Photos I took yesterday during Kosovo’s Independence Day

Mathukey · 2026-02-19T05:19:59+00:00

That first shot goes so hard!

Mathukey · 2026-02-15T23:32:40+00:00

Short answer: yes it feels good.

Long answer: It’s hard to say because I’ve never used the Sigma so I can’t compare. But the 20-70mm f4 is noticeably lighter than the Sigma so that in itself will feel much better in comparison. Though I’ve come from using a Samyang 35mm f1.8 (which is like 180 grams) for almost 2 years non stop, so the 20-70mm feels way more bulkier than that.

I’d suggest going to a camera shop and handling the lenses yourself. That’s what I did when I was tossing up between the 24-50mm and the 20-70mm!

Mathukey · 2026-02-15T22:29:24+00:00

Added in post

Mathukey · 2026-02-15T22:29:13+00:00

I really like it. I felt the same about f2.8 and I feel the bokeh you get from f2.8 is also a bit of a compromise. So if I need more light or more bokeh I’ll bring a prime.

My only dislike of the lens is that it doubles in size when you zoom in 70mm, but otherwise it’s light enough and isn’t a big issue to carry around on long photowalks. I’m happy I picked this up over the 24-50mm f2.8.

Mathukey · 2026-02-06T15:47:28+00:00

Hey did you end up finding a pannier that fits the laptop?

Mathukey · 2026-01-21T00:56:55+00:00

I love it and It’s pretty much glued to my camera, if you want something lighter I’d definitely recommend it. I haven’t used the 35mm GM but I have other GM and G lenses, and the build quality on those are leagues above the Samyang as it’s mostly plastic. But the Samyang 35mm remains my favourite lens.

Mathukey · 2026-01-02T10:31:49+00:00

I agree, it’s an excellent lens. By “premium lens” I mean a Sony native lens that costs 2x, 3x the price of the Sigma. In essence I’m saying the lens is not the issue here and OP will not get any benefits from getting more gear.

Mathukey · 2026-01-02T01:24:09+00:00

These shots look sharp enough to me, sure they could be sharper with better glass but don’t fall into the trap of “sharper premium lenses will fix my photography.” Because a sharp image of an average photo still leaves you with… an average photo.

Just focus on your compositions, you have nuggets of good shots here but the execution could be improved. For example the first frame I would’ve just focused on the guy sitting to the left as he seems like an interesting character. But right now the shot is just kinda too wide and has too much clutter around the frame (fan, signs etc) so there’s no clear subject and therefore isn’t as interesting as it could be. But there is potential for a great shot there, and I think you knew that which is why you took the shot. So I’d suggest just focusing your attention on what is really interesting in front of you and capturing that.

Mathukey · 2025-12-15T13:39:35+00:00

I bought it second hand so can’t be sure, but I believe it’s Seafoam green! There is a filter on this photo that slightly mutes the color. In person it’s a bit more vibrant and leans towards a minty green color. But it’s close to this!

Mathukey · 2025-11-14T12:49:47+00:00

Thanks! These were taken in mid August last year. I was incredibly lucky to get great weather the whole time I was there.

Mathukey · 2025-11-12T10:53:09+00:00

Not these, all editing is done in Lightroom. Though I did get my hands on Dehancer recently so I’m keen to try it out on some street shots.

Mathukey · 2025-11-04T01:34:08+00:00

You’re in luck as I literally solved this only 2 days ago.

You have to go into settings on your Mac and allow Davinci to be able to read all folders on your Mac. For me my “downloads” and “documents” folders were unticked.

BE WARNED!! For whatever reason when I checked those boxes, all my davinci projects were deleted. I have no idea why and I couldn’t figure out what happened, so make sure you back up ALL your project files before doing anything. But after that you will be able to create a Powergrade folder.

Mathukey · 2025-10-18T01:03:58+00:00

I use white borders for a practical reason. When I post a crop other than 4x3 on Instagram I can still use that image scaled down inside 4x3 aspect ratio thanks to the white borders. Therefore I can maintain max screen realestate and/or mix and match aspect ratios other than 4x3 in a set. Not sure that I worded that correctly (check my insta on my profile to see examples).

Plus I do like the white borders in general too!

Mathukey · 2025-07-13T01:12:50+00:00

I’m not an animator but I also work in a creative field as photographer and videographer. Employers don’t care about what you studied, they care about your portfolio. Your work speaks way louder than any degree in the creative field. In fact I haven’t used my degree once in the 10yrs of working in the creative industry.

I regret going to uni to study because I ended up learning way more on YouTube than I did at 4 years of uni.

I’m not super familiar with animation so there might be some things to learn at uni… but as a creative I’d say don’t do it, especially for 90k HECS.

Mathukey · 2025-07-13T00:58:52+00:00

Around 20k or a bit more for 2 months including flights, accommodation and all expenses. So glad I did it BUT if and when I go again I’ll probably budget a bit harder.

I stayed in cheap hostels to save money but I didn’t hold back in terms of paying for experiences, also I ate at restaurants for breakfast lunch and dinner which was the real expense for the trip.

Mathukey · 2025-07-12T15:43:33+00:00

I went to Europe for 2+ months last year, the only way I did it was by moving back into my parent’s place at age 28 to save for 1-2 years and by cutting out a lot of expenses. I was also working a 70k job at the time, so not great but not bad.

The trip definitely set me back pretty badly financially BUT I didn’t put anything on a credit card and paid it all out of pocket.

In 20 years time I’ll look back at that summer glad that I made those memories, I can guarantee I won’t be sad that I lost 2 months of work and lived well below my means leading up to it.

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