Learning how to shoot

1. Keep ISO value as low as possible - high ISO values produce noise on photos. Sports mode usually sets ISO high, so it is better to use manual mode.
   
2. High aperture value means little light coming in, and it is not suitable for moving objects
   
3. Spring is here.
   
   

Nelson

We found him last year, almost dead, undernourished and with a broken tail. His tail is now in L shape, but it doesn't seem to bother him.
He grew into everyone's favourite cat. :)
He's fearless, and loves to be around people. If you kick a ball in his diresction, you must only hope it won't hit him, because he won't step away..

Cameras...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30, which I almost bought happens to make too much noise on photos.. And also it is quite large, and battery performance is worse than on Canon. So, it's ruled out, for now.

Then I got excited about Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 , it even costs less, and hass all I need. BUT, you can't zoom in movie mode. Damn. I really like that :)


Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8

Hmm, what about a new camera?

Digital camera is one of the things I love to shop for. Even more than a car, I guess. I'm sure I'll read more reviews and test for a camera, as I did for a car.. :)

First big dilemma: SLR or compact.

Since I am not, and I never will be a professional photographer, and I will probably never buy those big extra lenses, because I just don't wanna carry them around, I am leaning towards a good compact camera. There are some pluses also for SLR, but I want a camera which can always be with me, not too heavy, and after all, not too complicated.

Though, I like how those professional cameras look, specially Nikon D80..

So, after I excluded all ballast, I've come down to these 2 cameras. They both have good reviews, zoooooom and many manual settings.. And, also they look like professional :)

Oh, and my camera must be able to make good movies, that's a must. (none of the SLR cameras is able of recording movies )


Canon PowerShot S3 IS


Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30

Actually before I only considered brands like Olympus, Nikon, Canon.. classics. But this Panasonic, hmm..looks great.

Annie Hall

Another movie that deserves an entry.
It's hilarious, I haven't been so amused in a very long time :). And I've probably seen it before, as a kid.
I didn't recognize Diane Keaton, who is just marvelous in this movie..

----------
"I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member."
----------
[In California]
Annie Hall: It's so clean out here.
Alvy Singer: That's because they don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows.
----------
[Alvy and Annie are seeing their therapists at the same time on a split screen]
Alvy Singer's Therapist: How often do you sleep together?
Annie Hall's Therapist: Do you have sex often?
Alvy Singer: [lamenting] Hardly ever. Maybe three times a week.
Annie Hall: [annoyed] Constantly. I'd say three times a week.
----------

...

Ups, it's in video mode :-)

Antalya 02/2007 - the Gallery

*click the photo for the whole gallery

From the bus

duck you

i little re-arranged their fingers. hehe

Back from the U.S.S.R. Turkey

Travel agency nonsense

They're selling a traveling package for certain price for 2 persons, flight, everything included.

I told them, 1 person won't fly, she will just use all other services.

For that they charge extra 40€!

Explanation: Because 1 person WON'T use the flight, you must pay extra.

So, NOT using 1 seat at the airplane, NOT paying flight taxes and for giving them a chance to sell the ticket to somebody else, costs money.

Makes sense?

Winter?

*+15C

Photo archive / ŠTUK - 5.11.2001

Caught in the act - me and my friend, behind the the guy with the beard aka "Bin Laden"..

*Legal notice: He is not real Bin Laden, we just used to call him that at that time

€

Here they are - Slovenian (Slovene?!) Euro coins.
Let's mingle...

Booze

Christmas

Kahlúa® hount

We went hunting. Not like in old times, with bows and arrows, but with a cell phone, car and a shopping basket.
The pray: Kahlua liquor.

The darn thing is pretty hard to find over here. And there's no real White Russian without it.
So we went to all the biggest shopping centers, cocktail bars, called remote liquor stores..and all we got was "we have some chocolate liquor, though... ". Thank you very much, but you can keep it..

But, finally, in a remote Cash&Carry store we find it! Victory! Yeah...

Now all we need more is alot of ice :P

PARTY

Decision has fallen. At the birthday party we will serve a White Russian.

Inspired by The Dude (or His Dudeness, or Duder, or, you know, El Duderino, if the speaker is not into the whole brevity thing) from The Big Lebowski.

Ingridients:
- 1 part of vodka
- 1 part of coffee liqueur (Kahlúa)
- 3 parts of milk or white cream

Buena Vista Social Club

I heard about it many times, I was never sure what it really is all about. Some club, I thought.

These days I got my hands on an album, called Rhythms del Mundo, by group called Buena Vista Social Club. It's full of famous guests, such as Coldplay, Sting, Dido, Arctic Monkeys, etc.. performing their own songs with Cuban music background. I loved it.

So I go on exploring, and I realize, there's also a movie with the same title. It's really a documentary. American musician Ry Cooder travels to Havana to find already forgotten, once famous musicians. They're all like 80 or more now.. All retired. He gathers them together to have one last recording. At the end they get faomus again and they put up a concert in New York at great Carnegie Hall . They haven't seen New York in 60 years or so. They all look so sincere and most of all - the music is great! I got touched very much, and I love the music..

And also, I would love to visit Cuba sometime.

Orchid

I gave it to my mother about a year ago. Then after a month blossom fell off. It was very healthy, in perfect condiotion for next few months, but it wouldn't blossom again. We already gave up, and then few weeks ago we notice something changing.
And then... look for yourself! If everything is well it can remain like that for months.. even a year. Orchids are great!

Some more:


Update 24.12.2006:

Sea horse

Damnit, I can't stop watching Family guy

Had a good day?

time for Rakı.

Had a bad day?

time for Rakı.

25.11, 12.20 AM

I just smoked a cigarette outside in a T-shirt and I wasn't cold at all. That just ain't normal.

