, 2010
Harmony... in perfect harmony
[Floare frumoasa] ...simple, so pure and serene... the beauty lies within. A tribute to the Greatness of our Creator.
A song which touches... a song I like very much, an enhancer of the mood created by this image.
Within Temptation: In Perfect Harmony
About me: website | facebook | flickr | deviantArt | last.fm | twitter | youtube | contact
*automatically published via Blog this! from flickr.
06 June, 2010
...everlasting beauty
26 May, 2010
...as it flows
The world around us revolves and evolves. Take a second to look around. Under a different light... everything is different.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~About me: website | facebook | flickr | deviantArt | last.fm | twitter | youtube | contact
*automatically published via Blog this! from flickr.
23 May, 2010
...a photographer's dream_Red tulip
Capturing the beauties of spring.
One of the benefits of having a pro account on Flickr is that you get to see where people are coming from to your photo stream. That’s how I’ve learned that they have “stolen” my picture! http://travelicio.us/f/Prague/4631564618/...a+photographer's+dream_Red+tulip/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~About me: website | facebook | flickr | deviantArt | last.fm | twitter | youtube | contact
*automatically published via Blog this! from flickr.
14 May, 2010
A white tulip
11 May, 2010
The magic of Prague
It was a rainy day, cold and gray. It did not feel like spring. However, since I never tested my camera in a light of this kind, I decided to go out and just take a picture. The picture is taken in a place called Namesti Miru in Prague, Czech Republic. It is always a nice place to see, despite the bad weather.
This is a picture of 20,3 mega pixels. Huge. Very huge! For this reason the details are so small, people, benches, so small. In real size it is 1,20 x 2,10 meters, in prints of 72 dpi.
About me: website | facebook | flickr | deviantArt | last.fm | twitter | youtube | contact
*automatically published via Blog this! from flickr.
02 May, 2010
Books for sale
Ahoj people, during the years I have collected quite a few books. Now I am selling these that are in English.
Have a look at the pictures below:
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: 200 CZK [SOLD]
Theresa Breslin: The Medici Seal: 200 CZK
Michael Newton: Journey of Souls. 150 CZK. [Booked for my brother] 
John Gray: How to get what you want and want what you have: 150 CZK [SOLD]
Mark McElroy: Lucid Dreaming for Beginners. 150 CZK
Raymond Khoury: The Last Templar. 150 CZK
Tom Rob Smith: Child 44. 150 CZK
Dan Brown: Angels and Demons. 150 CZK
Dan Brown: Digital Fortress. 150 CZK
Dan Brown: Deception Point. 150 CZK
Dan Brown: The DaVinci Code. 200 CZK
Lewis Carroll: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 50 CZK [SOLD]
Kuthumi and Djwal Kul: The Human Aura. 50 CZK [SOLD]
World Facts. 50 CZK [SOLD] 
Nicholas Evans: The Horse Whisperer. 50 CZK
John Jakes: The Gods of Newport. 50 CZK
John Irving: Setting Free The Bears. 100 CZK
Joseph Murphy: The Power of your Subconscious Mind. 150CZK
Dictionary of Literary Quotations. 200 CZK.
All of them were read at least 2x. I always take care of my books, and they are in excellent condition. They look exactly as you see in the above pictures. For one simple reason I will sell in Prague only: I do not speak Czech and the ladies from Ceska Posta do not speak English… and to make it simple I will avoid that. The only way to deliver them is in person only.
If you buy them all, or to make multiple purchases and not buy them individually, you will get a 15% discount (perhaps the Dan Brown pack?). If interested, contact me and let’s discuss details.
25 April, 2010
…a story in the sunset
Part of the “I FEEL” series, this picture was taken while visiting my parents in July 2009, right after a storm on the Italian beaches. I tried to capture a story, and it was yesterday to have seen it…
23 April, 2010
Quiz
Today I won a little reward for being the first one to answer a sort of quiz @work. In exchange, I came up with one of my own:
In a typical Wild West saloon, somewhere in the 1800s, in one late night three cowboys were playing poker at one of the tables. The setting was specific to those times, an oil lamp lit in the corner, other cowboys at the bar making jokes and drinking whisky, old wild-west typical three-legged wooden tables and chairs, the sheriff and his deputy at another table nearby.
Suddenly, a breeze of wind extinguishes the lamp that was lit in the corner and the whole saloon goes dark. A gunshot is heard and when the barman lights up the lamp again one of the three cowboys that were playing poker was lying on the ground, shot. The sheriff who was seated nearby comes to investigate. He asks one of the dead cowboy’s friends:
- What were you doing when your friend was shot?
- (without hesitation) …the table was moving so I put a match box under one of the legs to prevent it from shaking.
Sheriff seems happy with this answer so he goes to ask the second cowboy:
- And what about you, what were you doing when your friend was shot?
