036 - To be special

Dim Sum sits silently amid the echoes of the sloshing waves reverberating off the stone walls, like distant memories bouncing in the mind.  Sometimes, even a little meow isn't appropriate.

model: *E*
location: Grey Havens

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)
water: Default (modified slightly)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.505
FOV: 51.0
F-number: 2.54
Foc Length: 143
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 10
Strength: 0.2
Luminance: 0.75
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 1.0
Alpha: 0.15

035 - Intimate arches

Dim Sum rests in the shade, eyeing the picture on the wall.

Featuring photography by Landmire Ireman (even though it's blurred here).

This is Mz Marville's home and I'm not sure if it's off-limits, so the SLURL below will take you to the base of the mountain. I've actually already featured her home in my "Talk, Like Dim Sum" interview with her and Landmire.

This is my second entry for the Maria Lynn Villa contest.

location: Maria Lynn Villa (the SLURL will take you to the base of the mountain)

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SUNRISE - Desert (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.505
FOV: 55.8
F-number: 6.43
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 10
Strength: 0.2
Luminance: 0.75
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

034 - Angels in the ceiling

Dim Sum looks down into the ruins of the old theater, then up at the ceiling where angels still tread.

This is an entry for the Maria Lynn Villa contest.

Dim Sum is teensy in this one, but I made sure she's well-lighted.

location: Decades Rock Club

Technical notes

windlight: Raymond's Sunrise (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.725
FOV: 50
F-number: 5.5
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 10
Strength: 0.2
Luminance: 0.75
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 1.0
Alpha: 0.15

033 - Bento box

Dim Sum practices her morning meditation as she ponders the universal sound, the cosmic sound, the primordial sound ... "meowmmmm."

"Bento box" is really a reference to the composition.  The fence divides up the frame into smaller squares, pretty much like a bento box.

When I was at the Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday, I got a ding-ding.

Br'er Rarebit (culpa): DIMSUM! :D
Br'er Rarebit (culpa): I love your blog!!!
Dim Sum the cat (lovelikedimsum): /me meows happily.
Br'er Rarebit (culpa): You like Japanese gardens, puss?

He was ready to tp me, but I was in the middle of the shoot, so I had to decline.  But he friended me and I promised I'd check it out next.  It's really a skybox high above the cathedral.  If you're easily offended, mute the loudspeaker, although you might miss some irreverently humorous commentaries.  (Or is that "humorously irreverent?")

location: Culpa's Japanese Garden

Technical notes

windlight: Bryn Oh's Mayfly (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.6
FOV: 40.0
F-number: 10.0
Foc Length: 250
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations:10
Strength: 0.2
Luminance: 0.75
Warmth: 5.0
Width:1.0
Alpha: 0.15

032 - Hail, Mary!

Dim Sum meows, "Hail, Mary, full of grace,... whassup?"


I decided I'd do an entry for this contest, so I took a quick detour to Notre Dame today.

Even though I've stayed away from organized religion since I was a teenager, I still love the hymns, and I am still in awe every time I enter a cathedral.

location: Notre Dame Cathedral

Technical notes

windlight: Places Abracadabra2 (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.25
FOV: 27.2
F-number: 4.29
Foc Length: 90
Foc Time: 0.0
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 10
Strength: 0.2
Luminance: 0.75
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 01.0
Alpha: 0.15

The trick to this one is the Ctrl-0 zoom.  I typically do it only once or twice to correct the convergence point distortion in SL.  But in this one, -- for a more dramatic effect, -- I hit it about 6 or 7 times.

031 - Spotlight on the rafters

Dim Sum looks down from her very own catwalk and strikes a pose. Even if no one else sees her.

