This year I was the first time ever at the Amphi Festival . Therefore, I can say little to the previous location and describe only what I experienced with the Lanxass Arena. The new location is so constructed that the main stage took place in the infield of the arena and two smaller open air stages outside of the arena. The biggest acts should therefore be held indoor, while the food-mile and many shopping stores were outside. Here is the official PDF of the location.

After relaxing arrival Friday in hotel, Saturday morning I directly took a taxi to the arena. But before I got there at all, I got a phone call from my partner, who was already at the location a little earlier than me, while I was preparing myself in the hotel room. There was a storm warning for Cologne and the entire outside area has been closed. All guests were asked to go into the arena. Other open-air festivals in the area had to be canceled - but due to the large indoor area the Amphi could take place - but now unfortunately only in the arena. This has angered many visitors, which I can understand on the one hand, on the other hand but also not. Without the new location, the Amphi also have need to be canceled, like other open airs. On the other hand some bands could not arise, while others were moved to the arena. As a result, the schedule shifted.

Unfortunately, the communication of the organizer to visitor was not optimal. For important information about this particular situation and the changed running order were to little or not passed. For example, a band did not play (Wesselsky), which should regularly play in the arena, and without warning, an entirely different band built their scenery and their banners on, namely The Other. The visitors who were present actually because Wesselsky, marveled and wondered what was going on here now. Apparently had Wesselsky cancel (the reason for this is not known officially until today) and The Other jumped kindly spontaneously. Hey, I think it's great that a band that was not really planned, and who of course not prepared for this gig, has stepped in so spontaneously. But I must say that this situation of lack of communication for guests and band is not happy. Because people in front of the stage wanted to see Wesselsky and were one probably only because this band there. While The Other then maybe has an audience that one probably does not want to hear their music. I have observed many guests who left the area in front of the stage angry, disappointed or irritated.
If the communication bit run better, then this would certainly went a bit happier.

Overall, an arena is a very different feeling for a festival. As most festivals are open-air festivals, organizers, guests and musicians are extremely dependent on the weather. In bad weather, this can quickly turn into a mudslinging (such as this year's Wacken Open Air) or on the contrary - constantly the paramedics have to rescue people from the dehydrated roaring heat.
Depending on the wind direction, the sound can also sound pretty muddy or dull. Similarly, the lighting effects at lunchtime do not look so impressive like at night.
The toilet situation is often... even more supoptimal. Have to go in warm weather in stuffy Dixies... mh, I imagine better :D Often, this portable toilets are not always clean or equipped with enough toilet paper.

Quite different it was in the arena.

The storm outside has not at all bothered us inside (of course apart from the blocking of the outer region). The sound and the light was great always and at every seat. There were a lot of toilets (and they were clean) and there was always toilet paper! In my opinion, this is pure luxury for a festival. Especially for women with some elaborate costumes, for example, with a hoop skirt, it is rather cumbersome to force himself on a Dixie. The toilet situation was there really enjoyable.

Great attention should be given to the seating. Because in my experience, there are often not enough seating at festivals. Quite different it was in the arena. In addition to the infield, there were the seat rows around. Here I can only guess... maybe there were 15 rows in the first block, and in the other ranks also 7? In any case, there were a lot of seats. This means that every guest had the opportunity to see all the great acts on the main stage also comfortably seated. And I mean that literally - you could actually see the entire stage.

When I was already spending hours on my feet, I have enjoyed the opportunity to see a band sitting. Some musicians you might want to see only in passing, perhaps in order to bridge the time, perhaps because you do not like them so much and want to look at them only from the outside. If these seats not available, then I would have to stand further back and with my size I could not see more than the stage lights. So I think that these seats were really worth gold.

There are some disadvantages of course.

Due to the weather conditions on Saturday, guests were also forced to eat some of the food-mile of Lanxass Arena. The food was okay, not special. But it is precisely at a festival you might also like to try something new from what you just do not eat every day. But unfortunately we had Saturday no choice. I am sure that the service provider would also prefer open outdoors. For them, that was certainly half a disaster, because 50% of the time they could not earn any revenues and had to wait as well.

Another disadvantage of the arena is the waste situation. I'm not sure if it could not be otherwise resolved/allowed, or whether this was simply not considered. Because the Arena sold itself only drinks in disposable plastic cups. And you can certainly imagine what happens when hundreds, thousands of people buy a drink to put yourself thus before the stage and maybe remain some concerts there. There was no cup deposit and no bins in the infield, so these plastic cups were just stand there and left, where the visitors were. This meant that you had to dig through piles of garbage for later hour.
Even in the sales area of the arena, there was in my opinion too little trashcans. You had to be lucky to find one.

On Saturday evening, an official all-clear of the weather was pronounced, the outdoor area could be reopened, but this has lifted the mood of all participants not relevant. In addition, the weather was not good to 100% in the evening, and it was rather uncomfortable in the fresh air.

The Sunday was then as planned - luckily. The mood of the guests was much better and the prior owners were relieved that they can at least offer their services on this day.
Even the bands have noted that the audience was very good and have voted in favor, of course, delighted to celebrate together with the visitors.

For final conclusion played one of the headliners of the festival, VNV Nation. The light appeared in the arena really very atmospheric, the sound was good anyway.

My personal knowledge of Arena concerts is that the concerts were clearly visible from the rows of seats, and that relaxed sitting. The sight from "top" was gigantic, the lights, the effects, everything so great. If one is very broken and perhaps tired, these seats are optimal.
But one major drawback was the whole course: The feeling is just not the same as if you were in the infield right in front of the stage. Of the rows of seats from all seemed more like a movie you watched, I did not feel like "to be there". Quite a lot of feelings, the moody atmosphere, it all goes pretty much lost on the rows of seats, at least I think so. When the band on stage animated visitors to clap or similar, then I felt somehow not quite addressed to the seats up there. It was kind of a more just watching.

My task for the next concerts in an arena: Try to watch concerts, especially the headliners, from the infield :-) Just the finale of a festival is something special, I think. Even if one is very exhausted and tired at the end of an event, I want to at least try to see as many concerts as possible from the "bottom".

Here are some photographic impressions of the Amphi Festival 2015:

Whether a change of WhatsApp Messenger to another is useful in the past few months is still a hotly debated topic. Two clear fronts are emerging from all over the tumult:

There are even those who have had enough of Facebook's data collections and want to change the message service and those who do not see the reason to change, possibly even see it as an unnecessary "hype" and think that Facebook already has all the data anyway.

I do not want to explain both points of view and weigh the pros and cons here. But I desire to draw you closer to my opinion, argue and justify why a change could be perhaps considered. Well, I'll gladly respect to some statements that I've picked up in recent months.

1) Facebook has all data anyway

No, Facebook does not have! Sure, it may be that all data and phone book entries are stolen by the Facebook app on smartphones. Anything can be. This could then really any app. Of which in my opinion is not to be expected.

If I react so extremely sensitive to privacy, I can not dwell on the Internet, because I continuously leave traces there and I should certainly not install a free app. There is a saying: "If you download free, you pay with your data."
Accordingly, Facebook has "only" all the data that I send directly to Facebook, such as posts, images, videos, etc. Likes

2) WhatsApp has also previously stored all data, where is the problem now?

Here you could also say that the data may (or may not) have been used before the takeover, but then we are back to my arguments in point 1). It is and it was clear that WhatsApp is certainly not the most secure form of communication. Yet now there is Facebook, where "privacy" is not particularly notice what is putting it mildly. If you read the data usage guidelines there, you will find out that it you transfer a lot of data to the company and that the information may also be used. These data here are limited to all interactions on Facebook directly, not private messages via a news service such as WhatsApp. Secret or very private messages you should of course always present in person or by choosing a different path as social networks, etc.

Personally, I rarely post on Facebook and keep in touch with other mainly via another news service, because it seems to me privately. If this company so now receives all information and all telephone numbers within this communication traffic, then I feel personally more glass than it does already is.

3) Who cares what kind of messages I write? I do not care, they can quietly read.

For sure? There is no question that you will immediately arrested at the words "bomb threat" and "terror", because you present a potential danger. But it is more about data, your personal data, the business with your data and advertising. Sure you could be spied in this sense. This could be theoretically anywhere if you are connected to the Internet. Who can be safely there today.

In my opinion we should all be more careful and more conscious especially with our data. As I said it is not mainly about the messages, but also the whole phonebook entries and later the link to Facebook profiles and other information from the huge data collection. Everyone would be then quite open. It must be aware of each that every little action on Facebook will be recorded and put together like a puzzle piece to a gigantic puzzle of you – and the puzzle are you in your life. Would you present a total stranger your entire life as an open book? And then also still allow that these people earn money with the information by selling your data?

4) What avail is a new service such as Threema when none of my friends is there? All just have WhatsApp.

Yes, that's right. A news service without contacts with whom you can communicate, really does not help, I completely agree. But if everybody thinks so, never gaining a better alternative maybe this popularity. The most important is the first step, the first step to embark on a new service. Why not try an alternative and run parallel? Mostly wins the convenience, because so everything goes on without problems. Many people probably do not even realize what it means when these two "Giants" are controlled by Facebook. The goal of Facebook is to network the entire world. This thought makes me personally really scared. Of course we lose anyway a lot of data when we surf on the internet, but why should not I may set a limit. Up to this point and no further.

5) If you uninstalled WhatsApp, you must consequently disable your account on Facebook

In my opinion, this is not inconsistent. For me these are two different things that I transgress against different. For me there was always a limit between what I write on Facebook that it was private or public, and what I write with a news service such as WhatsApp. Because I send more messages with WhatsApp, it feels after the takeover like I "lose" now even more data. It has indeed a reason why I have not previously also communicates exclusively via Facebook, and the reason is not that there are nicer icons. With the Facebook Messenger, the company wanted to achieve a high status and popularity like WhatsApp, but what could not be achieved. And this provides similar functionality like WhatsApp (Chat, photos, video, emoticons, etc.). Why this was not used of the crowd instead? I suspect, as many of you are more familiar with WhatsApp than with the Facebook Messenger. The argument that everyone has WhatsApp, here loses its validity because even more people on Facebook are registered.

Another basis for discussion gives the fact, when a person publicly reveal his whole life on Facebook and then on the other side thinks that WhatsApp is no longer safe. This really contradicts itself, but it is not discussed here. Everyone should do what he thinks is right.

The question of why I have not changed beforehand, can also be easily justified. Prior to the acquisition WhatsApp was often in the headlines due to the uncertain data transmission. Anyone who has tried to change at this time, will have noticed that hardly anyone was there and this new messenger is then pretty much worthless, as already described above. But now many have reached a point where they realize that they no longer feel comfortable. And this opportunity I have personally used to switch the messenger finally.

Well, basically everyone has to decide for themselves which message service is selected. I have now set a limit for me and made ​​the decision that I will use this app no longer.

Who just like to get a Wacken Open Air 2014 ticket will probably have to wait a long time. Because it was just two days after the presale start completely sold out. And the pre-sale started sunday midnight right after the W:O:A 2013 – madness! Fortunately I was just able to get one for 2014 :-)

Very well. I do not want to write about festival tickets or the various line-ups here, but about the most important time before a festival – the preparation time. This time is very exciting I think. It is already clarified in advance with friends who brings catering and useful things, so that you are optimally prepared for the time to spend there and enjoy it. To keep an overview, I have here the most important "items" listed that you should not forget. In addition, I give you a few useful tips from my own experience.

1. Tent

I can only recommend to go camping on festivals. The atmosphere, the feeling to be a part of all, is when you go camping on a paddock with thousands of other visitors simply indescribable and not comparable to a property, such as a hotel or a hostel. Of course it's colder, more uncomfortable in a sleeping bag, it not always possible to take a shower every morning and to have a classic breakfast — but hey, it's a festival! There are instant coffee and pre-packaged chocolate croissants for breakfast, home-cooked noodles and 5 minutes instanht food, noise and dirt simply part!
However, there are a few exceptions, such as WGT (Wave-Gotik-Treffen ), which has a different festival character. There a hotel or similar rather is unavoidable.

Tip: Do not forget to check the number of your pegs and take enough! Be always careful with them and set up and dismantle the tent reasonable. Keep it always closed so that the eventual sudden rain can not sponges your "bed" when you are on the festival ground. Eventually close it with a lock to make sure that no one can easily steal something (no one in the years has ever stolen something of my things or vandalized). After the festival, you should set up the tent once more at home in the garden (or wherever you have some space outside), clean, ventilate and let it dry. Finally, it should still experience a few more festivals! ;)

2. Camp chair

You will need a camping chair anyway. Because if not (yet) start no (relevant) concerts or the festival site is not yet open to the public, then you are lucky if you do not have to sit in the wet grass in the morning. And it is also quite tiring to stand all the time. You can get a chair already for 10 euros in any camping section of a building centre, and it is well worth it. The only downside is that they are quite large for transport. If you travel by your own car, it should not really be a problem.

Tip: Put the camping chair always aside, if you go away from the camp or if you go sleeping. Because if you have no roof (a pavilion etc.), then it can be quite uncomfortable if you accidentally sit down on a wet-soaked chair, because it has rained in the night. Abgesehen davon ist es sicherer. Probably it is not even intentional, but I can imagine that the chairs are also often mix up sometimes.

3. Pavilion

If you are traveling in a small group, then I can advise you to buy a cheap pavilion (around 40 euros at the building centre), which is not so bad if any strong wind bends the one or other linkage. Are you as eight people, then these are just five euros per head – and that is in relation to what you get, really not much. The rain, wind, and sun protection is best for festival because you always get shelter there. If time passes a little shiver, then you must not remain alone in your tents, but you can celebrate further in the dry and have fun regardless of wind and weather. When the sun shines very strong, then you are also happy not to sweat in the hot midday sun and have a shady, nice place.

Tip: Really pool the money. The money is useful invested when you have more or less protection all the time on the paddock. But in turn there is also an disadvantage, because I think they are quite unstable. Take enough (stable, strong) adhesive tape with you, if the wind will blow away the pavilion. Then fix the rods just with the tape, then it should hold the few days.

