355 - Wired crosses

Dim Sum feels her fur rise as she rubs against the pole.


I was playing with the windlight settings and I was struck by this monochromatic look. It made the electric pole look more realistic. I left a bit of color though. I think it's more interesting that way than pure monochrome. Yes, it's still from the Fine Day windlight.

The "oyasumi / telephone pole / concrete / cable" were created by Kenzo Gateaux (oyasumi).

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

354 - Load 'er up

Dim Sum figures that this truck is going nowhere, loaded or not.


I love the ambience of this area of the sim. There's a certain desolation and eerieness to it. Part of a train with cargo cars is also nearby but too far from here to show the context and not as interesting as this truck, which was very well made.

The "AS Abandoned Truck B-3" was created by ArmyStone (Total Destruction).

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

353 - Transportation

Dim Sum wonders where the wheelchair's occupant went and imagines the worst scenarios.


I thought this was a very interesting juxtaposition and makes me wonder:

Is a wheelchair considered transportation, like a ship? Or is it considered part of the person using it, the same way eyeglasses are considered part of the person wearing them?

The "[ zerkalo ] Wheel Chair" was created by danielestro.

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

352 - Otto: Man on chair

Dim Sum smells the fish in these chairs and wonders if this is where fishermen sat while they fished. Mmmm, fish.... Someone give this man a fishing rod!


I had already taken my first image when Otto came by and said hi. He has an interesting avatar (see that red bandana around his head?) so I asked his permission to include him in the picture. Often, an avatar adds a point of interest to the image.

The "Soy+SKBIO. Chair [in town of Camaguey] ..." chairs were created by Soyoy (Soy).

model: Otto Muggins
location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

351 - Abstract trees

Dim Sum lies in the shade of a popsicle tree as the sun sets.


I followed a landmark that I had, but I realized that I saved it for a Halloween shoot, so it's not really applicable anymore. But this parcel was just across the street.

I've been to this place before and I loved the scene. It feels like something out of an old comic book. Richie Rich?

Anyway, I missed last weekend, because it was the Christmas weekend and I was rushing to finish my Christmas greeting machinima. So there are five images this time, and there will be five for each of the next two weekends.

The trees were created by Misty Mole.

location: Gilda - Adult Hub Zone

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

350 - Santa's bicycle

Dim Sum wonders if Santa's reindeer went on strike so he had to give up his sleigh.


OMG, only 14 pics to go! OMG!!!

This week's set has been strange, really. Usually, I'd have pretty much the same style in a set because I use the same windlight with slight variations. This time, I have four images in four different styles. I started with two different windlight settings and modified both, of course. It's just that certain places and certain compositions seem to demand a certain ambiance. So I just go with it. :)

The "{what next} Winter Bike (decor)" was created by FrankLee Anatra ({ what next }).

location: Telrunya

Technical notes

windlight: Midnight (modified)

349 - Winter cottage

Dim Sum wonders where everyone is! Has everyone gone away for the holidays already?!?


I wasn't quite happy with this one, but I was getting very sleepy, so I kept going. In the high-resolution version, there's a nice crispness in the trees with the mountains blurred enough to make the tree trunks pop out.

And now that I see it on a white background, I like that the lower left corner and the bottom edge melt into the page.

The ". a i s l i n g . Sonja House -Snowy Version-" was created by Druunah Esharham (aisling).

location: Telrunya

Technical notes

windlight: Default (modified)
water: Glassy

348 - Moonhouse

Dim Sum scratches at the door of the moon house and wonders if there's a fireplace inside.


I love love love this moon house!!! And this is my favorite in this week's series. It has too many prims and it's made for petite avatars, but I still love love love it!

The "TLG - Petite Moon House" was created by Marcus Inkpen (The Looking Glass).

location: Telrunya

Technical notes

windlight: Midnight (modified)

347 - Frozen too

Dim Sum meows, "Let it go.... Let it go.... I'm one with the wind and sky.... Let it go.... Let it go...."


After a short exchange with Richard (richartsharp), whom I met at "It's a New Dawn", he sent me some landmarks to check out. Telrunya is one of them. I figured it was time to create Opal's holiday card anyway.

