26 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Tech Tips 10/14 - Better do a trip!

 

Mount Taranaki region, New Zealand 2009

 

If budget is limited don't spent your money on a new camera, spend it on a new trip. It's of much greater value to bring back new images with your old camera than shooting the same area, often your neighborhood, with a new one. Plus the images themselves won't be any better either. They may be bigger, sharper or with less noise but a boring image will always stay boring, no matter how expensive the camera is. It's much wiser to pick a destination and try to improve your photo taking abilities on the trip, learn to compose, to handle light, find out what's the best time of the day to take pictures or try to make interesting images of normal every day scenes. Reflecting before taking the picture will have a much bigger impact on your photos than having more Megapixels. Having expensive gear makes you feel less relaxed, too, because it really won't be the camera then when your photos stink ;-) ...

 

Happy shooting ...

 

KIKI

 

 

19 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
"The Khmer Smile" - NIKOLAIKIKI Exhibition 2014

 

 

I‘ve been to Cambodia in 2009 for the first time and apart from its beauty and treasures like Angkor you won‘t be able to overlook its terrible past.

 

The wounds of the Khmer Rouge horrors where between 1.7 and 2.2 million Cambodians were killed by their own people can still be seen in every day life. A lot of people in the streets have obvious scars, lost legs or arms or even their eyes due to the tortures and the millions of landmines, that are still a big problem even today. But nearly every Cambodian has its own sad story to tell.

 

It was even more the positive attitude the Cambodians express that stirred me, fascinated me and left me with deep respect. It also makes you think about what we people in the western world consider as problems. When you compare it to Cambodians and their fate it‘s somehow embarrassing or at least becomes relative.

 

I wanted to one day come back and try to capture this optimism and happiness that the Khmer people have and that is so intriguing. It almost seems this terrible past has made them even stronger now and nothing really could harm them anymore. But the people carry it calmly without self-pity and leave you deeply impressed by what I call „The Khmer Smile“.

 

The exhibition will show a selection of portraits of people I met on my journey in autumn 2013 and the many interviews I did during this time.

 

Opening event will be Saturday, 31 May 2014, at Galerie erstererster in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg and I‘d love you to come and click your glasses to my second exhibition and the realization of a wonderful and very personal project. There is also a facebook event here.

 

The exhibition will run till 17 June 2014.

 

Hope to see all of you!

 

KIKI

 

 

18 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Tech Tips 9/14 - How many Megapixels do you need?

 

Phone camera image, heavily cropped, less than 1 native Megapixel

 

How many Megapixels do you need? Depends how big you wanna enlarge, 10 MP is probably fine for everything. I print 120x80cm with 12,8 MP from time to time and the prints look stunning. It's much more important to put a sharp lens in front of your camera than blowing up an image that is not the sharpest in the first place. Megapixels are a sales pitch for years to make innocent people buy new cameras. After Megapixels came ISOs. Every modern camera can shoot in every light and give great looking images. The smaller the camera the noisier your night shots but the smallest pocket cameras are still pretty good. It's much more important to improve your techniques and really think before taking a picture to make it interesting. Framing, light, colour, expression, moment are all much more important than Megapixels. That's why women take better images most of the time. They don't care about tech, they care about the image. Think about it before dreaming of the next camera that might improve your photos, it won't and will save you a lot of money ...

 

KIKI

 

 

11 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Tech Tips 8/14 - The Leica M

 

 

photo credit Ken Rockwell 

 

If you have endless money to spend on digital cameras buy a new Leica M. You will get one of the most excellently crafted cameras with one of the best image qualities available, better than Canon or Nikon. Its images are superior because it is a range finder system with no mirror construction in the optical path, only the top-notch Leica lenses right in front of the images sensor. The images you get from a range finder are much sharper than from DSLRs because lenses for latter are optical compromises to fit the larger gap between lens and recording medium. If you can live with the Leica's shortcomings, especially what you see through the range finder is always a little different to what you get in your final image (you can use an electronic viewfinder now, however it looks silly), and you don't have autofocus. Before 1987 people had no autofocus either and have produced millions of masterpieces with their manual focus cameras (Henri Cartier-Bresson used a Leica, too). Anyway, have a look at the Leica M, it also looks spectacular, worlds better than the clunky black DSLRs. It's made in Germany by the way, that's why it doesn't cost 2.000 but 7.000 € ...

 

KIKI

 

 

9 Mar, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Tech Tips 7/14 - What lenses to buy?

 

35mm equivalent

 

What lenses do you need for a camera? It totally depends. Speaking for myself, if I only had one lens to choose for a camera, in which case you can take any compact or other fixed lens camera, it would be a 24-100mm equivalent lens.

 

24mm equivalent

 

Anything wider or longer is nice but not necessary for me. 24mm on the other hand is the minimum I want in a camera, 28mm doesn't cut it for me, as is the standard with most kit zooms. 100mm on the other hand is more than fine for me, I prefer to step closer instead of taking pictures from a distance. In my eyes you take the most dramatic images with a wide lens as close as you can to your subject. A fixed focal lens camera like Fujis X100s are fine, too, and probably all you need, see, most people use their fixed focal lens phone camera as their only camera, but I couldn't live with only 35mm at the wide end. One zoom lens is fine today because all real cameras are good enough to take good images in any light. You don't need a fast prime lens to take better images, they only get you less noise when light gets darker. PLUS, almost all "slow" normal zooms have image stabilization today, which let's you take shake free images especially at night. I much rather have a one stop slower zoom with IS instead of one that is not stabilized as normal walk-around lens. And they are smaller, lighter and cheaper, too.