- (very much hesitant, avoiding to look the sheriff in the eye) …I was… I was trying to pull an ace out of my sleeve, to win this hand.
After he thinks everything over, the sheriff rises up in front of them and says: “One of the two of you is a liar”. After several seconds, he points his finger to one of the two cowboys and says: “You’ve killed him”.
Question for you is: How did the sheriff find out who’s the killer and trying to hide his crime with a lie?
Whoever gives the first answer correctly gets a reward. The same that I got, actually :D. You can pick it up from my desk
From:
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:38 AM
To: ###, Adeline; ###, Damien; ###, Antonin; ###, Giuliano; ###, Fulvia;
Subject: RE: So tell me?
Let me announce the winner!!
Cris answered correctly. Congratulations
Best regards,
Veronika
From:
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:34 AM
To:
Subject: RE: So tell me?
J)))))))))))
Answer is 9 :D
It’s a fish! What do fish do? Live in water and do not drown, lol :D
Am I too late to respond? :D
From:
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:30 AM
To:
Subject: FW: So tell me?
Who has the answer will get a reward!!!
Veronika
From:
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 7:41 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: So tell me?
If 9 fish were in a fish bowl 4 fish drown how many r left?
06 April, 2010
Joke of today
Man speaks to God:
- Dear Lord, why have you created the woman to be so beautiful?
- So you could love her.
- Dear Lord, why have you made her so dumb?
- So she could love you!
25 March, 2010
NIKON Camera Bag II for sale
Hi folks. I have a brand new Nikon Camera Bag II for sale. Brand new, never been used. The reason I am putting it up for sale is that it is too small for my gear. And I personally am still searching for something larger fit enough to carry my stuff. The price is CZK1,200 (slightly negotiable), and the only way to deliver it is in person.
I won’t mail it since I don’t speak Czech and the ladies from the Ceska Posta don’t speak English. To avoid all that I decided I will sell it only here in Prague. Please see a picture of what it looks like below. Click the picture to see the full size.
If interested, contact me and let’s discuss details.
27MAR10 11:00 – ITEM SOLD –
24 March, 2010
The world is going to an end [at least I dream so]
It is not very common to have a dream in one random night and to continue it in the very following one. I personally can’t recall when this last happened to me… until lately.
Two nights ago I had the weirdest dream of all. I dreamt I was somewhere in the US, I felt it as Miami, and I was so much amazed of the city. White beaches, summer all the way, palm trees everywhere. Suddenly the weather changed, it turned rainy, windy and it was about dawn. As I was wandering off streets at some point people started screaming and running towards the opposite direction I was heading to… I turn my eyes and what do I see? There was the biggest tsunami ever, coming to smash everything in its way. Everybody was screaming and running in panic, and I… I just stood there.
I almost forgot about this dream… until last night. As I doze off to sleep, I dreamt I was in a post-big-catastrophe. The city around me was ruined following a global cataclysm, there were cars smashed everywhere, there was chaos all around. People were crying on the streets and the next I see was a supermarket, partially destroyed. I was inside, under a security camera. I was looting for food, and not minding at all that cam that was on me.
I woke up feeling very uncomfortable. I thought to myself, to give myself some peace of mind that there is no sea where I live now (that’s Prague in the Czech Republic). There is no sea. And I definitely don’t plan to move to the US.
22 March, 2010
Weirdoes-freaks
As I was in the tram going to work, in the morning, I’ve seen a transvestite. A real obvious one. I don’t personally have anything against queers or gays or any other dysfunctional minorities, I just found it… interesting. Why so? He was like 50-60 years old, very bad and pronounced make-up, ultra-red fake nails, bald and partially blonde, big-framed pink (!!!) glasses and had his hands full of kitsch-jewelries. A lame attempt to de-masculine himself.
That was in the morning.
In the evening, on the way back, same tram. This time who do I see? Another “lost brother”, this one would wear a black long cloak (just like the guy who played the Crow if you remember), and black glasses that covered half of his face. I must say that I finished work at 20h20, and outside is getting dark starting around ~19h00, yet the guy was wearing sun glasses, and black (anti UV from the fluorescent tubes in the tram – I take my lucky guess). This one was around 12-14 years old max I’d say.
The funny thing is that they both seemed quite normal, enjoying what they were doing, without too much troubling them. Not quite a sight one sees everyday
17 March, 2010
My Nikon D700 arrived!
This post is not intended to be useful in any way, there is nothing interesting in it, really, except for some people that are close to me.
My Nikon D700 is finally here!!!! Finally!!! Now I am only waiting for a 70-300mm glass to arrive (slow eBay!), and... I'll go shooting!!! Can’t wait!!