Just getting her at the right spot took me a couple of hours, I think.  I had to write a teensy script to make her hover; otherwise, she kept getting lower and lower.  Scroll below to see the first picture I took.
 
location: The Untroubled Sound

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion III (modified)
water: Default

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 100.0
F-number: 10.0
Foc Length: 100.0
Foc Time: 0.27
CoC: 5.31
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.1
Luminance: 0.5
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15


I was skimming the default windlight settings and I fell into this one: Phototools- B/W Light 07, with DOF turned on and Lighting enabled, but Shadow Types set to None.  And I got this charcoal-like picture below.  It was pure luck that the composition had just the right balance of light and dark.  Cool, huh?  It was a very nice surprise.

030 - Intruder alert!

Dim Sum eyes the bushy tailed intruder again and thinks that the long-eared guard is asleep on the job.

I wanted to focus on the bird on the till, but I thought it would be great to work with the streaming sunlight and shadows, and I couldn't compose that picture well, so I zoomed in instead.  The first version was a bit more glowy, so that Dim Sum was almost indiscernible.  But this is easier on the eyes.  ;)

For extra credit, find the intruder too!

And, ... 30!!!  A whole month!  Woohoo!

location: Cherry Blossom Kittycats Cafe

Technical notes

windlight: Places Cornfield (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.75
FOV: 16
F-number: 5.5
Foc Length: 350
Foc Time: 0.27
CoC: 5.31
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.22
Luminance: 0.5
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

029 - True love

"True love isn't enough to describe you," said the cat with the blue ears.

The cat with the blue ears is not an avatar. It's a permanent resident of that bakery.

location: Cherry Blossom Kittycats Cafe

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SUNRISE - Barcelon 2 (modified)
water: Phototools- Black Default

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.505
FOV: 31.9
F-number: 3.325
Foc Length: 54
Foc Time: 0.0
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.1
Luminance: 0.3
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

DOF and shadows!!! OMG, it's a miracle!  ;)  I think if I click the buttons very very softly, I don't crash when I turn on shadows.  Shhhh....

028 - Purple bicycle

Dim Sum sees a bushy tail slip into the window and contemplates whether to chase it or to follow the scent of fresh baked bread and milk. Hmmm....

Many thanks to Calinacase Whiteberry for recommending this sim.

location: Cherry Blossom Kittycats Cafe

Technical notes

windlight: [AnaLu] studio4 (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.6
FOV: 52.6
F-number: 0.75
Foc Length: 30
Foc Time: 0.0
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.1
Luminance: 0.3
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

This composition is a bit difficult to do DOF with because I wanted to focus to be on a very narrow strip, which is the width of the bicycle.  I didn't play much with windlight today.  The "mist" on the left side is actually caused by the position of the sun, which is a very interesting surprise.

And, of course, as I was adding it to groups and stuff, I wondered what it would look like with shadows.  And, whadyaknow, the bicycle is pink!

027 - Cat museum

Dim Sum meows at the miniature kitties, but they remain silent.

Calinacase Whiteberry recommended this sim which she found while shopping.  In fact, I saw her in front of the shape store, which was housed inside a greenhouse.  She seemed to be afk, so I moved on and found this little museum of miniature cats.

Yes, I tried to hide Dim Sum in there, but she would have been just a pixel if I left her there.  It's still a little tricky to find her here.

location: qbee (the garden of) songbird

Technical notes

windlight: Fluffy Big Clouds (modified)
water: Nam's beach Scene


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 16
F-number: 1.75
Foc Length: 89
Foc Time: 0.0
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.01
Luminance: 0.3
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

026 - Smuggler's dock

Dim Sum wonders if the smugglers wouldn't mind if she smuggled one of their fish.

This dock was just beyond the door next to the jail.  There was a rock behind the door that refused to open for me, so I sat on something and was able to get out.  This space is actually still inside a cave with waterfalls covering the mouth of the cave, far to the left of the picture.  So it was really a secret dock.

location: The Realm of Mystara

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)
water: Phototools- Ship Light (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.75
FOV: 16
F-number: 1.75
Foc Length: 300
Foc Time: 0.0
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.01
Luminance: 0.3
Warmth: 5.0
Width: 0.5
Alpha: 0.15

It took me two hours to decide on the windlight for this one.  It wasn't worth turning on the local lights because it was more dramatic without.

