Desk setup

So what do I use now? Let’s go through all the things I use, in no particular order.

Mac Mini M1

This is currently my most used PC, not really much visible in the photo, as it’s hiding behind the Ipad. It is the lowest configuration with the M1, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD. I don’t use it for editing, but it has two main uses. I use it for web surfing, writing, or other work that just does not need that much RAM on a daily basis. But mainly it works as an always-on server. I attached a drive array to it, and it’s always on, so it’s a host for all my photos and other media files. I then just connect to it from my other systems. Works well, even though MacOS implementation of network sharing is often really slow.

As with other M1 systems, one just has to love how totally quiet it is. You don’t even know it’s there. When I was changing my setup, this was one of my main requirements, making it completely silent all the time. And it works.

MacBook Pro M1

Currently my main editing machine. With the M1 chip, 16 GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD. It’s fast, totally quiet, battery life is great, and I can easily use it at home and also on the road. And surprisingly, also like the touch bar, even though I mostly use it for volume and brightness changes. Still, I get more use from it than from the F keys.

I was looking at one of the new 14-inch ones, but since I don’t do video, I just don’t need the extra memory or CPU power. The M1 is still powerful enough even when editing big panoramas. I also don’t need any of the extra ports. For years now I have been trying to move completely to USB-C and except for a few Lightning devices, I’m almost completely done.

Dell U3223QE Monitor

One of my latest additions is the Dell U3223QE monitor. It’s a 32-inch, 4K, 60hz, IPS black monitor, with support for USB-C. A really nice monitor for work, with higher contrast (2000:1), higher brightness (400cd/m2), and a huge amount of ports. It’s so great to just connect the MacBook using one USB-C cable, and you have everything in the monitor. Charging, LAN network, legacy USB ports, audio. I have not used the charger from my MacBook once while I am at home.

As you can see, I don’t have separate speakers, I don’t need those in my desk setup, just the SB521A magnetic soundbar from Dell. I almost never listen to music or watch videos directly on the monitor, so this works fine for me. And the way it magnetically attaches to the monitor, it’s just perfect. It’s fine for random youtube videos or such.

Ipad Pro 12.9 (4th gen.)

I got the Ipad as a replacement for the Surface Pro 4 I had before. But it is just not a full computer and it could not replace it. So that was replaced with the Macbook Pro, and the Ipad stayed more as a media consumption machine. And for that, it works great. Especially the speakers are superb. I also use it a lot when learning Japanese Kanji, with the pen and GoodNotes application. The Magic keyboard while nice, it’s almost useless, as apps are just not made to be used with a cursor.

Here is actually agin a comparison to the Surface Pro I had before. That one I could use completely with the pen, I did not even travel with a mouse. In IpadOS most things don’t even react to the pen. It’s quite frustrating. I was looking at the newer versions, but yet to see a reason to update. Maybe they introduce something interesting next week.

Logitech MX Keys and MX Master 3

For a while, I have been using the Magic Mouse and Keyboard from Apple. But as I had to also use a Windows PC in my last job, I needed something that I can switch easily between multiple PC. And I’m quite happy with the MX Keys. MX Master 3 is a bit more problematic, as it is prone to problems. Random scrolls, zooming, not working macro buttons, and such. Would have replaced it by now, but I’m waiting until there is a MX Master 4 or I find something better. I used to have a Wacom Tablet too, but I sold that one. I’m just too used to edit using just the mouse, and in case I need a tablet, I can always just use the Ipad.

Airpods Max and AirPods Pro

I have not had a phone with a 3.5mm audio jack for years now, so long ago I completely switched to all wireless. First I got the Airpods Pro, which surprisingly I could use. I tried many (really many) in-ear headphones, but all caused a really horrible pressure in my ears and I was not able to use them for more than a few minutes. I never had this problem with the AirPods Pro. One just has to be really careful when crossing the street with them in one’s ears.

After that, I got the Airpods Max. Yes, the price is horrible, but of course, I did not pay the full price here. With a bit of searching, I got them for much less during Amazon Prime Days sale :).   I got them because I really like how songs are in Spatial Audio. Once one gets used to it, it’s hard to go back.

SteamDeck and Sony Playstation 5

As you can see in one of the older photos, I used to have many consoles. I’ve been a gamer for a very long time, and I also used to create games before, so it’s more than a hobby. But I recently sold almost all of them. I used to have a PS2, PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox One X, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, PSP, PS Vita, Switch, and a gaming PC. That I scaled down a lot, keeping only the Switch and replacing the PC with the Steamdeck. Recently I got the PS5 as a trade for some of the older consoles, but man, is it huge. That’s why it’s hidden so nicely behind the plants. Not that there are many games I want to play right now, but Final Fantasy 16 is here shortly.

A spot with a view in the High Note Skybar

It has already been years since I took this photo in the High Note Skybar in the center of Budapest. I looked at it already a few times, but never posted it. The reason was simple. As this is a bar, I had to hurry, as there were people around. And in my hurry, I completely forgot to move my camera backpack. So it was nice and prominently visible in the photo. And it was in a spot where it was just hard to remove. But to be fair to myself, it was in a shadow, and it was already late, so it was not that visible through the viewfinder.

Here is where the new Generative Fill in Photoshop (beta) comes in. With it, it took me seconds to get rid of the backpack. It worked almost like magic. If I wanted to remove it traditionally, with cloning and painting, it would be just too much work to look natural. It’s really lovely how by introducing a new tool, Photoshop can give new life to photos that one would discard previously.

But it’s not without problems. I have been running into an error message often. It says “The generated images were removed because they violate user guidelines.” For instance, in this photo, there was water spilled on the table. Generative Fill would refuse to remove it. I tried different selections but had no luck. I presume that this is a result of the feature being still in Beta, and hopefully, they will resolve it quickly.

This is actually the biggest issue with all the AI tools there. That it can just refuse to work. A crop tool with always crop, the brush will always paint, but the AI can just not work, for no apparent reason, and that’s not good.

This photo is a two-shot vertorma, each shot blended from 3 photos. All done in Photoshop.

New Super ultra-wide wallpapers

The super ultra-wide page keeps being the most popular part of the blog for a year now, so let’s do another update today.

In this update, new pictures from Bratislava, Porto, Paris, and Zadar. As always, these are in 5120x1440px resolution, so perfect for a 32:9 monitor. Also as always, feel free to share them further, just please link back here and give me credit as the author.

The next one to be updated is the 4K selection, as that one is lacking a bit right now. Or would you prefer a different resolution?

Exploring the colors of Spring

And here are a few photos I took today. I went with shallower DOF here, to give them this soft look. All taken handheld with the Canon 70-200 F2.8 lens.

I decided to share them all in a higher resolution (2560px tall or wide) and without a watermark, so if any of you would like to use them as phone/tablet wallpapers, you can easily do so.

View from the Sky Park towers

Recently I posted a few different photos of the Sky Part towers in Bratislava, so how about today a picture was taken from the top of one of them. This photo is not that recent, so you can still be missing the 4th tower in the background. Either way, it makes for an interesting view. I actually wanted to take the photo a bit later, during the blue hour, but it became so windy up there that day, that I could not hold the camera steady enough. The wind would move the whole tripod around; if I were not holding it, it would blow it away.

Still, this photo is a vertorama, from two shots. Each shot blended from three exposures. Edited in Photoshop. I used the 17mm tilt-shift lens here, and if you don’t know what kind of lens it is, or how it’s used, check out my guide here.