3. Camping mats

The more the better! Take with all camping mats that you have. You should have at least the entire tent completely covered with one layer. There you can place all things dry (when at night and in the morning everything is damp) and you do not catch a cold. The cold comes from below, so blankets are not enough. If you have a rest on, then use them for a second layer because in addition it "cushions" a little bit. Without these mats you never should go camping. Also, if you use an air mattress. Finally you do not want to be sick right after the festival.

Tip: To save space, you shall first put all the mattresses spread over each other and then roll them together. So you only have a large role and not many small to medium sized.

4. Air mattress

So that your sleep is not too uncomfortable, I would take an air mattress or air bed. Only the inflation is a bit annoying at first but you will not regret it if you comes out of your tent well-rested in the morning, while your neighbor plagues of back pain, because it is so hard to sleep on the floor. Do not underestimate it! It's really not fun to spend the night on mattresses only.

5. Air-pump

You do not inflate the air mattress yourself exhausting when you bring an air-pump. It is usually not great and saves you a lot of time, effort and nerves. If you use such a mattress, then the pump is almost inevitable.

6. Sleeping bag

Small, practical and warm. What to say any more. A sleeping bag is as important as a tent. At night it is sometimes really cold outside and it's really uncomfortable when you are cold all the time. So, take-away is also required here!

Tip: A good, snug alternative is an usual duvet. For transport rather inappropriate, but if you arrive by car it should not be a problem. With an usual duvet you almost feel like home.

6. Pillow

A sleeping bag usually has no regular pillow, that somehow bothers me every time. Therefore, I would also bring a pillow, so you have it as comfortable as possible.

7. Blankets

If you are a person who freezes quickly, then I would take blankets, to place them under or over your sleeping bag again. That also warming.

8. Earplugs

They are not only optional for the concerts (if the volume is too loud, or you just want to protect your ears), but also good for the night. Do you have a light sleep, so you can fall asleep not good at noise and noise wakes you up again, then I would wear earplugs at night. Then you don't really hear much. A festival actually never sleeps – it is always something going on, even late at night. So do not forget earplugs! And you feel them almost never at night, you get used to it pretty quickly. But remember: In the long run you should not use it at night!

9. Pocket lamps

Oh, how often I have wanted my stuff at night in the dark in the tent, because I forgot a pocket lamp. Necessarily take with at least one and places them always at the entrance to the tent or the awning! Then you find yourself cope well at night in your tent. Nowadays, mobile phones or smart phones have indeed a "flashlight", but I would not waste the whole battery capacity.

Tip: Take with also alternative batteries!

10. Sanitary article

Toothbrush, toothbrush cup (at festivals always useful), toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, brush, cosmetics (eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, powder etc.), hair bands and cleansing or facial tissues may not be missing. Your creams, ointments, tablets should be there (festival is not just to be blowzy) and especially for the girls: Do not forget the pill!

11. Towels, kitchen towels or handkerchiefs

Small and large towels you will need everytime. Either if you squirt water on your face in the morning and want to dry yourself or when you even manage to shower at a festival. Kitchen towels or handkerchiefs are always useful. Either to wipe dirty dishes or if you want to blow one's nose.

12. Clothing

But not too much! I can speak from personal experience that you will not need many clothes. Of course you still should have enough clothes to change and to layer (in the night).

13. Raincoat/poncho

Nothing is more annoying than rain during a concert. It is uncomfortable, wet and cold. A usual rain jacket or a poncho can really "save" the one or other concert. Ponchos you get partially for one euro. And one euro should have left. It's totally uncomfortable when you wear half the day wet clothes. Apart from this you can then also be faster ill. So buy before a festival a "single-use poncho" if you don't own a rain jacket. I can really recommend it (e.g. a big pack with 10 pieces (also for friends) you get for a few euro on eBay).

14. Robust boots

Preferably with steel cap, which are waterproof. You will meet so many people, you are in a confined space with so many, there it can happen that one or the other foot is on your. And with sneakers or for the girls with ballerina shoes it can be quite painful. Will you have to go through mud, you are also glad that you are wearing these boots... they are robust, tight and you do not lose them in the deepest mud (if they are laced properly).

Tipp: Nehmt auch ein Paar Ersatzschuhe mit!

15. Gas stove with pots and dishes

The classics: cook water, pasta or ravioli on the camp ground. A camping stove is really helpful there. It is easy to use and it your food is hot after a few minutes more or less. Of course it does not replace a stove, but it is still better than nothing.

Tip: Take at least one alternate gas canister! If you use it a lot, then even more ones. It would be very annoying if you have enough food and dish, but you miss the gas for cooking.

16. Water

Water is always helpful and almost always required. Wash the dishes, wash youself, brush your teeth, for drinking and especially for cooking (hot water for food, noodles, etc.).

Tip: You should get you one or two cans and fill them with water. This saves you the search and the transition to the drinking water containers at the festival. An alternative would be some liter bottles of still water.

17. Drinks

You will need to drink at a festival – and by that I don't mean just alcohol. Drinks are on the festival grounds very, very expensive, so I can only advise you to take enough soft drinks at the campsite so that you are already properly hydrated.

Tip: You should previously inform you whether glass bottles are ever allowed on the camping ground! Otherwise take plastic bottles for refilling. Or go buy drinks in allowed packaging.

If you still want to save more money, you should take with you a few 1 liter Tetrapak drinks. These ones (or filled with water) can take on the grounds on some festivals. With tape you can easily build a "carrier" to the Tetrapak to hang around the shoulder. This is especially not only cheaper, but you will be glad to stand in the middle of the mass of a concert and not have to give away the place to have a drink. It is unfortunately quite often at concerts that people drink not enough (especially at some concerts one after another), causing that visitors get circulatory problems or even collapse. And that no one wants!

18. Food

Take enough food! I can only recommend that to any festival visitor. Food is usually very expensive there. Fast food, such as ravioli, spaghetti and soups are always made ​​very easy and fast. Bread is of course always good.

Tip: Buy some waffles and these bag-rolls and croissants (usually they are with chocolate) and take them with you. You will be grateful if you can eat some bread in the morning even on the last day. Usual bread is moldy quickly, but because they are individually wrapped in plastic, I really think they made ​​for festivals.

19. Crisps and co

Snack on for the appetite or in the evening, especially the first night, very nice :-)

20. Money

But do not take your entire money in your wallet with you, but let, if possible, something locked in the car! Because if you really lose your wallet, then you are at least not entirely destitute.

21. Mobile phone

Best lock your expensive smartphone in the car or do not take it with you and instead always an old cell phone, so that you can always reach and find your friends in an emergency.

Tip: Speak with your friends and define always an "emergency meeting place" where you can return, in case you really lose each other, and sometimes when you can't reach by mobile phone. So it saves you the searching on the large ground with people. The prerequisite is that all have and keep a reasonably clear head.

22. Festival ticket

The best for last: the festival ticket! Put it in your purse or to another place where you do not lose or forget it. Nothing is worse and more annoying to have traveled at a festival, but to have forgotten the ticket!

Who somewhat deals with webdesign, is encountered on the topic "Responsive Web Design" for sure – nowadays an inevitable topic, in addition to CSS3 and HTML5. Not least because certainly every second has an Internet-enabled smartphone or a tablet PC, you can surf the net. Web designers need to respond to this trend, because the presentation is on normal websites e.g. smartphones not so ideal.

But before I go into detail here, I would like to explain briefly what this is all about. In most cases, a website has always been allocated a fixed width, for example, a width of 1000 pixels. If you look at this site on a full-size desktop (PC with screen), then the pages look exactly how they should look. Usually you can recognize some space on the left and right edges.

But when I look at the same page on a smartphone, then the entire site is usually so tiny that you can see hardly anything, let the can read. Here is an example based on my blog:

The reason for that are the two different sized "display areas". A regular screen is on the dimensions much larger than a small smartphone device. Therefore 1000 pixels on the screen are "normally" tall, while on the phone everything is scaled down. These 1000 pixels don't fit fully at a 100% view on the surface. Therefore it will be zoomed, what reduced all images. Now the smartphone user could easily zoom back again with the fingers, but then you have to scrub back and forth in order to be able to read the text at the right margin, so that everything can be read at a glance. But this solution is not optimal, and above all not very user friendly. Therefore, we need responsive web design here.

Responsive web design means literally "responsive" web design. The layout and design respond to the size of the screen. If a site called on a small smartphone, the site recognizes this and reacts accordingly. Areas are reduced, unimportant disappears, fonts are larger and much more – there there are no limits. Of course this raises the question whether it makes any sense, to let "react" a website or a stand-alone mobile website should be created – so you have two independent versions. Well, everything has its pros and cons. For great online stores makes a real app certainly the most sense, because responsive web design does not represent the user-friendliness as an individually created app. But for us bloggger a responsive site is advantageous, because for example content must be maintained only once. Apart from search engines for a website also recommend to use only one URL, e.g. traumfinsternis.de (see also "Importance of the www in top-level domains") – I would create a decoupled mobile version, the mobile domain would mean, for example mobile.traumfinsternis.de – these two domains are distinct and different, but contain the same text and images, which is very detrimental for search engine optimization (SEO)! Therefore, we stay at only one site version, but let it optically respond different on different screen sizes.

Basically, it always means a lot more work if you want to remodel an existing site suitable for mobile use, as if a new site designed from scratch purely as a desktop and mobile version, programmed and/or implemented. In addition, there are now certainly many approaches and concepts. Here I want to tell you a few tips and tricks, what you have to do to remodel the existing Blog or the existing site relatively simple "responsive".

I use this simple media queries that could be known perhaps by CSS. With Media Queries you can determine which CSS file should be used on the screen for viewing the site and which CSS file to use when you print a page. The same principle also works with screen sizes. So you define CSS styles that will apply only in specific screen sizes. So you can define that a box is 1000 pixels wide with a large screen and at a smartphone the width is 100%, whereby the box width depends on the maximum width of the Smartphone "screen" for example.

First take your site in your mind (on screen, printed, or as a sketch) and decide which areas, which boxes, which objects etc. should appear to mobile devices. Super great wallpapers make here as rather less sense, because they cost only unnecessary data transfers (mobile internet is not always favorable). On my blog I've decided that I want to have just hidden the great header slider in the header. The rest should be adjusted.

There are now three ways you can integrate your CSS on your site.

1. by integrating a "mobile.css" file in the head section of a page that, where "media" defines from which screen size to access this file; so then a new CSS file for each screen size must be created
2. by Media Queries, which defines its CSS code blocks per screen size, this can be in the existing CSS file are
3. by a combination of both, by a normal "mobile.css" file is always involved (no matter what the screen size or splitting) and in the file, the Media Queries come into play (this one needs only a mobile CSS file)

The code to embed two CSS files in the head section:

The code to the Media Queries in CSS:

@media screen and (max-width: 480px) { /* Smartphone */	
	.vorhandene_css_klasse {
		width: 100%;
		etc...
	}
}
  

I have selected and implemented on my blog the third option. I have created a new CSS file, the "mobile.css" means and then defined in my CSS Styles the Media Queries.

Because there are other mobile devices as smartphones (e.g. tablets), you could divide a website in different "break points". The first responsive CSS-block takes from 900 pixels screen width and the second at 480 pixels. This allows you to define how the site behaves on tablets and smartphones. The "screen" for tablets is so much greater than that of smartphones. But here on my blog I wanted to define, that everything is shown from 900 pixels with variable 100%. That is, the widths of the selected elements 900 pixels and 480 pixels, will go over the entire "screen". In principle, these elements always fill the entire width, no matter how big the screen or mobile device. Advantage here is that you only have to "rebuild" the website layout once. The downside, of course, that even the most latitudes go with a screen width from 900 pixels to 100%, which may not always be so beneficial.

Let's slow start with the code. In the Head-range of my pages is now available:

The CSS file "mobile.css" looks like this (taps 900px width):

@media screen and (max-width: 900px) {
	.vorhandene_css_klasse {
		width: 100%;
		etc...
	}
}
  

Everything that is located between the first and the last curly braces { and } is the area in which you can write the new CSS code. For that you only use CSS classes and IDs, which are already available and have been defined in the normal style.css file! No new so-called identifiers are created! Wir haben beispielsweise folgenden Layout-Aufbau auf unserer Website:

The index.html file with the HTML structure looks like this: (for testing you can also completely copy and save the code as an HTML file and then open for viewing in your browser)

<html>
<head>
 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
 <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="css/style.css" />
 <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="css/mobile.css" />
</head>
<body>
<div id="wrapper">
 <div id="header">Header</div>
 <div id="navigation">Navigation</div>
 <div id="content">Content</div>
 <div id="footer">Footer</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
  

The syntax highlights not work here unfortunately.

The style.css file might look like this (it is stored in the same folder as the index.html file):

#wrapper {
	width: 900px;
	margin: 0 auto;
}
#header {
	width: 900px;
	height: 100px;
	margin: 0 0 20px 0;
	background: #00c; 
	color: #fff;
}
#content {
	width: 660px;
	min-height: 400px;
	float: left;
	margin: 0 0 20px 0;
	background: #900;
	color: #fff;
}
#navigation {
	width: 200px;
	min-height: 400px;
	float: right;
	margin: 0 0 20px 0;
	background: #393;
	color: #fff;
}
#footer {
	width: 900px;
	height: 50px;
	clear: both;
	background: #c60;
	color: #fff;
}
  

Tip: The order of the div container is crucial here. Do you have a vertical navigation menu on the right side (as in this example), you should still first the Div container for the navigation (with float: right) and then define the container for the content (with float: left). From the logical construction to, a reverse order would make more sense. But if the page is adapted for mobile devices, then you are no longer able to influence the order of the elements, that is, the navigation would be on smartphones below the content. Therefore, the navigation div should be placed before the content, even if the menu is on a full-size desktop after the content. This is easy to use. Of course you can also intentionally put the navigation on mobile devices all the way down. Well there is always the question of what you want yourself.