Well, I haven't created the holiday card yet. In fact, I took this pictures last weekend but was so so harried and exhausted during the week that I didn't have time to create the settings picture and these blog posts, so I'm doing them kinda late.

The castle was created by Marcus Inkpen (The Looking Glass).

location: Telrunya

Technical notes

windlight: Default (modified)

346 - Autumn's path

Dim Sum ignores the squirrels next to her and tries to read the deer's mind instead. Compared to the endless chattering in the squirrels' minds, the deer's mind was very quiet, except for the mantra "grass ... grass... grass...."


I wanted the focus on the deer and on the lake beyond the path. That turned out to be a bit difficult to set up because the shadows weren't quite right. This was close enough.

• The "Balderdash - Trees that line the paths - Old Road Width - Mossy" was created by Saiyge Lotus (Balderdash). 
• The "Deer 1 Standing - Mesh" was created by Hannah Kozlowski (Just Animals).

location: It's a New Dawn by silvermoon Fairey

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

345 - Copycat

Dim Sum thinks twice about saying anything about dreaming of greener pastures, after the cold shoulder she got from the cow. Besides, that's too many cliches in one day.


I had to redo this image because I really liked it, but Dim Sum wasn't looking to the left! Models not paying attention!

When I was doing the original image, Silvermoon IM'd me to say Dim Sum looks cute next to the doggie. :D

The "{anc} flottante puppy. cream . sitB 1Li" was created by aki69 (a.n.c Ltd.).

location: It's a New Dawn by silvermoon Fairey

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

344 - Holy cow!

Dim Sum learns that cows don't react well to "Is this what it means to be put out to pasture?"


I like sims like this! There's a little bit of everything, and the objects are very well done. I thought of doing more than four images, but I have chores to do. Thankfully, my family already had our Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday.

• The "Cow" was created by Raya Jonson (Mesh Full Perm).
• The "Farm Windmill Water Pump" was created by ebrink.fugue (e-brink's Design).

location: It's a New Dawn by silvermoon Fairey

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Default

343 - Sunset lighthouse

Dim Sum curses the sand that stuck to her salty wet fur after her umpteenth failed attempt to board the boat.


My apologies to Richard (richardsharp) who modeled for me in the version below. I wasn't quite happy with the composition, so I took another set of pics, but he had already moved on to another part of the sim.

The "(FDD) Lighthouse (C)" was created by Fallacy DeCuir (Tool Shed).

location: It's a New Dawn by silvermoon Fairey

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Default

342 - Gedenspire Gallery

Dim Sum enjoys the cool marble steps in the Gedenspire Gallery, far away from the crowds.


It took me a while to work the windlight so that the full bright items didn't stand out too much. That's why the windlight here is different from the rest of the series, although it was still based on "Places alirium".

The "Gallery Stairs" was created by Ron Winterwolf.

location: Paris Eiffel

Technical notes

windlight: Places alirium (modified)

341 - Je suis Paris

Dim Sum watches and listens to the people gathered for a vigil.


This is actually a more journalistic photo than an artistic one.

I only asked for Ryal Enoch's permission because his is the most distinctive avatar in the crowd. He's the VERY big anthropomorphic lion at the center of the picture. He's holding a placard that says "Je suis Paris" but, at this distance, the placard disappears and I noticed too late.

model: Ryal Enoch and all other attendees of the vigil
location: Paris Eiffel

Technical notes

windlight: Places alirium (modified)

340 - Say cheese!

Dim Sum tries to stay as far away from the photographer's explosive flash.


I used a similar technique/composition in a video (see 3:04 - 3:17), but not in a photo until now. That is, a silhouette against a lighter background, juxtaposed with lighted figures against a darker background.

Cabaret du Crane #001 - la petite mort from Opal Lei on Vimeo.

The "Arc de Triomphe" was created by netpat.igaly (Netscript - Paris 1900).

location: Paris Eiffel

Technical notes

windlight: Places alirium (modified)

339 - Under the Eiffel

Dim Sum tries to avoid eye contact with the child who discovered her and started cooing at her.