Love Serenade...

Take it off
Baby, take it all off
I wanna see you the
way you came into the world
I dont wanna feel no clothes
I dont wanna see no panties
And take off that brassiere,
my dear
Everybody's gone
I'm taking the
receiver off the phone
Because baby you and me...
This
night....
We're gonna get it on
To love
serenade....

You know I get in these moods...
Well you know how it is
And I'm very glad to know
that you feel the same way too
Baby we're gonna lay
here...And we're gonna make love
And we're gonna
do it like its supposed to be done
Heaven only knows what
goes on behind closed doors
The very depths of our souls
will reach out tonight
You and me baby
In
love...serenade

Make me want you
Tempt me, tempt
me, tempt me
Make me need you
Let me long for you

You'll know what its like when a Man and Woman
become One
And the only real way you can do that baby
Is when we're makin' love to each other
When
you reach that
That simple feeling when you're makin
love it's..
It's like you're in another
world
Help me...
Help me...
Oh baby help me
Lord have mercy on me. 

Stop the world, I want to get off!

Love Serenade

I don't watch TV lately, except for news. Today at 12pm I remembered I could have a bite, and I turn on the TV.
This happens very rarely, that some movie comes along which perfectly captures your current mood, and unexpectedly attracts you.. Love Serenade did it for me tonight.

Now I gotta get every single song there was in the movie! It sounded like Barry White, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I loved it.

Diamond wedding

My grandfather and grandmother today celebrated 60 years of marriage.
60! That's alot. The priest who came, an old guy, didn't even know the ceremony, because it is so rare.
If I marry next year, I'll be 87 on my sixtieth anniversary, just like my grandfather.

Wind

I never liked wind. I remembered when I was a kid, and I was walking home from school, I used to be furious with trees, because I was convinced that they produce wind by moving their branches.

Now I want to apologize to them for my false judgment..

I like to have things in order..

You can't always get what you want

*But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

I have never thought I'll take this news so badly.

weeping

This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While we rock ourselves to sleep.
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long
No. I won't be weeping long

The perfect coffee

Hotel Eternity

The palm tree, the hill, the houses and the sky

Bird island

The view

Kusadasi

On the road again..

Ptuj-Ljubljana-Munich-Izmir-Kusadasi-Izmir-Munich-Ljubljana-Ptuj

Weather

There is first minus on horizon. I better move my catus inside.
And I feel sorry for those in Petersburg :P

Babe
It seems so long
Since you went away
And I
Just got to say
That it grows darker with the day

This album takes me someplace else..

Accident

This




...is what happens if you're observing speed meter on the bicycle instead of the road while going downhill, fast. And sand on the road helped too.

Fortunately I didn't wear a helmet, else it would be scratched by now..

Five little monkeys

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mumy called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

Breakfast

The omlete, my way. Seen the recipy on Oprah show few yeras ago, been folowing it since :)

When the corn is ready, it's time to harvest it..

3 hectars of corn, 10 people, 6 tractors and 1 combain.
Combain shreds it, 4 transpotres - delivering it home, 2 driving over it and arranging it in a neat pile, 2 helping, 1 drunk observing, 1 cooking.

In 5 hours time, the most important job for the farm is completed. During the whole year this corn will ve transformed into milk and meat...

Poli maraton

Poli marathon is the biggest cycling event for amateurs in Slovenia, and as I heard also one of the biggest ones in Europe of this kind. Since the course goes pass our house, of course I couldn't avoid it.

There was 6200 participants. There's just beautiful to see so many bikers at one place. And the weather was also sunny and very nice. Organisators did a good job, feeding all these people. They a bit exaggerated with fee, which was more than 20$. You also got a T-shirt, but I'm not very excited about cycling around advertising a sausage.. Well, we even got a medal at the end..



Today my legs are sore and I can hardly walk, because I was pedaling like crazy, maintaining speed at about 30 km/h most of the time on straight roads. Which is not so easy at all considering the course was 65 km long and considering that my bicycle is mountain bike with wide wheels, not optimum for such paved road, and this way alot of energy goes in vain comapring to specialised racing bikes..

Here's some snapshots, of not such good quality, taken with my phone:


Bikers gathering at end of the race..

Guys wearing the Poli shirt

One of the many after marathon parking spaces

Foooood

Crowd gathering in a tent after tha marathon

Conclusion: The even was extra nice. If there's a chance I'll definitely go next year again. I heard the rumors they're preapring even a longer course for well prepared cyclers, 100km long. Good motivation to train more.. And I'm still searching some fotos taken from helicopter from above. It must have been a great view at the start of the event.

And here's the schema of the course:



More photos can be found here and here and here and here and here, and a video here.

Flickr

Excellent photo sharing thing from Yahoo!.

Plenty of features, very nice design, many easy ways to upload, organise, share and do whatever you would expect from an online gallery. And all for free.

My gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prostoborut/
*if you want to see my private photos, you have to be my friend :)

Tour d'slovenske gorice (I wish)

I put on my cycling pants, tuck in my white undershirt, put on my cycling top over it. I put my phone in my back pocket, plug in the earphones to it, lay the earphoes cable under the shirt, and switch on Radio SI. It is 6PM, I'm thinking if I go now.. after 2 hours it still won't be too cold, so it's ok. I take the helmet, go in front of the mirror, adjust it, take some money. In my mind I'm deciding which course will I take today. I feel kinda lazy and I don't feel like too much hills. I'm thinking 30, 35 kilometers.

I go to the garage and... NO BIKE! What? Where is it? oh.. my brother! Damn. I call him. The phone rings in his room. DAMN!

And what am I gonna do now??!