To make this page now flexible for mobile devices, we have to define the different div containers how they should behave, in this case, all divs possess from 900 pixels wide an intrinsic width of 100%. Currently, the wrapper div with a width of 900 pixels would be much too wide for small devices. In addition, the content and the navigation area should no longer next to each other, but with each other, so they are thus no longer "float". The body in general should have 5 pixel padding, so that the container does not "stick" on the edge.

The CSS code for the mobile.css file looks like this (it is stored in the same folder as the index.html file):

@media screen and (max-width: 900px) {
	body {
		padding: 5px;
	}
	#wrapper,
	#header,
	#footer {
		width: 100%;
	}
	#content,
	#navigation {
		width: 100%;
		float: none;
	}
}
  

According to this principle, all elements are treated.

My blog now looks like this:

Responsive Images

To see all pictures, especially when they take up the entire content width, are shown not too big and are also "responsive", the following trick helps in CSS (mobile.css):

@media screen and (max-width: 900px) {
	body {
		padding: 5px;
	}
	#wrapper,
	#header,
	#footer {
		width: 100%;
	}
	#content,
	#navigation {
		width: 100%;
		float: none;
	}
	#content img {
		max-width: 100%;
	}
}
  

Thus, all images that are in the content div have a maximum width of 100% (max-width). Although it is not an elegant solution, because the image is not scaled down in "real", but it works, and above all pretty straightforward.

When I wanted to put this on my blog, I came across a problem. The images were displayed in mobile devices distorted. This I have resolved, as I have also set the height of the images at 100%, so height: 100%

Responsive Navigation

Do you have a (very) large navigation, the menu items may appear on your smartphone almost daunting, because they take up a lot of space. In general menu items are displayed on the mobile device in 100% width with each other, because you can better select it with your finger (touch). For this menu list is not infinitely long, you can shorten it by adding a title, all navigation points pops up by a "click". The principle is as follows: all menu items are displayed side by side on a desktop screen as a list. Decreases the screen, then all menu items will be hidden automatically and an additional point is inserted that contains the click function.

I would like to refer here to this tutorial: www.hongkiat.com/blog/responsive-web-nav/

On this page is explained well, as you can you create this repsonsive menu yourself. I can only recommend that you download the code and then test yourself just once. So it looks now final on Traumfinsternis:

Customize hover effects

Do not forget that at the mobile terminals a hover (mouseover) effect is not possible. You can only select something (with the finger "click"). That is, for example, Menus with a submenu, which is visible only when you hover need to be changed in concept. Either then all menu items should always be visible or with a click instead of mouseover.

Thanks again to chrissishop for this supplement :-)

Testing

If you do not have a mobile device, you can get your mobile website also test by reducing your browser window. This is not the most elegant solution, but better than not being able to test :)

All photos I have taken on the Medieval Phantasy Spectaculum (MPS) in Hohenwestedt (middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). This wandering across Germany medieval festival is every year in the same city. I've been going since I'm 16 annually on this feast. The atmosphere, the people and the music is simply unique.

The Medieval Phantasy Spectaculum, short MPS, is a migratory medieval market in Germany, which is officially referred to as the Middle Ages Culture Festival. Since 1993, every year more than 1000 performers take part in various locations in Germany.

Wikipedia - Medieval Phantasy Spectaculum

Here you can get information about the dates 2013, when the MPS where took place.

I like clothes, I like the showman, costumes and ideas, but I want to be honest and I do not want to live in this time. In this annual spectacle, visitors can stay almost in another world. The organizer even says that no authentic environment should be created, but a "fantastic experience".

We tell people not learn about authentic events and of authentic equipment, clothes and weapons, that's all just silly drivel and utter nonsense of these so-called "A popes". Such a Medieval Banquet today we can not authentically perform, because so much garbage and filth and so many victims of the plague can not zoom provide you to offer reasonably authentic Medieval conditions.
And who would want to have? - No one!

www.spectaculum.de/ueber/logos - Medieval Phantasy Spectaculum

Especially the park of Hohenwestedt in which takes place the MPS annually, provides a harmonious atmosphere, especially in the evening/night campfire with all the torches on the sidewalks. The fire spectacle for evening hour is every time always a special highlight, even if I already know the shows. But every time it is yet again amazing what the artists do.

Then there are all the stands where you can buy not common, beautiful clothing and accessories. Most of the things you get while on the internet much cheaper, but just a little stroll is really fun there. The food and drinks are partially truly original and everything tasted me (so far) always very good. Although you must consider if you eat your lunch at home because of the price.

The artists and musicians at concerts are always my highlight for me each year. Especially the band Saltatio Mortis, who have now developed a high reputation, still play, despite their great success at the place where they have virtually started again. And that is super sympathetic to this band.

Now I would like to present you my colorful mix of medieval images. They have been taken on different days in different years, mostly from the years 2012 and 2013. In part, I used my DSLR, partly my compact camera, but you will certainly recognize this, I think.

The medieval market

Concerts of Saltatio Mortis

Concerts of Undschuldig

Concerts of Versengold

The fire spectacle

Many thanks to the organizers, the showman, the visitors and the bands Saltatio Mortis , Undschuldig and Versengold !

If you interested in a little medieval, you can check out also Christmas flood of pictures (Photographs from the Lübeck Christmas Market and historic Christmas market). There are more images at a medieval Christmas market from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck.

So it is with the band Mono Inc..

Mono Inc. is a rock band from Hamburg. (...) Musically Mono Inc. filed between alternative and dark rock. (...)

Wikipedia - Mono Inc.

Especially with her ​​latest album "After the War" (2012) they have been very successful and now want to pass on some of it. As of today (21.06.2013) the new single "Heile, heile Segen" (in english like "Heal, heal blessing") is available as an MP3 download, its full revenue go in the first week of publication to the Foundation Bärenherz, in favor of seriously ill children.

Buy "Heile, heile Segen" as MP3 and download

• "Heile, heile Segen" on Amazon
• "Heile, heile Segen" on Musicload
• "Heile, heile Segen" on iTunes

Official report of Mono Inc. on www.mono-inc.com

MONO INC. and their fans have been advocating in favor of seriously ill children for the Foundation Bärenherz.
„It was after all the years in which we were able to partially build close links with affected parents and children, just at the time that we address this issue its own title to make Bärenherz the general public known“, so MONO INC. singer Martin Engler.

So it was only logical that in order to attract maximum attention, not only a well-known nursery rhyme partially processed into a chorus, but, wrote a complete German text also for the sake of surprise. Engler explains: „we are now having already our seventh studio album in the wings, which were previously all published in English. We could have wished for no greater "Aha! Effect" as we now publish a single at once in the mother tongue.“

Consequently MONO INC. donate in an unprecedented action ALL income of the band in the first release week (the single will be released at 21:06. everywhere as download) to Bärenherz. Martin Engler in conclusion: „we are, at least since the huge success of our previous album "AFTER THE WAR" on the sunny side of life. For this we are eternally grateful. But now it is time to pass on some of it. So please, please buy all the music - and necessarily in the first publication week!“

Mono Inc. Website - www.mono-inc.com

I must say that it is totally great and sympathetic, that such a large and respected band like Mono Inc. would like to share their success with people who really need it. Rather than completely withdraw in glory and to feel a little better, the band keep one's feet on the ground and is still "real", "close" to the listener and fan and proves with such deeds, that they see us people as an important part with their success.

When you think of some other band or artist, then you unfortunately have to admit that this way of thinking is not the rule in the music industry. Because some (or many) don't keep one's feet on the ground in their success and forget completely the true core. In these cases, it is I think a matter of time until they are brought back to the bottom of the facts and the "hype" turns out to be a fad. Only then you will realize which are the true fans and which are simply swam with the current. Then you realize what a musician should be really important: the true, loyal fans and not the fad enthusiasts.

Mono Inc. have really become very successful in and outside of the scene over the years. They needed no particular commercials or big marketing campaigns, but simply achieved this only by good, hard work, their music and their friendly appearance.

This fundraising campaign underscores just my way of thinking. The song "Heile, heile Segen" acts designed something out stabbing. They "break" their habits of all their previous songs with the German text and the style of the children's poem and with children's choir they attract additional attention of the listener, which will influence ultimately on the fundraising campaign.

Heile, heile Segen
sieben Tage Regen,
sieben Tage Sonnenschein,
wird alles wieder heile sein.
Heile, heile Segen,
sieben Tage Regen,
sieben Tage Schnee,
tut dem Kind schon nicht mehr weh.

Heile, heile Segen - Poem on www.storchs.de

Surely he does not meet the tastes of all fans, but I think it triggers on most a catchy tune ;-)
Therefore, I ask you: Listen to the songs in the trailer just once and if you like it, buy it as MP3. It really helps the Foundation Bärenherz and many sick children!

And to the "commerce": All those who dub this song as "commercial" and have triggered a little Shit-Storm on the Facebook page of Mono Inc., do not actually know what they're talking about. For every, really every band and every artist is in this sense "commercialism", because they of course, like everyone else, have to earn their living and this is in today's time just with money. Therefore, it is the most normal thing in the world that musicians succeed and want to be successful. And if a band can meet the tastes of several target groups, then it can not be better for it yet. It is only important that the fans do not betray or slander ("that was a blip then" - "I have been in the scene never really felt comfortable"). And that is with Mono Inc. but absolutely not the case, rather the opposite is the case with this action. So: think first, then talk! Tastes are always different.

Trailer

Heile, heile Segen - Trailer 1.0

Heile, heile Segen - Trailer 2.0

Heile, heile Segen - Trailer 3.0

Sources

1. mono-inc.com

Many thanks to the band Mono Inc. for kindly allowing to be able to use your works here!

In this post I want to explain in more detail some concepts of digital photography. I'm no expert and only photograph just for fun. Therefore, I can't tell you certainly everything, but I'll do my best! I hope these lines may help you in understanding your camera a little.

Exposure time

The easiest way to describe the exposure time is with the "release time". It is expressed in seconds, for example, 1/80 sec., or 1 sec. A slash in the first example is to be read as a fraction, e.g. an 80ieth second. To illustrate: An exposure time of 1 sec is super long and without a tripod you can actually get no image without shake. As the highest limit I always take 1/8 sec., but here you have to have a very, very steady hand, so the photo will not be blurry.

At this time, in which the camera is tripping, the sensor receives all of the image information. The longer this period go on, the more light reaches the sensor and the brighter the picture. If the sun is shining, you require a short exposure time, e.g. 1/250 sec. The light is a very important influence in photography. It determines image quality and atmosphere. In addition, with specific used light you can achieve beautiful and interesting effects.

In this example, I used the low sun behind the trees for a light/shadow shot. Some probably already know the photo (see Spring mini flood of pictures), but look at the light here. The viola in the foreground is illuminated of the sun as the only "object". The remaining area, especially the background is darker and is arranged in the shadow. This play of light is totally interesting I think.

My exposure time here amounts to 1/180 sec., so relatively short despite shadow areas.

Aperture

The so-called "aperture" is specified as a number at the SLR. Usually you will find the information in the documents with a F/ in front, e.g. F/8 (= aperture of 8).

Imagine the aperture as a ring, in which the opening of the ring can reduce or enlarge. However, the overall size remains the same. Only the size of the "hole" is changeable. This is set with the numbers. A high value indicates that this ring has a very small opening, a small number causes a large opening.

Common aperture numbers (f-numbers) are: F/1.4 – F/2 – F/2.8 – F/4 – F/5.6 – F/8 – F/11 – F/16 – F/22

The aperture, so the ring is used for this purpose, to allow more or less light through the lens. Do you provide an aperture of f/5.6, then passes a lot of light on your camera's sensor. This has the consequence that you require a lower exposure time. In addition, a small f-number, i.e. an open aperture, allows more depth of field. This means that you can set a small area of the subject sharp and the rest is blurred. If you want to specifically bring in a lot of depth in the image, one should know how the f-number effect on the result. A high f-number, for example F/22, causes a smaller opening of the ring, so it can penetrate only a little light therethrough. In this case, it is necessary to increase the exposure time to achieve the same result as in example with F/5.6. Depth of field is only present very low, almost everything will be sharp forms.

The following example shows to the left a photo with an aperture of F/1.8 and to the right one with an aperture of F/5.6. The difference in numbers is very small, but the difference in the picture is still very noticeable. As you can see, the left image is much softer in the background because of the open aperture. The right, however, is already relatively "hard". If you want to take this image with an aperture of F/22, then you would need quite a tripod to prevent camera shake due to the longer exposure time. In addition, the image gets much harder and there is less depth of field.

If you would like to learn more about the depth of field, I can recommend the post by Dominik on cyanizer.de : Introduction to Photography – Depth of field

ISO

The ISO value defines the film speed on your camera. Translated, this means virtually the light sensitivity. ISO means only that it is the standard of the International Organization for Standardization.

The most common ISO values ​​are: 100 – 200 &hdash; 400 – 800 – 1600 – 3200

The higher the number, the more sensitive your camera reacts to light. That is, you can create with a high ISO value, e.g. Create ISO-1600, with low light pretty sharp images without setting an ultra long exposure time. A smaller number, such as ISO 100, causes for cameras that they are insensitive to light, that is, you need a lot of light to take a well-exposed image.

As a comparison: at an exposure time of 1/100 sec and ISO-1600 an image is well exposed, even almost overexposed. At the same exposure time of 1/100 sec. and a value of ISO 100, the image is dark and underexposed.

Sounds really great, so why not just take a picture with high ISO only? This has a very simple reason. The ISO value can in fact not screw up without loss of quality. The higher the ISO value, the noisier and grainier the image. With a 100% view the photo looks even something slightly out of focus, causing the fine grain. Therefore I can only recommend almost never take pictures with a higher number than ISO-400! The best, sharpest, and cleanest photographs succeed at values ​​of ISO-100 to ISO-200 and of course with enough light. From ISO-400, noise is already recognizable. These settings I would only use if it is absolutely necessary because you do not have a tripod with, but absolutely want to take a picture.

Tip: In low light, intentionally create an underexposed image with a low ISO (100 or 200). Save the image in JPG and RAW on your camera (in any SLR camera, this setting of the storage format in JPG + RAW should be changeable). If you copy the photos on your PC, then open the RAW file in a compatible program, such as Adobe Photoshop. There you can later change the raw data and optimize. An underexposed image can be quite simply "saved", not an overexposed (much white). There are missing valuable image information, while they are present in the underexposed image, but are just too dark. Read more at "RAW".

