Mi Explorers Travel Journal - Andi Hope "My first post, as one of the first past the winning post!"


D

Deleted member 197699

Ok Ok, It's Official Now, So I Can Finally Let Myself Get Excited!
I'm one of the very lucky winners of Mi Explorers Spain and I'm off to Madrid July 23rd-26th.
I am honestly pinching myself, I can't believe it, 20,000 people entered and I'm one of the lucky 30 winners.
Ok confession time Guys, though. I am more an objective, obsessive fan of the latest and greatest tech than just an out and out Mi Fan.
However, it so happens that, Xiaomi are a company really pushing the envelope and disrupting the market, so there is no conflict of interest for me.
I will have a clear focus (no pun intended) on photography during my stay and, hopefully, will produce some nice content, which I will be putting on this thread.
Peace Out...
The8bitNomadWinner.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: MeiGuddet and MarkHUK
About Myself?...
Well, I'm a self-confessed, tech-obsessed geek/nerd who also has a love of travel, especially to SE Asia, hence my exposure to Xiaomi's great hardware.
Although I had a long work history at management level in the hospitality/service industry, I took a complete career change.
I made the, relatively recent, decision to combine my passions for travel, my love of animals/good causes and my passion for photography.
I currently work as a freelance, non-profit, web dev, content creator, social media manager and SEO helping charities and other NPOs to raise their online presence in a kind of one-stop-shop-capacity.
Essentially, I'm a 45yr old digital nomad, hence the monicker The8bitNomad (Shouts to anyone who remembers the ZXSpectrum & C64!)
In my own time, however, I always have a finger on the tech/geek news pulse and I'm always looking for the next market-disrupting device that literally turns things upside down, making everything else look like an antique.
For me, the original Mi Mix was an absolute game-changer in that respect. I'm also astounded at the pace, to which Xiaomi has turned the laptop space, on its head, in such a short time. We're now seeing truly fantastic hardware at a price point nobody is coming close to, in the case of the Mi Notebook/Pro models. As a Linux user, they also work perfectly and I understand they are currently developing their own Linux distro so I'm onboard!
Anyway, back to phones...What do I think I'll be seeing/testing in Madrid?...
Almost certainly, I am thinking Mi A2 will be launched and that's what my head is saying. However, my heart would love for it to be the Mi Mix 3(If the leaks are anything to go by)but I'll be really happy either way. The Mi A1 had an amazing camera for the price point, so I'm expecting nothing less from the Mi A2. In any case I'll be putting, whatever I'm given, through its paces with and you can expect an entirely objective review.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: NellyN, MeiGuddet and MarkHUK
The8bitNomad said:
About Myself?...
Well, I'm a self-confessed, tech-obsessed geek/nerd who also has a love of travel, especially to SE Asia, hence my exposure to Xiaomi's great hardware.
Although I had a long work history at management level in the hospitality/service industry, I took a complete career change.
I made the, relatively recent, decision to combine my passions for travel, my love of animals/good causes and my passion for photography.
I currently work as a freelance, non-profit, web dev, content creator, social media manager and SEO helping charities and other NPOs to raise their online presence in a kind of one-stop-shop-capacity.
Essentially, I'm a 45yr old digital nomad, hence the monicker The8bitNomad (Shouts to anyone who remembers the ZXSpectrum & C64!)
In my own time, however, I always have a finger on the tech/geek news pulse and I'm always looking for the next market-disrupting device that literally turns things upside down, making everything else look like an antique.
For me, the original Mi Mix was an absolute game-changer in that respect. I'm also astounded at the pace, to which Xiaomi has turned the laptop space, on its head, in such a short time. We're now seeing truly fantastic hardware at a price point nobody is coming close to, in the case of the Mi Notebook/Pro models. As a Linux user, they also work perfectly and I understand they are currently developing their own Linux distro so I'm onboard!
Anyway, back to phones...What do I think I'll be seeing/testing in Madrid?...
Almost certainly, I am thinking Mi A2 will be launched and that's what my head is saying. However, my heart would love for it to be the Mi Mix 3(If the leaks are anything to go by)but I'll be really happy either way. The Mi A1 had an amazing camera for the price point, so I'm expecting nothing less from the Mi A2. In any case I'll be putting, whatever I'm given, through its paces with and you can expect an entirely objective review.
Click to expand...

Have fun in Spain :) look forward to reading your FLOG :) (Forum Blog)
 
Failure To Prepare, Prepare To Fail!
So....the World Cup madness, for England at least, is over so now I can get back to the real world, go back to being a tech-head and start preparing for the Madrid trip.
Some, of which, I'll go into further details here and some I'll keep to myself for now. In some ways, this is an awkward situation...
How, exactly, do you prepare for a trip to Madrid to see and test a device you can only speculate about?
How much time will we be given, that isn't pre-planned and pre-scheduled in the itinerary by Xiaomi?
All I can do now, really, is concentrate on the things I do have control over, and the things I can actually plan for...
1) Checking the weather and what conditions I'll be shooting under.
2) Checking sunrise and sunset times there, for golden and magic hours for photography.
3) Location scouting online, because I have never been to Madrid before.
4) Brushing up on my Spanish, because it's 12yrs since I've last been to Spain and 14yrs since my last Spanish GF!!!
 