025 - Jail birds

Dim Sum wanders into a jail cell in the dungeon and slips between the bars to accompany the poor prisoner.

Cristalle Karami said, "There is a little camp on the top of wolf mountain that might make for some interesting scenery. ... It's in southern Krillian."

So, today, I clicked on the map somewhere in southern Krillian.  When I tp'd there, I ended up underwater (which is a lovely spot, btw, but let's just say I lost another life).  So I tried to climb up the side of the underwater cliff and somehow got stuck somewhere among the rocks.  So I cammed around to see what I could sit on to escape, but almost everything wouldn't let me sit.  Then I finally found a cot that let me sit on it.  Yay!  When I stood up, I realized I was inside a jail cell.

Meanwhile, I was in IM with Fingol because I was teasing him about waiting for the sunrise before he goes to bed (a man after my own heart :D  ).  He was saying, "Dim Sum, I have a fish for you!!"  I told him I escaped the underwater rocks but I ended up in a cage, but he just lol'd and said, "tp me!!"

Oooooooooooookay.

First, he landed inside the rock behind the cell.  So I jumped off the cot and tp'd him again.  He landed inside the cell.

He arrived as a merman (from Mer Betta, of course), and he asked, "Enough fish for you ??"  Thankfully, before my mind completely fell into the gutter, he started camming around and realized how pretty Mystara is.

Since he was already there, I asked him to put on a medieval outfit.... And the rest is history.

model: Fingol Greyhaven
location: The Realm of Mystara

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.873
FOV: 22.4
F-number: 1.18
Foc Length: 178
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.62
Luminance: 0.301
Warmth: 5.044
Width: 0.531
Alpha: 0.15

When that photoshoot was all done, we tp'd out and he was playing with some animations where he knelt down and we came up with more photos. Here are mine:

024 - Love overflow

Whether you celebrate
the day for lovers today or not,
here's a wish for much love in your life,
whether it be romantic, platonic, familial, or self-love.
And remember that the last one is the most important,
because the best way to love another is to love the self.
Fill your cup before letting the overflow fill someone else's,
because love tastes sweeter and is full of joy,
when it is an overflow than when it is a sacrifice.
~ Lea Tesoro / Opal Lei

Dedicated to Wolfgang, Impy, mfpwtff, Rapido, and all lovers and all friends who have filled my Second Life with their overflow and presence.

Two versions today: one with the words (square and updated text, processed) and one without (usual aspect ratio, not processed).



location: Garden of Dreams

Technical notes

windlight: [EUPHORIA] sunset 2 (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.528
FOV: 15.0
F-number: 4.0
Foc Length: 125
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.62
Luminance: 0.301
Warmth: 5.044
Width: 0.531
Alpha: 0.15

The words are a texture (temporarily uploaded to save L$'s  ;) ) on a HUD.

023 - Arches through arches

Dim Sum jumps from one rock to the other, meowing as she almost falls into the water again.

Unlike most of the others in the series, Dim Sum is standing here and sideways, so she would be easier to find. Well, a little easier anyway.  ;)

location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: Places Cornfield (modified)
water: [NB] Hidden Depths


Depth of Field:
View angle: 1.0
FOV: 20
F-number: 2.5
Foc Length: 250
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 8
Strength: 0.62
Luminance: 0.301
Warmth: 5.044
Width: 0.531
Alpha: 0.15

Tanner mentioned the big waterfalls, but the waterfalls itself doesn't look realistic, but the arches and the water looked intriguing. Well, I love arches anyway. I took a long time with composing this one, then with finding just the right windlight. I wanted the face of the closest arch to be darker than usual to get a good dark/light balance.

Without DOF (where Dim Sum is a lot easier to find too):

022 - Twin falls

Dim Sum rests under a tree and observes the frog on the lily pad down below.