So you can imagine the "noise" and "grit", I have created two shots, one of which was created with an ISO of 100 and one with a value of ISO-1600. I think that the difference and the great disadvantage at high ISO values ​​is hereby clarified. In my opinion there are few things worse than grainy photos.

RAW

RAW is the raw data format in digital photography. In addition to the JPG format digital SLRs are also possible to store the image in a RAW format. On my Canon you take this setting in the menu item "quality":

RAW is particularly suitable for smaller or larger corrections of the image, especially in color and brightness/contrast. There you can correct an image in a few steps and sliders back to "normal expose" if it was previously underexposed. Also, it is easily possible to convert the photo to grayscale and to ensure it stands out only one color, e.g. red in a grayscale image. In the regular image processing, this is a bit more complicated, when processing the raw data format, however you have just to reduce the saturation of all colors except red (by slider).

In my opinion all professional photographs should store in JPG + RAW or at least only in RAW. This allows the images work much easier and more professional. I prefer JPG + RAW, because I can look at the pictures on my PC in the preview. RAW can be viewed and opened only in special programs, such as Photoshop. And you need sometimes even certain plugins for some RAW formats of the producer. On this site you can download for free the plugins for different cameras for Photoshop (Windows). For my Canon EOS 450D I need the Camera Raw 4.4.1 update. However, the latest versions of Photoshop can read many RAW formats without plugin. Inform you specifically for your equipment.

Depth of field

Many often say also falsely "Definition of the image". The term depth of field depth of focus will be described, i.e. the depth of the sharp appearing space. So the question is: "How deep is the focus?"
The noun "depth of field" formed therefrom consists of the actual word (sharpness) and the corresponding adjective (deep). The property is so used after the word.
An example: To define the thickness of a slice of bread, the question is: "How thick is the slice of bread?" So would the associated noun "slice thickness" (slice + thick) – and not "thick disk". Sounds weird, right?

Imagine now a space before by various objects are placed behind one another. Up front is a cup, a little further back a chair and a large bed in the back. So we have three different levels here. The level with the cup is farthest forward. Now, if one of the three objects is focused, then you take this level the same time. The other two levels are not focused and therefore blurred. It is up to you which level should be focused. You could also put the bed in the back sharply, so that the cup and the chair are totally out of focus. So you can also create specific effects. Basically: The level, which is farthest from the "in-focus point", is most blurred. So the cup would be very out of focus in the last example.

This example shows a champagne bottle front right, center left a champagne glass (both objects are on the same table) and a complete room in the background. The champagne glass is in focus, and the fact that the champagne bottle is only a few inches away from the glass, this is only slightly blurry. The rest of the room, however, is shown completely out of focus. In this case the furniture is removed farthest of the table with glass and bottle.

Bokeh

The Bokeh is the blurred area in a photo. Especially SLRs work with foreground and background and form what was focused sharply and "blurred" the rest. Compact digital cameras can not do this often, and they are nowadays quite well. The bokeh is not about the strength of the blur, but the form. There are bokehs which are restless and have double outlines. A beautiful bokeh is circular, soft and evenly. But beauty is in effect only in the eye of the beholder.

In order to generate the largest possible area of focus, the aperture of the camera should be opened, that is, the f-number should be set to the lowest level. With good lenses this can be an aperture of e.g. F/1.8, with somewhat poorer lenses, the smallest area can be approximately F/3.5. So it is at least in my lenses.

A form-bokeh you can generate by cutting out a template from e.g. a cardboard and then mounted it in front of the lens. The mask should cover the entire lens aperture, except of course, the cut-out shape in the center, such as a heart or a star. This is not the round, soft spots develop in the blurred area, but these take the form of the template. With this knowledge, you can really create some interesting images.

Left is a picture with a regular bokeh and right is a form-bokeh. Admittedly, the difference is in my example not quite so extreme, but on the fly, I can not create a better illustration. But you can see the little heart just a little, or not?

Tip: The bokeh is the "most beautiful" and seen best when you have included various light sources or reflections in the scene. Wenn diese nicht fokussiert werden und als Nebensächlichkeit ruhig verschwimmen dürfen, dann kann man durch das Licht wunderbare weiche "Flecken" erstellen. Am besten fokussiert ihr einen Gegenstand, wobei sich hinter diesem mit in einem großzügigem Abstand verschiedene Lichtquellen (z.B. Laternen oder Kerzen) befinden, welche dann unscharf werden. Vergesst dabei nicht die Blende zu öffnen, damit viel Schärfentiefe entsteht (s.o. "Blende").

Sensor

In my opinion the sensor is next to the lens one of the most important component of your camera. If the sensor is small, the quality of the image can not be much better, and high MP (megapixel) numbers also do not help, which is always advertised in the advertisement. Imagine it like this: A camera with a small sensor can only create a small image with a certain MP number. Because the sensor can only take a limited amount of information. However, if the megapixels are much larger than the sensor can actually handle, then the image is almost stretched. This photo has a large size, but the quality is (very) bad. Imagine the pixels as small dots. The closer they are together, the finer and high resolution the image. Each pixel is a color. And if these pixels are stretched, then the spaces in which actually no pixels are, are calculated (interpolated), that is, it is calculated and represented a midpoint between two adjacent colors. If the left is a white dot and a black dot on the right, then appears a shade of gray between these points. I think, so you can imagine that. Therefore, you can never turn a low-resolution photo into a large one. The other way around, it is of course possible. And the camera sensor can provide only absorb a certain amount of information. If the limit is reached, then you can also bring out nothing more.

The larger your camera sensor, the better therefore your photos can be. The amateur SLR cameras usually have a APS-C sensor (see picture below), at least for the Canon DSLR cameras amateur this is the case. The green marked sensor is a small-size picture format. These were then the standard among the cameras. But that's also very expensive. Only with newer cameras smaller sensors could be installed, which significantly lowered the price, but the quality did not make any noticeable difference for the amateur photographer. Thus, large and high-resolution photos are needed more in advertising and the large poster printing.

If you look at the various camera models, then you will find out that there are really almost SLRs which are far too expensive. These are then usually installed this sensor in small picture format. The cheaper models usually have a smaller chip.

What everything is still influenced by the sensor size, I declare to you the "Crop factor".

Crop factor

Although the crop factor, or also called form factor, in digital photography is still quite important and interesting to know about it rather the least notice, I think.

Let's start from scratch to: At that time the camera sensors had in analogue photography, the small-size picture format (SPF) of 36 χ 24mm. Later in digital photography, it was possible to produce even smaller sensors and incorporate them into the camera, like as with my Canon EOS 450D, which has a sensor with the dimensions of 22.2 χ 14.8 mm (APS-C). This SLRs were much more favorable and therefore of course also sold better. A further consequence was that the lenses were also less expensive and lighter in weight. The reason for this is that it was only possible to the lens because of the smaller sensor, take a smaller image area. The lenses were almost matched the lower power of the smaller chips.

The crop factor is a value here, the results from the quotient of the SPF-sensor height and the camera sensor height. As an example: the SPF format is as I said 36 χ 24mm and my Canon DSLR has a sensor with dimensions of 22.2 χ 14.8 mm. Now the SPF-height must be calculated by my sensor height, i.e. 24mm / 14.8 mm = 1.6 (rounded). So my SLR camera has a crop factor of 1.6. This value I will later pick up again.

By the way: Each camera has a different crop factor. To find out which ship you have installed, you have to either look in the instruction manual or on the internet looking for it. For all Canon cameras: There is a table with the DSLR sensor dimensions and the form factor.

Now you ask yourself sure why you need all the information. Namely, it is important to know how the crop factor affects your photos. Because of the smaller chip area a reduced image area can be accommodated. There are as I said lenses that are designed specifically for smaller chips, these are all Canon EF-S lenses. If you compare a photo of a camera with a 50mm EF lens (without crop factor, SPF-sensor, 36 χ 24mm) with a photo of a camera with a 50mm EF-S lens (with crop factor, ASP-C sensor , 22.2 χ 14.8 mm), then you will note that the photo with crop factor, it looks as if you had zoomed in closer and would have taken with a focal length of 80mm instead of 50mm. However, this may not be possible, because both lenses have a fixed focal length of 50mm. The reason for this apparent focal length, is that the EF-S lens has a smaller image section selected as the lens with SPF-sensor. In the following image you can see what I mean:

Because the camera with the 50mm EF-S lens has a crop factor of 1.6, you simply multiplies the focal length with the crop factor, and then you get this seemingly new and larger focal length: 50mm χ 1.6 = 80mm
The photo looks as if you had taken it with a 80mm lens. In regular everyday life, if you have not this direct comparison, you hardly notice it. You're just used to it that your camera creates only such "closer" shots.

Now it is still important to know what happens when you exchange the lenses. If you connect an EF lens on a camera with a small chip and crop factor, then nothing much happens. This is possible, but you also get a smaller image. Although the major objective being to obtain more, but the sensor does not create. If you connect an EF-S lens on a camera with an SPF sensor, then you get black spots in the corners. The sensor can here make less than the lens. The lens want to scan a larger area than the chip can even handle because it is smaller. And because the lens is round, but the picture rectangular, only the corners are just black and no picture.
But: This is only theory and not practical. Canon has not even made ​​it possible that you can connect EF-S lenses on a Kamrea with SPF-format sensors. This is so technically not feasible. Therefore, only EF lenses can be used on the expensive cameras with SPF format, while on the cheaper amateur cameras EF and EF-S lenses are useful. If you connect an EF-S lens here on the bayonet (the body), then you use the white point for snapping and at EF lenses the red one.

Sources

1. Chriusha (Хрюша) / CC-BY-SA-3.0 / wikipedia.org - Sensorformate_KB.svg
2. Marten2k / CC BY-SA 3.0 (de) / wikipedia.org - Format_Factor.gif
3. timmermann.tv

I want to tell you in this article a little of my job, the training and the final examination.

The job

I like editing photos in Photoshop …

… is often heard on the question of why someone just wants to learn media designer (digital/print). Sure, editing pictures, have something to do with the media – that all sounds awesome. But hardly anyone really knows what is behind this profession. The fact is that, unfortunately, this job is a very popular job, many young people apply for a training for this and as a result the market is overcrowded and there are not many time-served designers, who are dedicated and create really good works.

Looking at this development, then you realize that the job of a digital media designer is not seen as "real" work. So the son of the neighbor can just create the website and a few business cards. So why spend so much money for an agency?

Many young people absolutely want to "do something with media". Unfortunately it will not often researched to this. Therefore, there are many, many applications for one training as a digital media designer. Those who weren't able to get any of the coveted training, try puttering around a bit with pictures and websites in their free time. A new website with a few clicks of a known Internet AG is completely sufficient. And you can also earn a little money. Also, if this does not apply to all young people, but then the common man will be enticed by advertising and other influences of media into thinking that it's totally easy and hardly makes work to create a website.

This has the consequence that the work of a designer is not really appreciated. It's not true that flyers and websites can be created by the way. Behind this there is a lot more work, especially mental work and creativity. A good design is not created in a few minutes by moving pixels around in Photoshop. The thoughts that must be made ​​before a project are very important. The preliminary work, the ideas, the designs, the whole concept is mostly work, which hardly anyone notices when looking at a finished product.

In my opinion this totally unfortunate and somewhat sad, though these facts affect my future career in the end …

Well, I can suggest to all digital-media-designers-to-be and all who think of becoming one to give thought to this lines. Because there are enough people who call themselves a "designer" or a "graphic artist" when they are able to put together two images in Photoshop. The world needs creative minds, good ideas, and no shift-click-products.

But still I want to tell you in the following something about this education.

The education

Apprenticed professions

If you have decided to become a media designer, then you have the choice between the following professions:

1. Media designer Digital and Print
2. Media designer Image and Sound
3. Media designer Flexographic printing
4. Media designer Porous printing

More information I can give you only for media designer digital and print, because I'm learning this profession and accordingly have almost finished learning. But more you can simply pick out on the web!

Media designer digital and print - specialization

In "digital and print" there is additionally the subdivision into different specializations:

1. Consulting and Planning
2. Design and Visualization
3. Design and Technology (Print or Digital)

The specializations go without saying. For consultants and planners are planning and calculating media products and the "creation of media" in the foreground. As a concept developer concepts must often be written and presented, in addition to design. In the specialization Design and Technology Print the creation of different print products is one of the main task. And Design and Technology Digital (my specialization) includes designing and implementing websites in everyday life.

Content of teaching

For content of teaching for the specializations "Media designer Digital and Print" and "Media designer Flexographic printing" I can recommend you this PDF document: MediengestalterDigitalPrint07-01-18idF11-02-04.pdf
On page 8 you can read the entire learning areas of the curriculum framework.

From my own experience I can tell you that some of the topics you have to learn are rarely used in practice. Especially depending on the training company your tasks may be even completely different which you solve in your everyday life. But everything is to do and learn! But I must also say that I have much appropriated me privately at home, such as the technology of photography. Many CSS3 innovations I primarily got to know more closely when upgrading my blog. The handling with domains and the WWW came up with the time, even by reading various articles. The last studied topic is responsive web design, where you always and constantly learn. Especially in this industry is it a necessity.

The intermediate examination (June 2012)

In the intermediate examination of the media designer for digital and print the following three areas will be tested:

1: Design and realization of a media product (practical)

• Task 1 - Testing of Media Integration (mastery of graphic and image editing programs)
• Task 2 - Testing area design (design and implementation of a Print/Digital product)

In my IE 2011, I had as Digital (Digital Design and Technology) a vector task and a task to design and implement a website.

2: Design principles and media production (in writing)

It will be provided to the previously treated 7 learning fields, of which only 6 have to be processed (one of your choice can be canceled).