 

If I had two lenses to pick I would throw in a 50 1.4 equivalent.

 

50mm equivalent

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson only used a fixed 50mm lens on his Leica for all his life and his images are among the very best. If 50mm is fine for you, skip the slow 24-100mm zoom and only take the 50 or a 35, they are lighter, cheaper, faster, give you nicer background blur at those focal lengths and probably make you take better pictures because you have to zoom with your feet.

 

35mm equivalent

 

50mm is the classic focal length, it's a very cool perspective getting you quite close if you want and letting you keep a distance otherwise. Most motion picture scenes are shot at 50mm, which often leads to photos that remind you of classic movies. Pretty cool.

 

If I had three lenses to pick I would put the normal zoom away and take an ultra-wide instead, a 16-35mm for example, it's the zoom most press photographers use. It let's you get everything into the frame in tight places, putting the spectator right in the middle of the action.

 

16mm equivalent

 

I would keep the 50mm and add a long zoom like a 70-200. I used this set up almost entirely on my last trip in autumn. Probably next time I would take a second body to avoid the several hundred lens changes during a trip, but if you have some time you're really covered with this three lens combination for everything. I use the long zoom for landscape shots or posed portraits but not for documentary, for that the 16-35 plus the 50 are all I need.

 

 

144mm equivalent

 

Happy shooting and a sunny Sunday!

 

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

 

 

12 Feb, 2014
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
Weddings 2014

 

 

With wedding season ahead make sure to pick a photographer for your special day that takes images you can enjoy for the rest of your life. If you like my style I can cover your day from dress up till last dance. These are some of my photos from the last years ...

 

 

If you're interested just drop me a line.

 

KIKI

 

 

12 Dec, 2013
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
NIKOLAIKIKI Calender 2014

 

 

There you go! Those will be my twelve images for 2014, all of which are exclusively from this year's trip "East 13". The calender is available in black or white, handmade with 12 supreme glossy prints sized 27x18 cm, reusable afterwards for wall display. It makes for a nice Christmas present once again. 

 

Pricing is 59 € (incl. MwSt.), 30 % or 17,70 € go to the Philippines. I'll start shipping next week, worldwide as last year. I'll transfer the final donation to Deutsches Rotes Kreuz on 24. December and will publish all information.

 

To order the calender or any other NIKOLAIKIKI product as part of this year's Christmas event, just send me a message here.

 

Here are the images ...

 

Fisherman on Inle Lake, Myanmar

 

People waiting for sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

 

Inle Lake resident, Myanmar 

 

Girl in Tasma, Kyrgyzstan

 

Monk in Amarapura, Mandalay region, Myanmar

 

Tiles, Yangon, Myanmar

 

People on a truck, Jeti Oguz, Kyrgyzstan

 

Women, Sagain, Myanmar

 

Women with water buffalo, countryside, Myanmar

 

Pomegranates, Shanghai, China

 

Tram, Kiev, Ukraine

 

Nightscene, Shanghai

 

I wish all of you a happy Christmas time!

 

See you

 

KIKI

 

 

15 Nov, 2013
by KIKI
Author:
KIKI
NIKOLAIKIKI Special Project 2013/2014

 

 

Nearly one year has past, a lot has happened, good and bad things. You can’t care about everything in the world, but some people need the help of others more urgently than others. I want to use the recent devastating events on the Philippines, not far from where I am right now, as an opportunity to launch my second special event, the NIKOLAIKIKI project 2013/2014, for Christmas time this year, a little earlier than in 2012.

 

If you order any of the NIKOLAIKIKI products via personal mail here or into this NIKOLAIKIKI facebook page, 30% of the price (50% in case of postcards) will go directly to charity as transaction to the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz. I will send the collected money at the end of each week, starting next week. The final amount will be sent on 24th December.

 

You can have a look at the products in the NIKOLAIKIKI shop (please order via personal mail, though). I want to let you know again that the clothing collection and postcards are produced under best possible conditions, both fair trade and environmentally friendly. T-Shirts and Pants are made of organic cotton and carry the GOTS seal, a trustworthy certificate, guaranteeing sound labour laws, industrial safety, reasonable wages, no toxics, no child labour and much more. I have been to Turkey documenting the production in May. You may have a look and find the details here. In case of the prints you can order any subject seen on NIKOLAIKIKI, website or blogsite. Please understand this time that I can only send the money to charity after I received your transaction. I will send you the bank details via personal mail.

 

Prices in detail are: 29 € for a T-Shirt, plain or printed (8,70 € go to the Philippines), 19 € for the Pants (5,70 € to the Philippines), 20 € for a set of postcards (10 € to the Philippines), 69 € for the S prints (20,70 € go to the Philippines), 99 € for the M prints (29,70 € for the Philippines) and 129 € for the L prints (38,70 € got to the Philippines). I am again shipping worldwide.

 

I would like to ask you to be part of this year's event, helping the people on the Philippines urgently in need and helping NIKOLAIKIKI keeping up what just started this year, my dream of a multipurpose environmentally friendly company with the clear focus on what I love most, documentary photography.

 

You may as well invite your friends to the project.

 

Thanks a lot for your attention!

 

I keep you posted

 

KIKI

 

Update:

 

There will be a handmade calendar for 2014 available with 12 beautiful photos fitting each of the months. The photos will be supreme glossy prints that can be reused afterwards for wall display. It makes for a great Christmas gift once again. It's what my family gets every year :-)

 

I will be able to start shipping when I'm back in Berlin on 12th December.

 

Pricing will be 59 € plus shipping with 17,70 € going to the Philippines.

 

KIKI

 

 

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