web performance|δικτυακή παράσταση

adversities: dog day

Marios — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:20:42 +0000

Yesterday afternoon I took my camera with my favorite -and only prime- lens, the EF 50mm f/1.8, to exploit the rare light of the upcoming storm.

The weather conditions were difficult and the beach isn’t a good place to be with an entry level camera when heavy wind duels around you.

I was hoping for a good static shot, when suddenly I saw this black dog heading into my frame. I shot immediately without thinking and the shutter clicked at the right moment.

Definitely one of my favorite photographs. Click to enlarge.

before instagram -and a bit of a rant

Marios — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:25:08 +0000

These days social networks’ inhabitants can often be divided into pro-instagram and anti-instagram.

The former usually don’t put much thought into it, they just post happily their photographs after a quick post-processing with instagram’s filters. The latter are either tired of the way more than we need and are able to follow through human measure instagram posts or can’t put up with the fact that instagram processed photographs are often mistaken (a strong word, I know, a stronger one comes soon) for art and, as a further consequence, sometimes act as an excuse for pro-instagrammers to post complete and utter bullshit (I told you).

Let’s start with the easiest case to understand; when someone thinks of something as art, automatically drops any logical thresholds that may apply prior to sharing it on a social network. A bad photograph won’t get any better with instagram. You can’t filter out a bad shot. It is as simple as that.

The other case is when we have a photograph worthy to share on a social network but not in the form of art per se. There are many definitions for art and I wouldn’t dare to choose any single one to present as the norm. What I believe though to be a prerequisite for it, is a mix of self creativity -even in the form of imitation- and the investment of personal time. Instagram, in the common case, almost minimizes these two conditions to null. When prerequisites for art are minimized to such an extend, the result unavoidably becomes kitch and bothers.

Of course I have to admit that there are numerous talented people using instagram and the above doesn’t apply to them. Also there are people not that talented but with an understanding of which photo can be instagrammed and which should be uploaded to other photo-hosts without any effects applied. The problem is that the vast majority of instagram bombing we get daily, isn’t coming from them.

Below is an old post-processed photograph of mine. I shot it and edited it about 6 years before instagram was born. It may not qualify as art but I can assure you that a certain amount of time and thought was invested during both the scene composition and the edit process.

Granny Hair

Marios — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:44:11 +0000

The Greek phrase for cotton candy is granny hair. This photo was shot in June, at the old harbor of Chania, during a blackout. I like it because I see in it many values which would be nice to apply in our everyday life; family, hard work, respect of our past.

What is your favorite…

Marios — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:55:29 +0000

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

how to choose who to follow on twitter

Marios — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:02:04 +0000

You are a heterosexual male. Your EQ (emotional quotient) isn’t something to brag about and most probably you wouldn’t want to brag about it anyway.

But here comes the difficult time of having to decide who to follow on twitter. Fear not my hairy friend. The illustrated algorithm below, which I devised upon whole minutes of research (but they seemed like ages mind you), can be your safe guide to choosing followers. It covers only 99% of cases but I had to keep it short, because I respect your short attention span and that’s the kind of man I am.

Without any further delay, I present you the algorithm of how to choose who to follow on twitter [for heterosexual males].

Right click, open link in new tab to enjoy in full size.

As long as the copyright notice remains visible in the image, feel free to use it for your own dirty purposes.

Porn vs War

Marios — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:55:14 +0000

Warning #1: This post may change the image you have for me, but it shouldn’t. Humor, in all of its instances, is a sign of a healthy mind.
Warning #2: If you aren’t comfortable reading about porn and despicable sex acts, please, do not read any further!

I’ve given a fair amount of thought in this post’s subject. What are the differences between war and porn, if any? Actually there are many. I won’t tire you with a long prologue, here are some of the differences I’ve found. If you can think of any more, post them!

Warlords come and conquer. Porn stars conquer and cum.
In war they provide you with a gun. In porn you come with your own.
In porn the enemy helps you get a headshot.
You can make war in the dark.
In porn you try to look good in the camera. In war you don’t want to look good.
In war everyone hates assholes. In porn everyone licks them.
In war women are spared. In porn there is no mercy for them.
In the army you shave your face. In the porn industry your genitals.
In war privates doesn’t get much publicity. In porn it is all about privates.
In war the enemy tries to avoid your load. In porn she tries to swallow it.
In porn you can’t wait to stand in front of enemy’s canons.
In porn the other side easily turns their backs on you.
In porn your enemy may ask you to violate her human rights.
In porn pain can be an aphrodisiac.
In porn you don’t see many helmets.
In porn 2 vs 1 is fair.
In war impalement is used as capital punishment.
In war you don’t want many opened fronts.

I may or may not update it in the future!

PS. Since I feel good about this, here is a photo for your viewing pleasure.

old photo, new post processing

Marios — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:45:33 +0000

Too much time has passed since my last published post -though my drafts keep piling. Today I want to share with you a photograph I took a long time ago, during a trip to Heraklion, Crete.

I knew from the moment my finger started moving toward the shutter button that I would love this shot. For some reason though I never post processed it till yesterday. I usually do not post process my photos but this one was shot at harsh conditions and needed some “repairs”. In the end my “repairs” were more creative than what I originally planned but I am satisfied with the result.

Sad [melancholic] Dog, click to enlarge

Wallpaper: KDE – permanent type

Marios — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:05:03 +0000

This is the fourth and last wallpaper of the KDE wallpapers week. It is the less “clean” image in this series. I think that it doesn’t match up well with widgets but if you have a virtual desktop clean of plasmoids you will love it. It is so good it may even get you a girlfriend! :p

for 4:3 monitors
- KDE - permanent type - 1600x1200
for 5:4 monitors
- KDE - permanent type - 1280x1024
for 16:10 monitors
for 16:9 monitors
- KDE - permanent type - 1920x1080

KDE – permanent type by Marios Andreopoulos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.andmarios.com/lang/en/contact/.

KDE and the KDE logo are trademarks of KDE e.V.

Wallpaper: KDE logo textured

Marios — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:02:06 +0000

The third KDE wallpaper is here. It is a photo of a textured version of the KDE logo. If your monitor is too bright it may not look good.

for 4:3 monitors
- KDE logo textured - 1600x1200
for 5:4 monitors
- KDE logo textured - 1280x1024
for 16:10 monitors
for 16:9 monitors
- KDE logo textured - 1920x1080

KDE logo textured by Marios Andreopoulos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.andmarios.com/lang/en/contact/.

KDE and the KDE logo are trademarks of KDE e.V.

Wallpaper: powered by KDE – plain

Marios — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:17:54 +0000

As promised here is the plain version of the wallpaper. Again shot with the Canon 500D – EF 50mm f/1.8 and edited with GIMP.

for 4:3 monitors
- powered by KDE - plain - 1600x1200
for 5:4 monitors για οθόνες με αναλογία 5:4
- powered by KDE - plain - 1280x1024
for 16:10 monitors
for 16:9 monitors
- powered by KDE - plain - 1920x1080

powered by KDE – plain by Marios Andreopoulos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.andmarios.com/lang/en/contact/.

KDE is a trademark of KDE e.V.