• LF1: Present the media company and its products
• LF2: Lay out media products typographically
• LF3: Create output files printing process oriented
• LF4: Use, maintain and configure networks and computer workplace
• LF5: Design and implement a website
• LF6: Create, capture and edit images
• LF7: Prepare data for different output processes

A few weeks before the theoretical intermediate examination the ZFA (Central Committee of Experts) of Training Printing and Media publish approximately topics of the learning areas. Thus, the candidates can prepare and learn more targeted for the IE.

In my intermediate examination 2011, the following topics have been published:

• LF1: Present the media company and its products:
  Cost types, cost behavior
• LF2: Lay out media products typographically:
  Layout
• LF3: Create output files printing process oriented:
  Imposition
• LF4: Use, maintain and configure networks and computer workplace:
  Monitor Technology
• LF5: Design and implement a website:
  Internet address
• LF6: Create, capture and edit images:
  Color spaces
• LF7: Prepare data for different output processes:
  Create PDF for online media

To these topics there were each about 2-4 questions divided into a), b), c), etc. So no novels and no theses – short and simple and everything is possible.

3: Communication/Labour and Social Law (in writing)

• German task
• English task
• Labour and Social Law (Economy and Social)

Current and more information can be found on www.zfamedien.de.

The final exam (June 2012)

In the final examination of media designer for digital and print in the specialization of design and technology (digital) following areas are tested:

1: Implementation of design and technical realization (practically)

• Test area I:
  Proposed solution with work planning (within 10 working days)
  Creating a sub-product of media production (in 7 hours)
• Test area II:
  W3-qualification unit (in 2 hours)

I had in my final exam 2012 to design and implement a website and to write a work plan with a small concept. As W3 module I have chosen "W04 Product-oriented design (digital)". The W3 module is chosen at the beginning of training, depending on the field and main task in the operation. The chosen topic is then practically tested on the final exam. Here is an overview of W3 modules: W3-Qualifikationen.pdf (cross = possible in this specialization)

When the tests have been completed fully in each state, then I will present you my practical results.

2: Concept and design (in writing)

• 12 open tasks of which 10 are to be processed

For each topic, there were also approximately 2 to 4 questions divided into a), b), c) etc.

The subjects in my final exams summer 2012 in the specialization design and technology (Digital):

• U1: Presentation
• U2: Capacity Planning
• U3: Microtypography
• U4: Grid systems
• U5: Screen typography
• U6: Advertisement analysis
• U7: QR codes in printed products
• U8: Databases
• U9: Redesign
• U10: Calculate screen layout (specialization specific)
• U11: Design laws (specialization specific)
• U12: Dynamic website (specialization specific)

3: Media Production (in writing)

• 12 open tasks of which 10 are to be processed

Approx. 2-4 questions divided into a), b), c), etc., there were also here on any topic.

The subjects in my final exams summer 2012 in the specialization design and technology (Digital):

• U1: Output resolution
• U2: Color separations
• U3: Network speed
• U4: Noise at work
• U5: CSS positioning
• U6: Crop factor
• U7: Audio editing
• U8: Implement logos and corporate design
• U9: Variable data printing
• U10: Embed videos in websites (specialization specific)
• U11: Database access (specialization specific)
• U12: Audio data calculation (specialization specific)

4: Communication (in writing)

• 1 German task
• 1 English task

5: Economic and Social Studies (in writing)

• 21 multiple-choice questions of which 18 are tp be processed
• 7 unbound tasks of which 6 are to be processed

Current and more information can be found on www.zfamedien.de .

My final exam Summer 2012

When eight weeks before the theoretical final examination the subjects were announced, I started like most other immediately to research the topics. Pretty quickly it became a huge mountain of paper. First, I have compiled all the information I could find on the Internet, in books and school papers. In this step, I have not yet read all in detail. First I wanted to collect everything and then work through it step by step.

Then I worked through each topic. The collected texts had read, marked important and a brief summary listed in manuscript. This was, in effect, most of the work, because I have in addition to the technical issues still calculated through exercises. I wanted to be well prepared, although you may not actually be. Because in each topic there can hide a mass of questions from A to Z, from superficial to very in depth. So I had to try to find a healthy level, so it's just not too much.

Unfortunately, I had to realize as in the intermediate examination, that if I would have done almost nothing, the theoretical final examination would not have been much worse. Because the questions that were asked … to something I never would have thought in the preparation time. My first training and my general knowledge I can thank that I could ever solve some tasks. I suspect that some in some tasks were pretty desperate, also rightly, I think. But still it was all somehow manage. After all, one could cancel two out of twelve tasks in the large test areas.

And the most important: the theory I have passed! Now I just have to pass well the practical tasks to pass entirely … My grades in the theory are the following:

• Concept and design – 82 points – Mark: 2
• Media production – 80 points – Mark: 3
• Communication – 87 points – Mark: 2
• Economic and Social Studies – 71 points – Mark: 3

Der Notenschlüssel:

• 100 - 92 points – Mark 1
• less than 92 - 81 points – Mark 2
• less than 81 - 67 points – Mark 3
• less than 67 - 50 points – Mark 4
• less than 50 - 30 points – Mark 5
• less than 30 - 0 points – Mark 6

So I think it could have been better – but of course worse. On the whole, I am ever satisfied. However, it annoys me a little that only one point is missing to get the mark two in Media production …

On some blogs I've discovered that CSS3 is already in use. Yes, even I used CSS3 on Traumfinsternis, but only partially, because some functions are not yet fully supported by the most popular browsers.

First, a few general facts:

What is CSS3?

The Cascading Style Sheets in version 3 are in development as the successor of CSS2 since 2000. CSS3 standards is in contrast to CSS 1.0, 2.0 and 2.1 constructed modularly, that means, partitions will be developed independently of others with their own version of steps.

When is CSS3 officially released?

It is generally known that even the "old" CSS standards partly still not interpreted correctly by some browsers or are not fully supported. After the first appointments were scheduled and canceled again, there is currently no exact date, when CSS3 should be the official W3C recommendation. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is by the way the committee for the standardization of the techniques in World Wide Web. This includes, inter alia, HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS and SVG.

Here is the overview of some new features in CSS3:

Click on an image to scroll to the content.

CSS3 Fonts

CSS3 Rounded Corners

CSS3 Box Shadow

CSS3 Text Shadow

CSS3 Background Size

CSS3 Background Origin

CSS3 Multiple Columns

CSS3 Transitions

CSS3 2D Transforms

CSS3 Fonts

I can still remember a time where website owners have inserted images as a heading, because their wanted font was not a standard font, and then there was no other way to display it properly on any PC. Finally the visitors had to install the font, too.

With CSS3 you can now easily embed the font, it is displayed regardless of the font installation on the PC and you need no pictures any more, what will save you a lot of work. Only you should be careful regarding the browser support. Old browsers can not interpret the command. The correct font formats for the browser must be involved, because they sometimes require different formats to view this font. Are formats missing, then the font is not displayed in some browsers.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

Format support

The following font formats are supported by the browsers:

• Internet Explorer:
  • Embedded OpenType (.eot)
  • WOFF (.woff) (since IE9)
• Mozilla Firefox:
  • TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf)
  • OpenType PS (.otf)
  • WOFF (.woff) (since Firefox 3.6)
• Opera:
  • TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf)
  • OpenType PS (.otf)
  • SVG (.svg)
• Google Chrome:
  • TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf)
  • OpenType PS (.otf)
  • WOFF (.woff) (since version 6)
• Safari/Webkit:
  • TrueType/OpenType TT (.ttf)
  • OpenType PS (.otf)
• SafariMobile (iPhone/iPad):
  • only SVG Fonts (.svg) until iOS 4.1
  • TrueType/OpenType (.ttf) since iOS 4.2

If you are downloading a font, then there are certainly not all formats available. On fontsquirrel.com/fontface/generator there is a useful font generator in which you can upload ​​your font, eg "Miama.ttf", which converts subsequently this font in other formats, e.g. .eot, .woff and .svg. If you upload for example an .otf font, then it also generate the format .ttf.
Select the function "EXPERT... (You decide how best to optimize your fonts.)" at the generator, so you can activate all formats in the check box. Then check the "agreement" and then download your font package. Then just unzip, upload and embed it into CSS.

The syntax

    @font-face {
      font-family: 'NameOfTheFont';
      src: url('FontFilePath.format');
    }
    @font-face {
      font-family: 'NameOfTheFont';
      src: url('FontBoldFilePath.format');
      font-weight: bold;
    }
   

You have to insert every typeface separately and specify to what it is (e.g. bold). At font-family the name of the font must be specified and at src the source. In the url you can specify the relative path of your font file.

Example with the Font Squirrel Generator

    @font-face {
    font-family: 'MiamaRegular';
    src: url('fonts/miama-webfont.eot');
    src: url('fonts/miama-webfont.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'),
         url('fonts/miama-webfont.woff') format('woff'),
         url('fonts/miama-webfont.ttf') format('truetype'),
         url('fonts/miama-webfont.svgz#MiamaRegular') format('svg'),
         url('fonts/miama-webfont.svg#MiamaRegular') format('svg');
    font-weight: normal;
    font-style: normal;
    }
    .text {
      font-family: Miama;
      font-size: 32px;
    }
   

CSS3 Rounded Corners

"Round Corners" as they are called in normal usage. On my blog you can see almost exclusively rounded corners with CSS3.

For a time, you had in addition to the normal "border-radius" the command with the -moz prefix for the Firefox browser and the -webkit prefix for the browser Chrome and Safari. Otherwise, they did not interpret the roundings. But now they support the features without any problems!

    .box {
      border-radius: 10px;
      -moz-border-radius: 10px;
      -webkit-border-radius: 10px;
    }
   

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    border-*-*-radius: NumberOneWithUnit NumberTwoWithUnit;
   

Where the asterisks are, there is specified which "corner" should be rounded, e.g. top right or bottom left. First, the vertical position is specified, up or down (top or bottom) and next follows the statement in the horizontal, left or right. If you write only "border-radius", then you define all four corners at the same time. The "NumberOneWithUnit" indicates the degree of curvature in the x-axis and the "NumberOneWithUnit" the degree of curvature in the y-axis. Do you write only one number with unit, then the corner is rounded off the same in both axes.

Example 1

    .rounded-corners-one {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-top-left-radius: 20px 50px;
    }
   

x-axis: 20px
y-axis: 50px

Example 2

    .rounded-corners-two {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-top-left-radius: 50px;
    }
   

x-axis: 50px
y-axis: 50px

Example 3

    .rounded-corners-three {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-top-left-radius: 90px 40px;
    }
   

x-axis: 90px
y-axis: 40px

Example 4

    .rounded-corners-four {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-top-left-radius: 10px;
      border-top-right-radius: 50px;
      border-bottom-right-radius: 10px;
      border-bottom-left-radius: 50px;
    }
   

Example 4: shortened form

By typing the amount of curve consecutively, you can respond in a row all four corners simultaneously.
This order must be followed:
top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left

    .rounded-corners-four-short {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-radius: 10px 50px 10px 50px;
    }
   

Alternative shorthand notation

If you want to specify all the corners and the amount of curve in the x-and y-axis in one line, then the following notation is suggested. All numbers before the slash (/) are the information in the x-axis in the known order (see above). The numbers after the slash applies to the y-axis in the known order (see above).

    .rounded-corners-four-short-alt {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      border-radius: 50px 20px 10px 100px / 10px 80px 60px 40px;
    }
   

CSS3 Box Shadow

Also shadow of box elements I added to my blog via CSS.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    box-shadow: xPosition yPosition SoftnessR SpreadR Color;
   

The x- and yPosition indicate where the shadow in the x-and y-axis should be, here negative values ​​are also allowed. The optional SoftnessR(adius) specifies how blurred, how soft the shadow should be. The optional SpreadR(adius) determines the spread of the shadow, the default value is 0, so the shadow is the same size as the SoftnessRadius.

Example 1

    .shadow-one {
      box-shadow: -5px -5px #666;
    }
   

Example 2

    .shadow-two {
      box-shadow: 3px 6px 10px #999;
    }
   

Example 3

    .shadow-three {
      box-shadow: 3px 6px 10px 3px #999;
    }
   

Example 4

    .shadow-four {
      box-shadow: 0px 3px 1px #999;
    }
   

Inner shadow

    .inner-shadow {
      box-shadow: inset 3px 6px 10px #999;
    }
   

Inner shadow, alternative

    .inner-shadow-alt {
      box-shadow: inset 0px 0px 8px #999;
    }
   

CSS3 Text Shadow

With a text-shadow can be achieved many different effects.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    text-shadow: xPosition yPosition SoftnessR Color;
   

The x- and yPosition specify where the text-shadow in the x-and y-axis should be, here negative values ​​are also allowed. The SoftnessR(adius) specifies how blurred, how soft the shadow should be.

Example 1: Soft shadow

    .textshadow-one {
      text-shadow: 5px 5px 5px #aaa;
    }
   

Example 1: Hard shadow

    .textshadow-one {
      text-shadow: 1px 2px 0 #ccc;
    }
   

Example 2: Several shadows

    .textshadow-two {
      text-shadow: 5px 5px 4px #ccc,
                   -5px -10px 8px #ff0,
                   15px 7px 3px #f0f;
    }
   

Example 3: contour

    .textshadow-three {
      text-shadow: 1px 0 0 #000,
                   -1px 0 0 #000,
                   0 1px 0 #000,
                   0 -1px 0 #000;
    }
   

Example 4: glow

    .textshadow-four {
      text-shadow: 0 0 4px #fff,
                   0 -5px 4px #ff3,
                   2px -10px 6px #fd3,
                   -2px -15px 11px #f80,
                   2px -25px 18px #f20;
    }
   

CSS3 Background Size

By CSS in version 3 you can now specify the background image size. Until then, you could only affect the images in size that have been placed by img tag. The background images you could only insert or omit.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    background-size: xWidthWithUnit yHeightWithUnit;
   

The syntax is very simple. In the xWidthWithUnit you enter the width of the background image with the corresponding unit. In yHeightWithUnit the height.
For the Firefox 3.6 is still needed the prefix -moz- to make it work.