I was inspecting the yurts (see top left) and discovered this wonderful little spot. Again, there's a lot going on here. And I decided to focus on one of the waterfalls. I will likely do tomorrow's photo right in the same area.

location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: Nam's Robots of Dawn (modified)
water: [NB] Sparkling Depths (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.528
FOV: 19.2
F-number: 2.73
Foc Length: 1416
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution:1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 0.062
Strength: 0.301
Luminance: 5.044
Warmth: 5.044
Width: 0.531
Alpha: 0.150

I'm not quite happy with this one.  I see a problem but I don't know how to fix it yet.  If you look right in the middle of the picture, the rock of the waterfalls looks like it's a cutout pasted over the water.  I don't know why.  Maybe the focus length is too short, but at that distance, it's difficult to be precise. I think my mistake is that I'm focusing on objects that are too far away from the camera.

On the other hand, I'm happy how the windlight created different colors to make the scene more interesting.

Here it is without DOF:

021 - The cromlech

Self-contained, unexplained,
The cromlech in the clover field. 
~  "The Cromlech" by Louis MacNeice

And the existential question of the day is ... What cruel irony is it that some human would look at a plant that lives at the edge of the water and decide to call it "cattails"?!?  Seriously!  It's the only time you'll see any part of a cat willingly get that close to the water!


location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: Pirate (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.792
FOV: 28.8
F-number: 9.93
Foc Length: 337
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 17
Strength: 0.212
Luminance: 1.31
Warmth: 13.54
Width: 1.549
Alpha: 0.513

There's a lot going on in this picture -- the cattails, the dolmens, the butterflies, the streams of sunlight.  It wasn't easy to decide what to focus on.  Eventually, dolmens got the DOF focus; however, I kept it mostly in shadow because I wanted the streams of sunlight to be among the brightest things.

And again, here's the alternative:

020 - Fire!

Dim Sum encounters the man with scars again, this time in the catacombs.  Then she looks over to the skeleton across the hall, then back to the man, then back to the skeleton, then back to the man.  "Did you come to meet your future, mister?"

Tanner ran into me again. When he arrived, I was already playing with DOF, so he looked like a red blob to me.  He thought his avie wasn't rezzing.  Anyway, he added a little bit of brightness at the right spot of the picture, so it was a happy accident anyway.

model: Tanner Ryder (realdarkknight)
location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SCIFI - Albedo 0.39 (modified until it's barely recognizable)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 1.047
FOV: 24.0
F-number: 22.0
Foc Length: 266
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 17
Strength: 0.212
Luminance: 1.31
Warmth: 13.54
Width: 1.549
Alpha: 0.513

It's always difficult to treat dark places.  Either they end up being too dark to see or too bright to be believable.  I was going to go back outside, but I decided to see if I could find the right windlight to make it look dramatic.  I ended up modifying the windlight enough to look entirely different.

I decided to stay and work with it when I saw that the windlight created the little bokeh lights on the wall where a bas relief of skeletons were.  I thought they look like charcoal embers.  Maybe the effect was caused by the sculpt or mesh being at a low level of detail (I kept it low).  But I had to max the particle count and add glow to this to make the fire look brighter.

019 - To the path beyond

Dim Sum lost one life when she fell into the water while walking across the fallen tree. She decided it wasn't so bad doing it the conventional way -- taking the bridge.


location: The Realm of Mystara

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Dorm Light 01 (modified)
water: Phototools- Ship Light (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.873
FOV: 146.6
F-number: 9.35
Foc Length: 65
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

As I play with windlight and DOF, I find that I'm leaning towards nature settings, especially with water.  The play of reflections on the water surface fascinate me, like fractals do.

And as usual, after I get all done, I find another view that I like better.  *sighs*

018 - Vertigo

Dim Sum gingerly walks over the planks and pauses over the ravine.