They’ve charged me customs a hell lot, if I compare to what I would have paid if I were to buy it from HKG or Japan for instance. But hey! I am sure it is worth every extra penny (koruna, actually :D) that went into the pockets of some guys that work for the Customs Office. Never mind that now, though :D
04 March, 2010
New Opera 10.50 menu bar
Hi folks, tonight I’ve just discovered the latest version of Opera. The v10.50 is finally released! And as I was too much thrilled by its looks and its new functionalities (check the change log on Opera.com), one thing I’ve noticed to be missing.
As many pro users of Opera out there, I’ve customized to its maximum, to be able to get the maximum of visuals and functionality from it. My previous version was v10.10. I’ve personalized most of the toolbars, tab-bars and so on. And when I installed the new 10.50 version I’ve chosen Upgrade from the setup menu (to keep all my settings intact).
But! this is where “trouble” came from. Its new design didn’t seem to go on well with my settings customized for v10.10. My hardest trouble seemed to be finding the menu bar, to access the Tools –> Preferences settings (which is actually what I care for).
After hours of searching and researching, I’ve discovered a way. I am going to share the way to get back your traditional old-school menu which is now gone in v10.50.
I don’t know if you’re able to see all the details from the below screen shots in the size of my blog, that’s why I’ve made the pictures clickable to get the full-size version once you click them. That’s how my new Opera looked like once I’ve upgraded from v10.10. No menu bar at all. At this stage, impossible to access it.
To get access to the menu you will have two options. Either you reset the tab bar to its defaults, or you drag and drop the menu button from the Customization menu. I’ve chosen Reset to default. The steps: Right click anywhere on the tab bar, choose Personalization, then Reset to Default (I am using the French version, so I hope I am giving the exact translations).
And this is how it will look like once it is reset to its default appearance. You will notice a little red button with a half white O on it, in the left side of the tab bar.
That’s the standard “menu” in Opera 10.50. You would have gotten this if you were to install a fresh copy, with default settings. To get this button as a menu bar, as in most Windows pre-7 applications, follow the steps in the picture below:
Once you click Show menu as a bar (…? hope I got it right from French), it will turn out like this. However, please be advised that the menu bar is now Win 7 friendly. Does not support the Aero feature which is – as a matter of fact – present in rest of the Opera. But not the menu bar. It looks like this, non-transparent and boring:
And if you agree that indeed it destroys the good looks of the shinny new Opera, there is one way to get rid it of it. Either to place it back as a button in a toolbar(which you can drop anywhere you like), or remove it completely. To do so, click File, then uncheck the box saying Show the menu as a bar. Once you do that, it will be placed as a button as you saw in a picture above.
That’s it. Hope it will come in handy to other people who might have had same troubles as me. Enjoy your new Opera!
28 February, 2010
A dice in Photoshop
Spent half of the yesterday’s night and most of this Sunday on what you see below:
(Picture is clickable, it will take you to its Flickr page)
The dice used in this project was created in POV-Ray by unknown author. What you see here is pure Adobe Photoshop CS4. Full version 1920x1080 (without logo) is available for download here. Thanks for watching!
27 February, 2010
Available wi-fi networks in my flat
That’s one:
That’s Deathstar. Now there is one more available network:
And Deathstar sux :D
These are my creative Czech neighbors, with password-protected networks. Excepting one of the “stars”, though.
21 February, 2010
Chuck Norris vs. Berlusconi
We’ve seen Chuck Norris vs. Google in a previous post, let’s now have a look now at what happens when Chuck Norris meets Silvio Berlusconi.via http://www.funnymos.com/obamas-revenge.html
19 February, 2010
Chuck Norris vs. Google
1. Go to www.Google.com
2. Type in the search: “Where can I find Chuck Norris in Google”
3. Click I’m feeling Lucky
4. Run before he finds you 
Check what happens when Chuck Norris meets Silvio Berlusconi.
04 February, 2010
That’s the raw power of Adobe Photoshop CS4!
Hi folks. I’ve been again playing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 and this time I used a cat model found online by a friend of mine who sent it to me. I’ve decided to use it as a base to start to create a larger picture. And… this is what I came with this time. Picture is clickable (will open in a new window), it will take you to my Flickr page, where I usually publish my pictures.
As usual, I work on the 1080p resolution, to match the size of my monitor (1920x1080). The version for download has no logo embedded, this is only used for display purposes. Please find the full size no-logo version here.
*Cat model created by Borisov Taisiya. Although it was a public, I believe he deserves the credits. Thank you for the inspiration!
13 January, 2010
Goo Google!
After spending a considerable amount of time working, I finally managed to come up with two other wallpapers. Please find them below!
As usual, I work on 1080p resolution (1920x1080) to match the size of my monitor.
Below the text is taken from Google Czech Republic. Text is in English.
Available for download here.
Download the 1280x1024 version here.
Here the text is taken from Google Japan. Text is partially English and partially Japanese.
Available for download here.
Download the 1280x1024 version here.