Example 1

    .mybackground {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: url(../images/kasten-bg.jpg);
    }
   

    .mybackground-size {
      background: url(../images/kasten-bg.jpg);
      background-size: 90% 10%;
    }
   

Example 2

    .mybackground-size2 {
      width: 200px;
      height: 100px;
      background: url(../images/kasten-bg.jpg);
      background-size: 200px 100px;
    }
   

CSS3 Background Origin

Also, the background start position can be set. Previously it was only possible for example to give a div a background image, which then fills the entire Div. Now may also be determined whether the background image should note an edge (border) or padding (padding).

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    background-origin: content-box OR padding-box OR border-box;
   

For example, after a div was styled, background image, border and padding has been set, then comes Background-Origin. There are the settings content-box, padding-box or border-box. Depending on where the background image should "start", so where basically the zero point is, you use one of these three settings. In the following graphs should be explained what is meant with these settings:

Example 1

    .background-start-one {
      width: 200px;
      height: 30px;
      border: 10px solid #999;
      padding: 15px;
      background: url(../images/trademark.png);
      background-repeat: no-repeat;
      background-origin: padding-box;
    }
   

Example 2

    .background-start-two {
      width: 200px;
      height: 30px;
      border: 10px solid #999;
      padding: 15px;
      background: url(../images/trademark.png);
      background-repeat: no-repeat;
      background-origin: content-box;
    }
   

Example 3

    .background-start-three {
      width: 200px;
      height: 30px;
      border: 10px solid #999;
      padding: 15px;
      background: url(../images/trademark.png);
      background-repeat: no-repeat;
      background-origin: border-box;
    }
   

CSS3 Multiple Columns

Creating multi-column content is now with CSS3 also quite simple. If a text contains too many characters in a line, then it can quickly become tiring to read it. Before you had to split the text with cumbersome manually set divs and let the text containers flow side by side with the command "float". Now you can simply put the entire text around one div that says that this container has to contain, for example, two columns. Then the text is automatically split in the right place and it continue again right next to it.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    column-count: 3;
    -moz-column-count: 3; /* with prefix for Firefox */
    -webkit-column-count: 3; /* with prefix for Chrome and Safari */
   

The command "column-count" specifies how many columns to should give. Thus it is also displayed in Firefox, Chrome and Safari, the corresponding prefix must be prepended here:
-moz-column-count only for only Mozilla Firefox and
-webkit-column-count for only Google Chrome and Sarafi. The remaining browsers that interpret the command, will be addressed with column-count.

The column gap

    column-gap: 40px;
    -moz-column-gap: 40px; /* Firefox */
    -webkit-column-gap: 40px; /* Chrome and Safari */
   

The spacing between the columns can be defined with "column-gap". The spacing is normally measured in pixels. Again here are the same rules for Firefox, Chrome and Safari as described above.

The column gap-styling

    column-rule: 1px dotted #999;
    -moz-column-rule: 1px dotted #999; /* Firefox */
    -webkit-column-rule: 1px dotted #999; /* Chrome and Safari */
   

"column-rule" is a shorthand notation for column-rule-width, column-rule-style and column-rule-color. Thus, the dividing line between columns is described. First, the size in pixels, then the style (e.g. solid, dotted, dashed, outset etc.), and finally the color. Again for Firefox, Chrome and Safari the same as described above.

Example 1

    .cols_example-one {
      column-count: 3;
      -moz-column-count: 3;
      -webkit-column-count: 3;
      column-gap: 40px;
      -moz-column-gap: 40px;
      -webkit-column-gap: 40px;
      column-rule: 1px dotted #999;
      -moz-column-rule: 1px dotted #999;
      -webkit-column-rule: 1px dotted #999;
    }
   

Example 2

    .cols_example-two {
      column-count: 4;
      -moz-column-count: 4;
      -webkit-column-count: 4;
      column-gap: 20px;
      -moz-column-gap: 20px;
      -webkit-column-gap: 20px;
      column-rule: 2px outset #eee;
      -moz-column-rule: 2px outset #eee;
      -webkit-column-rule: 2px outset #eee;
    }
   

CSS3 Transitions

A picture should change slowly and softly in a different picture on mouseover. The background color of a link is slow and soft fade in a different color at Hover. A box should increase slowly dynamically when you go over it with the mouse. And much more. With CSS3 Transitions, it is now possible to add an effect without Flash animations or javascript, if you want to switch from one style to another. This means: for example it can slow gradually be changed from one effect to another during hover — without sharp transitions.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    transition-property: CSSProperty;
    transition-duration: TimeInSeconds;
    transition-timing-function: VelocityCurve;
    transition-delay: StartInSeconds;
   

transition-property (CSSProperty) must be specified so that you can define which property to change gradually, e.g. "width" or "all" (for everything).
Subsequently, the time indication (transition-duration), the "TimeInSeconds", follows: in how many seconds will it all happen? This setting is made in seconds, so for example, "3s". With transition-timing-function can be specified, in which velocity curve all things be done, for example, should the effect starts slow and finishs then quickly (more on this below).
And transition-delay specifies how many seconds to start the effect.

Shorthand

    transition: Property Time VelocityCurve Start;
   

Values ​​used:

    transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
   

With the short notation it saves you a lot of lines. I think the example is self-explanatory.

transition-timing-function — possible values

• linear — constant speed
• ease — slow start, then faster and slower again at the end
• ease-in — slow start
• ease-out — slow end
• ease-in-out — slow start and slow end
• cubic-bezier(n,n,n,n) — define speed yourself, numbers from 0 to 1, Example: cubic-bezier(0.25,0.1,0.25,1)

Prefix for browser

To make this function works well in most browsers, you have to work with each prefix of the browser.

    transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
    -moz-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
    -webkit-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
    -o-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
   

Here the appropriate prefix must be preceded by:
-moz-transition for Mozilla Firefox only,
-webkit-transition for Google Chrome and Sarafi and
-o-transition only for Opera. The remaining browsers that interpret the command, will be addressed with transition.

Handling

transitions must be assigned to a regular class. In addition, for example, must a hover effect be defined where all the properties are indicated that you want to change at hover.

Example 1

    .trans-one {
      background: #EBEAE8;
      color: #999;
      transition: all 3s ease-in-out;
      -moz-transition: all 3s ease-in-out;
      -webkit-transition: all 3s ease-in-out;
      -o-transition: all 3s ease-in-out;
    }
    .trans-one:hover {
      background: #333;
      color: #FFF;
    }
   

Example 2

    .trans-two {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      transition: all 0.5s linear;
      -moz-transition: all 0.5s linear;
      -webkit-transition: all 0.5s linear;
      -o-transition: all 0.5s linear;
    }
    .trans-two:hover {
      width: 400px;
      height: 150px;
    }
   

Example 3 - with CSS3 2D Transforms

    .trans-three {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      transition: all 0.7s ease-in-out;
      -moz-transition: all 0.7s ease-in-out;
      -webkit-transition: all 0.7s ease-in-out;
      -o-transition: all 0.7s ease-in-out;
    }
    .trans-three:hover {
      transform: rotate(45deg);
      -ms-transform: rotate(45deg);
      -moz-transform: rotate(45deg);
      -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg);
      -o-transform: rotate(45deg);
    }
   

CSS3 2D Transforms

With CSS3 you can now transform objects. Either you can position, scale, rotate, or twist them differently.

Browser support

All examples in this article are only visible with a supportive browsers.

The syntax

    transform: Methode;
    -ms-transform: Methode; /* Internet Explorer 9 */
    -moz-transform: Methode; /* Firefox */
    -webkit-transform: Methode; /* Safari and Chrome */
    -o-transform: Methode; /* Opera */
   

The syntax is actually quite simple. The various methods are included below. It should be noted that the corresponding prefix must be prepended to represent it in the major browsers:
-ms-transform for Internet Explorer 9 only
-moz-transform for to Mozilla Firefox only,
-webkit-transform for Google Chrome and Sarafi and
-o-transform for Opera only. The remaining browsers that interpret the command, will be addressed with transform.

The methods

translate()

    transform: translate(50px,20px);
    -ms-transform: translate(50px,20px);
    -moz-transform: translate(50px,20px);
    -webkit-transform: translate(50px,20px);
    -o-transform: translate(50px,20px);
   

translate() positions, for example, the div to the appropriate place. The data apply to left (x-axis) and top (y-axis). In the example, the object is positioned 50px from the left and 20px from the top.

rotate()

    transform: rotate(20deg);
    -ms-transform: rotate(20deg);
    -moz-transform: rotate(20deg);
    -webkit-transform: rotate(20deg);
    -o-transform: rotate(20deg);
   

rotate() can rotate the object, it is then displayed rotated. The number in the brackets is the number of degrees.

scale()

    transform: scale(2,5);
    -ms-transform: scale(2,5);
    -moz-transform: scale(2,5);
    -webkit-transform: scale(2,5);
    -o-transform: scale(2,5);
   

scale() scales the object, so it enlarges. The first number in the brackets represents the width, the second for the height. The number represents the factor by which it is increased, the 2 is then for the 2-fold enlargement of the original height.

skew()

    transform: skew(20deg,40deg);
    -ms-transform: skew(20deg,40deg);
    -moz-transform: skew(20deg,40deg);
    -webkit-transform: skew(20deg,40deg);
    -o-transform: skew(20deg,40deg);
   

skew() twists the object, it is then like watching from a different angle of view. The data in the brackets are also the degree numbers here, wherein the first indication of the rotation is in the x-axis and the other for rotation in the y-axis.

matrix()

    transform:matrix(0.3,0.8,-0.5,0.9,0,0);
    -ms-transform:matrix(0.3,0.8,-0.5,0.9,0,0);
    -moz-transform:matrix(0.3,0.8,-0.5,0.9,0,0);
    -webkit-transform:matrix(0.3,0.8,-0.5,0.9,0,0);
    -o-transform:matrix(0.3,0.8,-0.5,0.9,0,0);
   

matrix() combines all 2D transformations in one. There are 6 parameters that include mathematical functions that allow you to rotate elements [rotate()] to scale [scale()] to position [translate()] and twist [skew()].

Example 1

    .object-one {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: #EBEAE8;
      transform: translate(100px,20px);
      -ms-transform: translate(100px,20px);
      -moz-transform: translate(100px,20px);
      -webkit-transform: translate(100px,20px);
      -o-transform: translate(100px,20px);
    }
   

Example 2

    .object-two {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: #EBEAE8;
      transform: rotate(10deg);
      -ms-transform: rotate(10deg);
      -moz-transform: rotate(10deg);
      -webkit-transform: rotate(10deg);
      -o-transform: rotate(10deg);
    }
   

Example 3

    .object-three {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: #EBEAE8;
      transform: scale(1.5,3);
      -ms-transform: scale(1.5,3);
      -moz-transform: scale(1.5,3);
      -webkit-transform: scale(1.5,3);
      -o-transform: scale(1.5,3);
    }
   

Example 4

    .object-four {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: #EBEAE8;
      transform: skew(20deg,10deg);
      -ms-transform: skew(20deg,10deg);
      -moz-transform: skew(20deg,10deg);
      -webkit-transform: skew(20deg,10deg);
      -o-transform: skew(20deg,10deg);
    }
   

Example 5

    .object-five {
      width: 250px;
      height: 80px;
      background: #EBEAE8;
      transform:matrix(1.4,-0.2,1.6,1,0,0);
      -ms-transform:matrix(1.4,-0.2,1.6,1,0,0);
      -moz-transform:matrix(1.4,-0.2,1.6,1,0,0);
      -webkit-transform:matrix(1.4,-0.2,1.6,1,0,0);
      -o-transform:matrix(1.4,-0.2,1.6,1,0,0);
    }
   

Conclusion

I hope I could give you a small and understandable overview of the most important new features in CSS3!

If mistakes should have crept in, you are welcome to inform me here via comment!

Sources

1. w3schools.com
2. the-art-of-web.com
3. css3.info
4. ich-lerne-css.de
5. webfonts.info
6. fontsquirrel.com

Details:

• Diagonal angle of view: 46°
• Lens construction: 6 lenses in 5 members
• Number of diaphragm blades: 5
• Minimum aperture: 22
• Closest focusing distance: approx. 0,45m
• Maximum magnification: approx. 1:6,6
• AF motor: MM
• Filter Diameter: 52mm
• Price: approx. 100 to 130 Euro

The price/performance ratio is simply unbeatable. I can not test extensively, but the first results convince me. Therefore I can only recommend this lens amateur photographers with a low budget! Only the slightly larger distance to the object I had at the beginning to get used to something, because I could go a little closer with my kit lens. But that's like saying only a matter of habit.

But enough said, here is my first "snapshots", I hope you like them:

The exif data I have added to each image in the title.

Many thanks to Jörg. For what, you surely know best!

Photographs from other seasons can be found at Fascination of ice (Rime, Nature in Frost Robe) and at Christmas flood of pictures (Pictures of Christmas Market of Lübeck).

Because I have already dealt in my post „What do you believe?“ with the belief of the black scene I would like to be sunk my thoughts in music and festivals of some scenes.

Cyber-goths? So colorful glowsticks with LED lights, stolen from their room lighting at home, wagging their arms back and forth to a monotonous, electric "tone" and seal the mouth with their fake gas masks? How ridiculous!

Metalheads? So smelly, bearded men and scruffy men-women who spin their hair to neighbors to bawling and guitar strumming and bump into each other? How ridiculous!

Similar statements have once heard everybody determined from one of the two scenes. Unfortunately.

The metal scene has usually nothing to do with the so-called „cyber-goths“. For them this strident forms are to take more ridiculous than serious. And the other way around feels this scene metallers rather than scruffy and somehow disgusting. Of course I can not claim that this is always so, but similar statements I've heard of some people. And as I've noticed the „normal“ Gothics like the two scenes so more or less. On a range of festivals and concerts they are to be found.

Now quite apart from: I think this division of the „scenes“ and this stereotyped thinking „I 'm in the scene“, „you're in this scene“ is somehow totally nonsensical. Everyone is different and everyone wears, listens and does what he wants. Each is individually — except perhaps those who are trying to be like everyone else and aren't able to develop themselves properly. Having a role model is in turn something else. Just the other day I read about it again. Wvery person needs an idol, consciously or unconsciously, he even has one or more. Through behavioral imitations and variations thereof our own character develop, which we do not even want to imitate someone, this happens also completely unconscious. You know certainly the statement that if a man "rub off" on another. This is exactly this mechanism that I have just touched on briefly. But now I'm digressing enough from the topic. About this topic could one (I) actually write a whole separate article, so extensive it is...