I learned about the terrorist attack in the real world Paris via a group notice in SL. So I thought I'd do a series in the Paris Eiffel sim as a tribute to the victims and Parisians in general.

• The "Femme Tohru 1900 v1.9 Bleu Blond" was created by Kenobi Hermans (K&H Creation).
• The child "Louise" was created by fffred Auer (FFF's Gallery).
• The "BGC Diner Patron - The Greeter" was created by Krikket Blackheart (Better Gnomes and Cauldrons).

The Second Life Paris sim has been around for years. Here's the first (stereoscopic) photo I took in 2009:

location: Paris Eiffel

Technical notes

windlight: Places alirium (modified)

338 - Clock Bell Tower

Dim Sum surveys the lay of the land on the clock bell tower, just as it starts to drizzle.


I'm not sure how the sky turned dark here. In the previous picture, I thought I had made the sky blue. Oh, well. At least the dark sky emphasized the tower.

The "ANTIQUE ARTISTRY'S Victorian Clock TowerSEC 1" was created by Fatima Ur (Antique Artistry).

location: LEA29 Watercolors in the Rain: The SL Experience

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)

337 - Wooden swords and cat dragons

Dim Sum quietly watches the young prince with the wooden sword and the threatening stance. "You're too late, little prince. I already ate your princess mouse. Now, go take a bath."


This "prince" is actually an object that hops around in a random path, so it took a number of tries to even get a meaningful composition. For each photo, I had to wait for him to come back into the frame.

The "Sa'ng Fori Design -Child Martin-" was created by Kim Lefavre (Sang Fori Design).

location: LEA29 Watercolors in the Rain: The SL Experience

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)

336 - 5kg

Dim Sum naively sits right under the watermelon. Oh, well, she still has a few lives left.


I love these vegetables! Definitely one of the best builds I've seen in SL. The tomatoes are so realistic, I could imagine how juicy they are!

The "23 - 8f8 - Green Grocers - Balance Scales" was created by iBi (8f8).

location: LEA29 Watercolors in the Rain: The SL Experience

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)

335 - Your carriage awaits

Dim Sum tries to nap in spite of the hansom cab pulling away with all the tourists and making such a racket on the cobblestones.


I had trouble with this sim because some of the builds are full-bright, so I can't get this windlight to show nicely. So this series is focused on closeups to avoid including the full-bright items. I think I need to create a movement (a group?) against full-bright objects.

The "Hansom Cab" was created by JonyBlade Codesmith (The Guided Tour Company).

location: LEA29 Watercolors in the Rain: The SL Experience

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)

334 - Goat and Eve cast out of paradise

Dim Sum witnesses what really happened in paradise. Adam was a goat that ate everything in sight, including the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. And Eve got blamed for it!


I was trying to get Agent A to stand in as Adam, but he was afk, making and having dinner. Thankfully, there was this goat standing there....

The "Animated  Goat (TrigiGifts)" was created by Hannah Kozlowski.

location: Costa Amore - Garden of Eden

Technical notes

windlight: Places Abracadabra2 (modified)

333 - Man and beast face off

Dim Sum watches the stranger and the tiger face each other in silence, each one tense and ready for whatever the other does.


These last two pictures are different from the first two, because I actually took them on a different day with different windlight.

The "Tiger Looking - Mesh - Full Perm" was created by Hannah Kozlowski.

model: Death T
location: Costa Amore - Garden of Eden

Technical notes

windlight: Barcelona (modified)

332 - Misty moonlight

Dim Sum listens quietly to the falling water and the chirping of crickets.


I think this is one of my favorites. The monochrome theme makes it nice and minimalistic. However, for some reason, when I create something I really like, it feels like I've seen it somewhere else before.

The "LAQ Decor ~ Twin Birch (Summer) - Animated" (left) was created by Winter DiPrima.

The "STARMARK CREATIONS - Jungle Trees 1/no sound" (right) was created by Christine Starflare.

location: Costa Amore - Garden of Eden

Technical notes

windlight: Bryn Oh's BLUNIVERSE (modified)