Mystara seems to have a lot of very interesting characters. Another one followed me around again today, but by the time I found a spot, he had already logged off.


location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Awwyeah (modified)
water: Phototools- Ship Light


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.6
FOV: 90.0
F-number: 12.0
Foc Length: 54
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 7.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

I had spent more than an hour photographing ... not this. Actually, the Chapel of Light, which was nearby. But the subject matter was boring, the composition was boring, the lighting was boring. Even Flickr thought it was boring, because it wouldn't finish uploading it.

So, I continued to cam around, and the water caught my eye.  Another watercolor-y scene.  I'm not completely happy with this one either, but, trust me, it's way better than the first one.

017 - A man's scars

Dim Sum meets a man with scars and wonders what big claws made those scars. 


I wanted to shoot the hanging bridges and I was looking for a good angle, then I saw Tanner walk into the meadow and he has a very interesting avie, so I asked his permission to include him in the photo.  He agreed.  After I got done, he asked if he could use it as his profile pic.  I agreed.  A fair exchange, I think.  :)


model: Tanner Ryder (realdarkknight)
location: The Realm of Mystara North - Stromness

Technical notes

windlight: Places Greed (modified)


Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.873
FOV: 9.7
F-number: 13.24
Foc Length: 337
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

It was a bit tricky having to wait for two AOs to cycle to the poses I want.  I don't think I can modify Dim Sum's AO, so I may have to contact the creator to get the poses separately, so I can manually do them without the AO switching to a new sit pose.

I couldn't make up my mind with the windlight here.  I was playing and taking preliminary photos, but I forget to write down what the windlight was.  Here are some of the earlier ones that I can't remember the windlight anymore.

016 - Purple lilies on the beach

Dim Sum basks in the warm sun on the beach amid ... purple lilies?

Actually, the more interesting thing about this spot is that tree with the rock disc.  I have no idea what it is, but maybe an ancient recording of some king winning a battle.  Or so I imagine anyway.


location: X-ZONE

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Dorm Light 01 (modified)
water: Phototools- Ship Light

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 44.7
F-number: 14.41
Foc Length: 638
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

Still playing with DOF and I think I'll continue in this direction for a while.  What I am thankful for is that my work with stereoscopy has taught me how to compose a shoot for depth.  And that makes DOF more interesting.

Again had problems with the shadows on the prims of the plants on the side of the rock.  The fuzziness helped a bit.

015 - Lady of the Mist

Dim Sum meows at the wispy figure.

Besides looking for Dim Sum, look for the Lady of the Mist too.  If you go to the sim, use a windlight that's not too bright or you'll miss her.

location: X-ZONE

Selected as the Second Life Pic of the Day on Feb 5, 2013!  Yay!

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- B/W Light 03
water: Pond

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.75
FOV: 70.0
F-number: 116.0
Foc Length: 600
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

After the bully incident (see below), I gave up on adjusting the windlight fog and went with the original windlight version, then focused on DOF to enhance the depth.  And I found the perfect DOF for the scene.

I swear it's a Second Life snapshot and that it's unprocessed.

Bullied by a griefer

I wasted time with this one because of a griefer.  The spot I was in was fairly isolated and I was actually flying because I couldn't sit or stand where I wanted Dim Sum to be.  It took me a while to position her in just the right spot and it's difficult to be precise when you're flying.

I had the composition set up and I was experimenting with windlight, when some eagle avatar with a Santa hat started going back and forth around me.  I could tell he was trying to get to the same spot I was, because that's what I was trying to do earlier.

I didn't want to risk losing all the positioning (my avatar and my window) that took me a long time to do, so I IM'd him and asked, "What are you trying to do?"  (His profile says he speaks English, as well as other languages.)  Instead of responding, he continued his attempts and hovered above me, then slammed down on me.  So my avatar was no longer in the right position nor in the right rotation.  And to fix it, I'd also lose the window positioning with the composition I already worked on.

Then he ran away, so I chased him.  I had to do all the work all over again anyway.