Now back to the scenes.

So there are scenes that did not get along with each other and some who are quite neutral attitude towards them. Let us look at them now more closely. In my opinion they all have, even if each scene has a different origin, something in common: they are „different“, fall on and are more or less „gloomy“, also the taste in music extends into every scene far beyond the charts. In any case I don't want to lump all together, I just want to clarify that we have all somehow something in common. Therefore: Why some groups „be at war“ with each other so much?

Let the cyber goths and metalheads yet so run around as they wish. Let them party hard to their music at a concert as it makes fun. Let them wear the accessories that they like. Just let them be what they are.

Well maybe I should say a few words about me. The impulse of this little text was that I have realized that the festival season this year starts again soon or has perhaps already begun. I am since I'm 16 years old every year at least at one festival, and over the years my musical horizon expanded of course. Starting with rock, to Metal, Gothic, then Medieval and Folk, and then Industrial - to name just a few genre. To this day, I listen to songs from various style areas, where one can not so easily defined my taste in music. In addition to music has become my Festival spectrum increased slightly over the years.

1. 2006 — Wacken Open Air in Wacken (SH) — 03.08. - 05.08.2006
2. 2007 — Wacken Open Air in Wacken (SH) — 02.08. - 04.08.2007
3. 2008 — Hexentanz am Bostalsee (SL) — 02.05. - 03.05.2008
4. 2008 — Hörnerfest in Brande-Hörnerkirchen (SH) — 04.07. - 06.07.2008
5. 2008 — Wacken Open Air in Wacken (SH) — 31.07. - 02.08.2008
6. 2008 — Ultima Ratio Festival in Oberhausen (NRW) — 01.11.2008
7. 2009 — Irish Folk Open Air in Poyenberg (SH) — 13.06.2009
8. 2009 — Wacken Open Air in Wacken (SH) — 30.07. - 01.08.2009
9. 2010 — Irish Folk Open Air in Poyenberg (SH) — 12.06.2010
10. 2010 — Hörnerfest in Brande-Hörnerkirchen (SH) — 09.07. - 11.07.2010
11. 2010 — Wacken Open Air in Wacken (SH) — 05.08. - 07.08.2010
12. 2011 — Irish Folk Open Air in Poyenberg (SH) — 04.06.2011
13. 2011 — M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim (NI) — 13.08. - 14.08.2011
14. 2012 — M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim (NI) — 11.08. - 12.08.2012 (planned)

Where I've always wanted to go:

• Amphi Festival in Köln (NW)
• Metalcamp in Tolmin (Slowenien)
• Summer Breeze Open Air in Dinkelsbühl (BY)
• Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT) in Leipzig (SN)

I love festivals. The atmosphere, the people, the music, everything. I could go every year to several, even to the most diverse. I would be very happy to be again this year at the W: O: A (rather rock, metal), but unfortunately the tickets were sold out very quickly indeed (weeks before Christmas 2011), on the other hand I'm looking forward to the M'era Luna (rather gothic, rock, industrial) in August. Also on the Hörnerfest (rather folk, medieval) I would love to go, which is temporal probably not possible. And as you see, on these festival play bands whose music is later on in different genres.

Now I wonder why the different scenes can not celebrate together peacefully? Why can not someone who dances in discos to electric music normally, do not go on a metal festival, without that he will be looked at silly if he says that he usually also hear a lot of electric? I do not understand anyway. Everybody should go to where he feels comfortable and what he likes, provided that the love for this music is real and not fooled, or is only considered good because it is „cool“ or „in“! Of course, then you should not be a rebel to deliberately provoke and to prove that you're different. You should have fun together peacefully and live your shared passion: music. And if one do not like so fundamentally different kinds of music, why not? What about the look beyond your own nose or the blinkered vision?

And the clothes... should be somehow appropriate after all. Cyberlox are on the Immortal- or Endstille concert (Black Metal) rather misplaced. The other way round a corpse paint on a Blutengel-concert (Electro, Dark Wave) looks also strange. Why? Because it simply does not fit visually, otherwise I can not justify in any way. That would be as if you wear to a festivity at the restaurant jogging clothes — just inappropriate.

But basically, a festival is still there to have a lot of fun with friends and great live music! Therefore: Fuck what else you listen to, the main thing you stay true to yourself and you don't fool anyone. Be open to new ideas and not condemn people just because they listen to something different or look different from you. We are all only human and want to simply live a happy life — why give yourself a hard time?

Music is the shorthand of emotion.

Leo N. Tolstoi (1828-1910), russian writer

In the next lines I would like to describe a typical festival-flow a little closer to you, so you can see that festivals have commonalities, always cause the certain feeling and cause the same moments of happiness. Even anger and frustration is similar for every festival. Regardless of what music is played there and what scene resides predominantly there.

The Festival Season 2012 starts soon!

It's summer. Early in the morning.

You pack your work clothes aside, dress up yourself to your favorite band shirt and put on your steel-toed boots in leather with 15 holes and buckles. Or you take the little figure-tere variant (for girls) and put on a black top, over a satin waist corset with a lace skirt, layered mesh and normal tights and convenient heels leather boots 30 hole, with buckles. Accessories such as cuffs and chains give your look the finishing touch. Then you complete everything with eye-catching make-up.

You're looking for your tent, your folding camp chair, your mattress, your sleeping bag, your air bed, your air pump, your water heater with pots and plastic crockery/cutlery, the recently purchased disposable grill, barbecue briquettes, a cooler with grilled meats and baguettes, convenience food (ravioli, pasta, tomato sauce, soups), drinks, two 5-liter canister that you have just filled with tap water, your bag with clothes and hygiene items, your Navi with directions, the running order and finally the festival ticket and put them into your car and fill the last square centimeter with another food, drink and clothes. But then rings your phone. A good friend suddenly has no carpool more and he asks if you still had a place in the car for him. You agree and have to wait a few minutes until he's on your mat. You now repack the car together, so you also can accommodate anywhere his stuff. Finally, you have stowed everything and can finally start driving.

You meet your friends who plan the entire process with you. You have a 3-hour drive ahead of you, so all should be well thought-out so that you forget nothing. Well it turns out that a colleague can't accommodate her bag in her car pool. As you drive alone with one other friend, you have agreed to store her stuff in your car. Now you have no square millimeter place there. You then buy together the last little things at the supermarket next door: a few drinks and some chips. Then you can finally set out for the highways in a column to haunt the streets. After hundreds of kilometers, many nerve due to congestion and a few pee breaks, you are finally a few kilometers before the festival place. But there is again a traffic jam, the festival jam. The entrance is not open and you now have to serve the time approximately one hour in a seemingly endless line of cars. You're upset about it, because as it seems, all preparations have been completed and there is no apparent reason to not open the campsite yet. But it's no use. After you had a few nice conversations with your neighbor, it 's finally progressing at a snail's pace. On a paddock./p>

You will be signaled to drive on the camping and parking ground and you're are glad to have finally arrived. You build up your tents in your little camp and ask your neighbors if they have still a couple of pegs left for your tent because on last festival the other visitors have stumbled on the tent cords and ripped out almost all the pegs. Recovery is then rather pointless in the long grass. But kindly you can borrow some from the neighbors. But now the sky is covered slowly. You can see in the distance, that a powerful shower will pass soon. Fortunately, one of your friends has a pavilion. After all the tents are build up, you have quickly begun to build the pavilion, so that you remain in the dry more or less. The first drops came down already, as you in a foursome pulled the tarp over the bars. Quick you fixed it. Then came even the expected rain. So, as you bridge the rains? You have not many choices, so you grab some chips and drinks with which you clink glasses once. After a felt eternity the downpour is over, so you can finally get the remaining things from the car.

You turn on your grill and frizzle a little steak with herb butter baguettes for all of you — or else you can grill. The official stands open not before tomorrow, so you have to make yourself something to eat. Because you have grilled too much food, you invite your neighbors to eat as a thank for the borrowed tent pegs. After dinner, you explore with your friends the area and the other neighborhood. You will be warmly welcomed and invited every time to sit down and to celebrate with them. You clink glasses with a little brandy and simply have fun. The people, the atmosphere, everything is totally awesome and beautiful.

Gradually you lose your good manners, celebrate further with your friends a few more or less hours of boozy jollity. Even for a drinking game you're ready, in which you actually don't believe. But hey, you're on a festival, you might as well just make an exception. Finally, you will experience something like this not every day, so you are thinking that you'll regret it later if you have not done all what was possible. But you are good and even win the game.

Now you take cover before the next rain starts again. Gradually the moistness transforms the entire camping grounds to a small slime pit. Perfect for a slime battle, some think, and jumping joyfully in the mud. Luckily you wear your firm boots, with which you can not sink so easily. With a slalom you handle the small mud pits. The weather is really annoying but not annoying enough to ruin you and your friends the festival. You make the best of it and still have your fun. Rain or Shine! Fortunately, it rained only these two times, as you state in the evening. Where has the time just gone? Now it's late at night and it's getting quiet on the site. So you also decide to go to your tent to sleep.

At seven o'clock in the morning you get up and fled right out your tent. The sun has turned it into a sauna and it is impossible to reside there longer. After you went very late to bed in your tent this morning, the camp neighbors had still turned up their music system til dawn and the generator, which is almost next to your tent with whirring noises to illuminate a part of the campsite, directly beamed at your tent, the sun robs even the last sleep. Where you bothered rather less the music, cause you prevent and slumbered with ear plugs at night.

You're on the way to the morning toilet and have to take a five-minute walk to get to the next mobile toilets, in the hope that they have been freshly cleaned, as it would be otherwise unacceptable to enter one. But you're lucky and your prayers have been answered. Even toilet paper is still present, what the entire rest of the day is never really the case. Of course, you also bring your own paper.

You return back to your little camp where your friends have prepared breakfast: there are bag bread rolls with chocolate or instant food, e.g. noodles. You decide to eat the chocolate croissants, instant meals in the morning is not your scene. In one hour, you may at last go on the festival site and actually the first bands, even your favorite band, start playing their concerts. You look forward to that and can't wait until. But time passes quickly. You decide to go ahead and wait at the gates to the opening. After you finally allowed to enter the festival site, you run and squeezes with a thousand other fans through the narrow passage where everyone is checked and scanned. Spikes will taken way from you, but because of the experience of recent years you have left your studded belt and spike collars in your tent. In front of the stage many other visitors have gathered, so you unfortunately have to stand further back. But the first sounds of the band displace the small trouble. All celebrate together and party hard to the music.

The people entrain you in the circle pit, which always goes traditionally around the mixer at this band, and run with them in a circle. Suddenly, you trip and fall on the dry earth. But after just one second on the floor you will immediately came up from the fans behind you. You you do not even want to imagine what could happen if they did not. When it was all over, can get a place which is closer to the stage. Only now you realize how strong the sun is burning you in the neck. You forgot to apply sunscreen, like almost every time. But what can you do. You stay there and enjoy the end.

You'll still surprised a few times during the concert by crowd surfers who somehow show up every time from nowhere. Only when she/he is half on you, you try to carry her/him to the front. So, one is still okay, even two or three. But if you must be on guard continually, that no surfer falls on your head or you get any boots in your face, then that's kind of annoying. But eventually you come to terms until the concert is now slowly approaching the end.

You want to bridge the gap to the next good concert by watching some shows. The offer is very large. From dance groups to strip shows and fashion shows to the freak show and jousting tournaments. Because you can not really decide you want to watch all anyway. To you it is not so important to see the full program, but rather want to collect as many different impressions as possible. Therefore, you take a look first a Riverdance performance, followed by a small alternative fashion show. Medieval exhibition matches and the horror circus you attend at a later date. Finally you don't want to miss the beginning of the concert, that you are waiting for.

After the shows You get hungry again. The fast-food offer is on the festival really very comprehensive. The selection is so large that you you're not immediately sure what you just appetite. In the front there are hamburgers and fries, later you have spotted an Asian state, and you can remember that you have seen a baguette and next to a kebab stand at the entrance. Vegetarian food can be bought at the other end of the "food court". Buy you decide to eat at an overpriced pizza stand - and it tastes very good. But at the sight of the prices you get abdominal pain again and again. For the money you get double the amount usually - but hey, it's a festival and indeed these people have somehow get in their reasonable expenses.

Now you're going shopping in Gothic-, Metal and Medieval market, where you get upset something about the high prices. But the clothes and accessories simply look so good that you need to treat yourself to something small. Here you really get everything a "black heart" desires: fancy dresses, shirts, skirts, coats, capes, special accessories like warmers, hair accessoires or synthetic hair dreads, shoes, normal stable boots made of leather, flashy boots, e.g. with buckles, in leather or of patent leather, high platform boots, platform pumps, high heels etc., silver jewelry, such as rings, chains, pendants or earrings, collars with or without studs, piercings, bags, belts with or without rivets, tape patches and much, much more.

You met on the way back to the tent new, nice people waiting just like you on the same concert highlight. You feel really well with the strikingly dressed people.

Finally you can struggling forward to the stage in the second row two hours before the concert starts. Now it is time to wait. Before that a different band plays their songs that you actually don't like to listen. It's okay. But to stand by your favorite band as far forward as possible, you accept it gladly. Slowly your feet hurt already and you would like to have a drink, but then you would indeed lose your good standing room. So you hold out. Time passes still quite fast and it will gradually close around you. The long-awaited concert of your favorite band starts now. They all start frantically run around and crush you almost, stepping on their feet each other, and yours, too. But you've fortunately got your boots on, so nothing can happen to your feet. In addition to the absolutely awesome music and great atmosphere offers you the weather a beautiful sight. By the time the sun moves around the ground and disappears gradually, so that the sky is colored reddish at sunset.