Congrats! Can't wait to see you in Spain, we'll have a crazy time there as #MiExplorers
 
The Mi Explorer Mission I've Actually Decided To Set Myself:
The old photography cliche goes something like "The best camera, is the one you have with you".
I've decided to take these words literally, taking myself outta my comfort zone, and I'm not bringing my camera to Madrid...period...
Smartphone cameras & photography have improved, exponentially, in the last 2 or 3 years especially. We are at the point, where phone OEMs & even consumers get it now. It used to be a "Photography Race To The Bottom" where the megapixel count and nothing else mattered, until a few years back. Now, however, OEMs & most consumers know the emphasis should be on the quality of the sensor, optics and processing in equal measure.
Indeed, the difference between cameras on $1000 phones and mid-tier devices has narrowed and we are at the point where it's negligible. this is actually the largest advancement in the last 2yrs.
Of course, the other most important factor, who is taking the shot!
The industry has rendered even $1000 compacts, surplus to requirements and DOA. As phone camera sensors improve and increase in size, they've managed to surpass them, making up the disparity in optics and sensor size, by using far more powerful processors than anything in a $4000 Pro DSLR and you can actually do things they can't in some cases.
I love, that some OEMs have gone either with the over-processing, Instagram ready image style, whereas others have taken the opposite approach, just focusing on pushing out a clean image or even offering .RAW file support so you have maximum data to work with.
Which approach you prefer on this, is actually totally subjective. Being of a certain age, myself, remembering my teenage years using film, I try to get as much as I can right in-camera, from composition to exposure, but many people would rather spend the time in post fixing stuff. And that's cool too...
So then...
Whichever device, we're given in Madrid, will be the only device I'll shoot with the whole trip. I'll also task myself as doing any post purely on the device too.
Let's see what can be done...
Finishing with another cliche, it is said "Necessity is the mother of invention", so let's hope that rings true for me creatively!...

Peace out...
 
The8bitNomad said:
The Mi Explorer Mission I've Actually Decided To Set Myself:
The old photography cliche goes something like "The best camera, is the one you have with you".
I've decided to take these words literally, taking myself outta my comfort zone, and I'm not bringing my camera to Madrid...period...
Smartphone cameras & photography have improved, exponentially, in the last 2 or 3 years especially. We are at the point, where phone OEMs & even consumers get it now. It used to be a "Photography Race To The Bottom" where the megapixel count and nothing else mattered, until a few years back. Now, however, OEMs & most consumers know the emphasis should be on the quality of the sensor, optics and processing in equal measure.
Indeed, the difference between cameras on $1000 phones and mid-tier devices has narrowed and we are at the point where it's negligible. this is actually the largest advancement in the last 2yrs.
Of course, the other most important factor, who is taking the shot!
The industry has rendered even $1000 compacts, surplus to requirements and DOA. As phone camera sensors improve and increase in size, they've managed to surpass them, making up the disparity in optics and sensor size, by using far more powerful processors than anything in a $4000 Pro DSLR and you can actually do things they can't in some cases.
I love, that some OEMs have gone either with the over-processing, Instagram ready image style, whereas others have taken the opposite approach, just focusing on pushing out a clean image or even offering .RAW file support so you have maximum data to work with.
Which approach you prefer on this, is actually totally subjective. Being of a certain age, myself, remembering my teenage years using film, I try to get as much as I can right in-camera, from composition to exposure, but many people would rather spend the time in post fixing stuff. And that's cool too...
So then...
Whichever device, we're given in Madrid, will be the only device I'll shoot with the whole trip. I'll also task myself as doing any post purely on the device too.
Let's see what can be done...
Finishing with another cliche, it is said "Necessity is the mother of invention", so let's hope that rings true for me creatively!...

Peace out...
Click to expand...

Really like your photographies, hope to see the ones taken on smartphone this time.
 
Hi Mi Fans,

So, we've all received the details of the device & itinerary now...
Therefore, I'm not going to speak much, at this point, as I simply can't/won't!
Save to say, no big surprises and a quick GOOGLE will get you the answers you seek.
We have all been given our missions and I can now carry on with the planning, of the stuff I am in control of, and have a clearer picture of what to expect, regarding the things I can't.
Anyway, looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing Madrid. Will keep you all posted,
Peace...
 
ORGANISED CHAOS!
Ok, so we're less than 48hrs away now. I'll be packing a few hours before I leave, so still no photos yet! Still, have a lot of stuff to think on. Now I have the itinerary, the question is, will I get the time/chance/opportunity to shoot in all the locations I was planning for? Let's hope so because I wanted to get off the beaten track and away from some of the really touristy areas and find some real beauty elsewhere. I wanna get at least one sunrise/sunset too.
Peace out...
 
  • Like
Reactions: SirLukas
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

SirLukas
Mi Explorers Travel Journal - Luke C
Replies
16
Views
2K
Mi General
SirLukas
SirLukas
Top Bottom
Back