I guess he thought I would do the same to him, because he tried to sit on something.  (He's been in SL for more than 5 years; he knows what he's doing.) Unfortunately, he sat on one of those rolling logs on the water, where you try to keep your balance.  (I didn't know they made those things!)  Anyway, his supposed-to-be-invisible avatar feet started running in place over the log before he finally fell into the water.  It was so comical, I kinda felt sorry for him.  So I left and went back to my spot.

The jerk came back and stayed nearby.  I made my avatar invisible and tracked him on the radar while I worked on the settings.  Unfortunately, when I wore the avatar prims again, the level of detail was low because my cam was far away and I couldn't move it closer to force it to rez properly.  And I wanted to hurry up and take the picture before he decides to attack me again.  So Dim Sum is a bit misshapen in the photo.

I know, I should have AR'd him.

014 - Timeless love

Dim Sum watches the rusty old lovers endlessly turn round and round on the handless clock.

location: X-ZONE

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] NIGHT - Flyer (slightly modified)
water: Glassy

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.42
FOV: 44.7
F-number: 19.47
Foc Length: 549
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33

I love the floating lanterns both in the tree and on the water.  To make them pop, I had to go with a nighttime windlight.

013 - The tent

Several times, while I was playing with windlight and DOF or mucking with the camera controls to get the composition I want while keeping the DOF focus on the tent, someone would walk into the scene, walk over to me, and stand there for a long while, like they're itching to start a conversation.  I waited for them to say something, but they don't.  Thankfully, people *do* read profiles!

No, I don't say "go away" in Dim Sum's profile, but I send them to several links, including this blog.  So, either they got distracted by the links or they decided they didn't want to end up in my picture of the day.

Maybe people get fascinated by a cat avatar that's not a neko.  And this cat has the same attitude as a real one.  ;)

Hey, you're blocking the view.... Ho-hum....

(I'm kidding!  Seriously, it's just an RP attitude....  Well, okay, it's not too far from the truth, depending how much sleep I had the night before....)

location:X-ZONE

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SCIFI - Rimmenthal (modified again)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.55
FOV: 44.7
F-number: 17.7
Foc Length: 302
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.78
Aspect Ratio: 1.33


The cool thing about this sim is that the foliage is dreamy.  Yep, dreamy.  The first thing that came to mind was that it looks like a watercolor scene.  I was looking for windlight that would enhance the watercolor-ness of the scene and accidentally clicked the windlight that I saved from the #007 shoot.  I had to modify it a lot more, and I still haven't found the windlight that would make it look more watercolor-y.

There was a dark tree behind the tent that would have added a nice balance of darks and lights, but when the sun is at a certain angle (any angle that's not straight behind the camera), the prim lines show and the shading is different on each face of the prim.  So it looked very unnatural. Solution? I de-rezzed it and darkened the sky instead.

Here's one with the dark tree still there. Admittedly, this looks more watercolor-y because it's brighter.  Dim Sum was also in the first position in this photo. And there's that dead tree branch on the upper left corner.

And here's a mosaic with increasing features.  (I tried to make an animated gif, which animates from my hard drive but doesn't after I upload it to Blogger.  I'll figure it out later.)

• Frame 1: plain with selected windlight
• Frame 2: plus atmospheric shaders on
• Frame 3: plus lighting and shadows on (but shadows is set to "none")
• Frame 3: plus DOF

Dim Sum in profile

This isn't really part of the 365 project, but I needed a profile picture for Dim Sum.

I wanted it to be so that Dim Sun is only visible because of her shadow, both on the floor and on the shadow side of her body.  But it would have been too light, so more her of body is in shadow.

Unprocessed.

012 - Well, are you gonna eat that?

Well, are you gonna eat that? 'Cause if you're not, .... you know, it just seems a waste....


This penguin seems distraught, maybe even crying, over the death of the fishes.  Doesn't make sense.  After all, penguins eat fish!

location: LEA23 - "The Arrival" by Rose Borchovski

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II

I was hoping to do some shadows if my machine would let me, then I crashed.  I guess that was my answer.