You experience this time as in another, an unreal world. The daily routine is fully pushed into the background and it counts only the here and now. You have fun with lovely people, get to know new like-minded people and really experiencing good concerts. For days you are surrounded by lovely fans who want to do every possible (lovely) nonsense with you. You just celebrating. You celebrate you and your band.

You're leaving the terrain after the countless concerts and set out for your camp, where the party continues. Completely exhausted, you go quite early in your tent to sleep. The next morning the departure follows. You pack up all your stuff and then you can leave around noon the paddock. That's it now. The festival...

Anyone who has found yourself in these lines? You're welcome to post a comment! I would be happy!

Maybe you see, my dear readers, just all the negative aspects of a festival, but I suggest you to have at least experienced one small or big open air festival in your life! It is absolutely worth the experience, and if you go there with a few nice people, then that will be a few super great days! And that even in bad weather.

Sources of some images

marked with * in the title

1. meraluna.de
2. facebook.com/meralunafestival
3. fkpscorpio.com

Special thanks to the M'era Luna Festival Team (especially Matthias), Alex Tra., Christian R. and Mareike K. for the permission to use your images here.

Here you can also read through the task, and if you scroll further down, you see even the works submitted by my theoretical competitors: Photo Contest 62 - „transience“ (you need not be registered to see the images)

Now there some photos "waste", which I would like to show you now. Too bad to let them gather dust in the last corners of a folder, but not good enough to be submitted to this contest. Some of the photographic statement is not entirely appropriate, because the atmosphere is too "friendly" and alive, as that it could be passed. Therefore, the following photos more snapshots again (unprocessed) that are created by the way. But I hope you like them a little nevertheless.

What are you thinking on the subject „momentariness“, and how would you implement this photographically?

I really think it's not easy... a theme with past plants is the classic picture, which everyone has in your mind first I think. Or maybe an old building, dilapidated walls or a train station, which is out of service. But I miss this „wow“ effect somehow, this particular thing which stands out from other photos. And this I have not found on the fly.

Finally, I present to you my original idea... a dried rose. One can interpret a lot, for example, that the rose represents a past love. Only the technical implementation is unfortunately not as successful as I wanted, because there were no decent light. I had to create this photo with the flash, so all seems a bit "hard". But I hope I find some time, the time to create a more beautiful shot of a red rose.

Cause for this more personal text is that the stick thrown to me by Fr34k . I'm actually not a fan of such blog games, but because it's my first, I don't want to be a grinch and just engage with it. Who knows, probably somebody would still like to tell me your opinion?

My stick

Here are the rules: Link to the person who has thrown out the stick. Answer the questions that were asked. Then throw 5 people this stick. Let them know that you have selected them. Ask 5 questions that must be answered.

1. What is your favorite TV show and why?

My favorite TV series (or were meant other series?) are "True Blood", "Desperate Housewives," "Die Borgias - Sex. Macht. Mord. Amen." and "Die Tudors". For a time, also "Vampire Diaries" added on to this, but eventually I think this series is too "teenie way" if you can say so. Therefore now "True Blood" ranks first for me. Although I do not have so much time to watch this serie on television, but I own all the seasons up to the recently published one on original DVD.

I like vampires, vampire books, vampire movies and vampire series. Therefore, it should not be surprising that I like this series. In "True Blood" I particularly like this "be well grounded" and not this typical representation of a vampire-sunny-boy, which makes all the girls swoon because he looks so good and cute. The vampire Bill is here "a real man" with a striking face and acts like any normal man would act. He is not an overact Romeo or even a macho asshole. "Just normal". The woman Sookie in the lead role looks natural beautiful and not Barbie-like. Overall, I like all the characters because they embody a good mix of reality and fantasy. The drama and tension is really well done, as well as the frightening and amazing twists in the series. Well, I can gush further about how great "True Blood" is, therefore convince yourself. For the avid readers among you I can recommend you the books which were published. Some people recommended me these books, which are a good addition to the series because it based on these written works.

In general, I can say that I love movies and series that are not only about normal everyday situations, such as the search after the great love, but which also contain this topic, but represent it different by adding "unreal" things – just like in a fantasy world. And this includes not only vampires and werewolves, but also e.g. a twisted life story, like in the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", or stories from previous life as from the middle ages or other eras.

2. Are you superstitious? In which moments?

Mh... I think everyone is superstitious in certain situations. Own good and bad experiences contribute to superstition. Let's take an example in gambling. One person plays the lottery and never won a larger sum than 10 Euro. Then he/she got a lucky charm from the best friend and went with him in his pocket again to lottery. Suddenly he/she won 20 Euro. And so it goes on, the mascot is now always there and served its purpose: the profit was always more than 10 Euro. Then the friend wanted to have his lucky charm back, but the person is not satisfied with the thought that his winnings will be smaller again. He/She thinks that he/she can win more money with this lucky charm. And now we already have a superstition. Each one should know that the winnings in the lottery is pure luck (depending on the checked numbers) and only by pure coincidence (or fate?) the gain of this person with the lucky charm was always higher. But he/she now thinks that the lucky streak was caused only by the subject.

So I can tell already that I'm superstitious. Be it friday the thirteenth or the brush that you always use for your art. If one uses a different, then pictures somehow get not very good, at least one imagines. So superstition. Of course, the habit can be the reason for a non-perfect picture, but a lot happens in our minds. We think to know and know to think. Now I can get back again on my second sentence in this response. We are shaped by our own good and bad experiences. We always use the same brush in a painting, then we push the "blame" on the new brush when we create a non successful picture with it. Here you could go on back to the placebo effect, but I think that this would go beyond the scope here and now.

3. In which fictional city/area would you like to be most? e.g. Hogwarts and why?

I can not say for sure. A visit to many different unreal worlds would be a nice experience. Of course, not only the environment should be fictional, but everything that goes with it, including humans and animals with their characteristics and abilities.

But I do not want to stay there forever, I think. Sometimes the simple things are really just the best.

4. What would be your dream job? (It may be that what you are doing or is it perhaps something else that was too outlandish to carry into effect?

Oh, I can answer this question quickly. I am already working in my dream job, I'm almost learned media designer digital/print in the field of design and technology (digital).

5. How would you call your children? (Boy + girl name!)

What a question... I can not answer as accurate as well. For the girl I have ever thought of the name Alexandra or Joline and for the boys at Bela or John. But nothing is certain and I'm in this moment (thankfully) not in the situation where I have to worry about.

I throw...

1. Jenny
2. Leeri
3. Andryna
4. Fina
5. Sibel

on my stick! I hope you take a bit of time for that and join in this game. Would love it! Then... go on girls :)

The following questions must be answered:

1. What is your personal aim in your life? (Career, popularity, world travel, wedding, children, family, house, etc.)
2. Do you believe in love at first sight? Why?
3. Do you think there is life after death? Why? If not, what would be instead?
4. What would you do with 1,000,000 Euro?
5. If you could live your life again, what would you do differently or better? Why?

The collar of the plants and fences is illuminated by the warm morning light of the sun and really provides optimal moments for photography. Unfortunately I did not have much time, I would have to spend many more hours outside with my camera.

Well, I don't want you to burden with unnecessary words. I'll let pictures speak. I hope you like them.

It may be that you ring a bell at the last photo. Every morning I ride over at this point and have already taken some morning photos from there. Only the weather and the sun make sure that the images differ. It's really impressive to capture so many moments with only one perspective. I hope you are not bored.

How beautiful a morning may still be, you can watch at Dawn (photographs of a blood-red sunrise) or Tranquillity of the morning (photographs of the water mist). Is not it fascinating how varied a simple morning in nature can be? So different, but yet so admirable…

Let's take a look at a seemingly normal internet address:

   http://www.traumfinsternis.de
  

Und das bedeuetet:

   Protocol:// 3rd-Level-Domain . 2nd-Level-Domain . Top-Level-Domain
  

The protocol

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a so-called "protocol" in the network engineering, which is responsible for the transfer of data over a network. It is the protocol on the World Wide Web (WWW). In general it can be summarized that the HTTP is required to communicate with a web server to request the required data and send it to the browser. On a web server the data is stored, which are available on the internet, so your files from your blog are stored on a web server. So you have bought a tiny portion of space from this server (probably) and you can freely use this web space.

f you call a page such as my blog then your browser sends a request to the server where the files of my blog are. The server "responds" to him. Thus, the client communicates (browser) to the server. Thereby the server also knows which file it should send to the browser a URL is submitted that contains the direct path to the file, eg:

   http://www.traumfinsternis.de/en/blog/2012/the-thing-about-the-www
  

Everything what is behind the top-level domain (.de) are paths and files. They are separated from each other by a slash "/". Would my URL does not end with "the-thing-about-the-www" but with "the-thing-about-the-www/test.html", then the server would send the file "test.html" back. But in my case, the server sends a default file because no file specified. Normally, then a "index file" will be send, such as index.html or index.htm or index.php. If he does not find this file, also not the file that it may have been specified, then a default error page (error 404) will be send to the browser.

Conclusion: We need the http:// whenever we want to access an address in the browser. These include normal websites, files, images, videos, just about anything what can be found on the internet. It must always be specified first in the browser line. The fact that most browsers also react at address inputs without http://, is caused by that the browsers automatically know that they must use the HTPP. Modern browsers don't show the http:// in the browser line even more, but it is still available. Without it, the browser would not know what to do with the typed address. What is important here is that not the WWW is responsible for communication, but only the HTTP!

The domains

Top-Level-Domains

Let's now turn to the domains. Everyone has certainly heard something about top-level-domains (TLDs). At traumfinsternis.de is "de" the top-level-domain. More would be, for example, com, net, org, uk, us or eu. Country-specific top-level-domains such as .de (Germany).at (Austria) .us (United States) or .tv (Tuvalu). Tuvalu I have called here to illustrate that the domain name "tv" originally was a country domain, but is now marketed as television domain. TLDs which are used by a particular group, are for example .com (commercial, originally for companies, but now freely accessible) .org (organization, for non-commercial organizations, freely accessible) or .net (network, originally for network management facilities, today freely accessible).

Subdomains

A subdomain is a domain that is located in the hierarchy beneath another domain. The farthest standing right domain is the highest in the hierarchy level, so the top-level-domain. All what stands left beside it, are subordinate it. So would my domain

   traumfinsternis.de
  

a subdomain by "de", because my blog name "traumfinsternis" is beneath "de". Consider

   www.traumfinsternis.de
  

then this would be a subdomain of "traumfinsternis.de".

You know certainly subdomains only in this form:

   treasury.traumfinsternis.de
  

This is a equivalent subdomain like "www.traumfinsternis.de" because "treasury" and "www" are located at the same hierarchical level. However, this "www" associated by most people as a corresponding address of eg "traumfinsternis.de", where the www stands for the web server.

Unfortunately, the www in the domain is already so widely naturalized that a site that is not accessible with www, come across amazement for many people. But this is actually totally illogical. because

   traumfinsternis.de
  

can point to a different path with other content as

   www.traumfinsternis.de
  

because both subdomains are independent domains. Only the everyday life shows that a website with and without www should be accessible and of course the same content must be displayed. For most domain providers, it is set by default so that the address with www is just as accessible. Therefore certainly many surfers do not know these facts.

Illustration of hierarchy levels

1. Hierarchy level (Top Level Domains)

   de
   at
   com
   net
   org
   usw...
  

2. Hierarchy level (Second Level Domains, or colloquially simply domains)

   traumfinsternis.de
   affectionately.at
   my-april.com
   la-passion.net
   bloody-cross.org
   usw...
  

3. Hierarchy level (Third Level Domains, or colloquially simply domains)

   www.traumfinsternis.de
   portfolio.traumfinsternis.de
   aeonique.bplaced.net
   behindyourmask.taess.net
   dramaqueen.pytalhost.de
   inaccessible.de.tc
   vatarria.oyla.de
   usw...
  

4. Hierarchy level

   www.finabelle.bplaced.net
   forum.tutorials.traumfinsternis.de
   portal.portfolio.traumfinsternis.de
   usw...
  

I hope you, dear link partners, agree with the entries here as examples :) Otherwise, just let me know.

The problem about the WWW

Each site is thus reachable with or without www. You can enter in your browser line "http://www.traumfinsternis.de" or "http://traumfinsternis.de" and in both cases you go on my blog. Pay attention to the adress line, then you will determine that the "www" will disappear if you enter my address with www in front of it. The reason for this is that I have relinked the subdomain www.traumfinsternis.de on my actual domain traumfinsternis.de. I refer not to the same directory, but have only set a redirect on my right domain.
What about your domain? Changed the address line, if you enter the domain with and without www in front of it? Or is it the same?

And why did I do that with the redirect? So, I do not know how "smart" the search engines are these days, but actually are www.traumfinsternis.de and traumfinsternis.de two independent domains that should/could display two different websites. And when both domains point to the same directory, then I have two different domains displaying the same content. So duplicate content.

Duplicate content is not particularly conducive to the search engine optimization. This achieve rather the opposite, you will slide further down in the search page rank. Google chooses at double content only one site, and only the one that seems most helpful for the visitors. The other site will kick out of the index. However, nowadays the browser take a broader view maybe, but it isn't still correctly at the origin. At to Google Webmaster Tools you can even set which domain is the preferred (with or without the www). Therefore, it is not quite unimportant.

One more little thing

In some comment forms you need to specify the http:// if you want to enter your site. To avoid possible path errors, always type in the protocol, then you can be sure that the link will actually work (error on the site could be still there). If you type in only the WWW, then that means in effect nothing, because only the HTTP ensures that the Web server communicates with of your webstie. If you enter in the form, for example, www.myblog.de then your browser "thinks" this address is part of my site, it adds the URL to my address as if it were a new page of my blog, for example, would it mean then:

http://traumfinsternis.de/www.myblog.de

Make sure that you enter always the http:// to avoid such errors. Of course, there are also forms that automatically recognize that the http:// is missing and supplement this protocol, but you can never depend on that.

I hope I could give you a little clarity in terms of the WWW. Of course for ambiguies you feel free to leave a comment or contact me by mail.

Did you already know, what I've tried to give you an understanding for that? What do you think about this topic?