261 - A girl and her cat

Opal meows. Dim Sum stares back blankly, thinking, "Why do humans even bother to imitate cat-speak? Don't they know their meows are unintelligible to native meowers?"


Meow. Meow. Meow. I thought of having a male-female couple on the table, but that's too cliche.

It was a bit tricky to move the camera to just the right position, while keeping the focus on the outside scene. I decided not to do too much DOF here, because there's still a sharp line around the DOF'd objects, which doesn't look right.

The "DIGS - Constance Potted Orchids" was created by Iris Maskelyne (DIGS - Furniture and Prefabs).
The "Culprit Edwardian Folly" building was created by eku Zhong (Culprit Fine Furniture).

model: Opal Lei
location: The Trace

Technical notes

windlight: Bryn Oh's Virginia Alone (modified)

260 - Schoolroom on the bluff

Dim Sum wonders where Skippy is.... Skipping school?


I think if I went to a school like this, I'd be in so much trouble because I'd had been looking out to see and daydreaming all day long.

The "[ba] ozark pavillion - white" was created by Barnesworth Anubis ([ba]).
The "Old Oak Pupils Desk / Chair" was created by Domineaux Prospero (The Domineaux Effect).

location: The Trace

Technical notes

windlight: Nam's Beach Scene (modified)
water: Default

259 - Melting lighthouse

Dim Sum starts getting woozy from the rocking boat.


There are four animals in this picture. Can you find them all? :)

I think I got everything in this pic - shadows, reflections, sky, water, land, building, landscape, wildlife, avatar. But no humans.

The "Pitching boat (with rope)" was created by Anthony Gartner (The Dreamer Creations).

location: The Trace

Technical notes

windlight: Nam's Beach Scene (modified)
water: SNAKE!!! (modified)

258 - Shady facade

Dim Sum ignores the cooing behind her and searches the trees for the source of the more interesting chirps.


I'm on a roll! Three in one day! Woohoo! Of course, it's only because I'm procrastinating on other things I'm supposed to do, like laundry, taxes, groceries, and doing research for my upcoming trip. Oh, well, there's always tomorrow. *grins*

The "sf outdoor wall - light" was created by Heavenly Villa (**shutter field).

location: The Trace

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)
water: Nacon's Lake Water

257 - Beach vignette

Dim Sum meows. Simply.


Yes, it really is raw. The vignette effect is from the windlight. Just play with the SG focus and size and the sun position. I wish the sky edges were smoother though. But you have to live with things like that when you want to stay raw. ;)

The "Botanical - Sand Barrier Fence Long" was created by Kriss Lehmann (Botanical).

location: The Trace

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Lo Light 04 (modified)

256 - Wind in my sails

Dim Sum feels the breeze in her fur and shivers with pleasure, as she surveys her domain. Ahhhh, this is the life.


I'm not quite happy with the clouds but I don't want to spend too much time on it either. But I'm very happy with the shadows. For the first time, I am able to increase the resolution of the shadows without crashing!

The "TLG - Tudor Windmill" was created by Marcus Inkpen (The Looking Glass).

location: Caelestium Isle

Technical notes

windlight: AnaLutetia - STUDIO3 (modified)

255 - Humpback knight

Dim Sum looks up at the stone knight and meows (in cat-speak, of course), "Very familiar to me, you seem.... Met you before, have I?..."


Sometimes, it can be challenging to find a treatment that hasn't been tried before, an unusual angle, an unexplored subject.

But, at least, with my new machine, I don't waste time crashing anymore. I can try any setting without fear of that dreaded message that my graphics card has reset. My screen doesn't go blank anymore whenever I take a picture, not even a freeze, so I have to check the folder to make sure I actually took the picture.

I could get used to this. ;)

The "[ SKY ] The Valiant Statue" was created by ixysha.

location: Caelestium Isle

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Hospital Light 01 (modified)