Showing posts with label Mont Saint-Michel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mont Saint-Michel. Show all posts

20130408

073 - Grand Rue

Where's Dim Sum? #073 - Grand Rue


Dim Sum meows at the sneakers that walked by, barely missing her tail by a whisker.


It seems that all through out my growing-up years, I had always lived far away from school. In grade school, my sister and I rode privately hired jeepneys that took us and other school friends to and from school. In high school, we rode public jeepneys or buses  After moving to California, it still took me 1.5 hours one way to commute to the university waiting for and riding two buses and one BART train.

Unlike most people who could read while commuting, I can't. Even since I was a young child, I've had problems with motion sickness. And reading in a moving vehicle simply made it worse. So I'd either sleep or look out the window and watch the scenes go by while reflecting about one thing or another.

I don't remember exactly when it happened, only that I was still young. The bus I was riding stopped to let some people off, and I noticed a small alley which I could see far into. And I wondered where it went, who lived there, what was beyond the bend. Since then, it became almost a game. I'd look for the alleys and wooded paths that led away from the road, and each time I'd wonder where it went, what was beyond the bend or the hill. I was fascinated.

Somehow, I rarely feel that wonder in SL because we see everything from a higher vantage point. Even when we're walking. We have a map. We can move our cameras anywhere, at viewpoints that are difficult, if not impossible, to get in real life. And that wonder is no longer evoked. The curiosity is easily satisfied.

We don't have to imagine what's beyond the bend; we just go and look. And I think we lost something because of that.

model: HiHo Silvera
location: Edelweiss - Mont Saint-Michel


Technical notes

windlight:  [TOR] SUNSET Malts (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.606
FOV: 25.6
F-number: 8.96
Foc Length: 319
Foc Time: 0.5
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 1
Strength: 0.35
Luminance: 1.0
Warmth: 0.0
Width: 1.3
Alpha: 0.25

I was going to try other windlight settings but after the one below, I crashed, so I took that as a hint from the universe to stop. I still decided to go with the more subtle lighting above.


20130407

072 - Arches and buttresses

Where's Dim Sum? #072 - Arches and buttresses


Dim Sum wonders why the bird perches were not full of pigeons.


I love architectural details, and virtual recreations like this are wonderful in that they allow you to inspect the architecture from angles you couldn't get in real life.

location: Edelweiss - Mont Saint-Michel


Technical notes

windlight:  Phototools Dreamboat (modified)
water: Glassy (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 85.0
F-number: 11.0
Foc Length: 550
Foc Time: 0.5
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 1
Strength: 0.35
Luminance: 1.0
Warmth: 0.0
Width: 1.3
Alpha: 0.25

071 - The archangel

Where's Dim Sum? #071 - The archangel


Why is it always easier to climb up than to climb down? Someone call the fire department, please.


This is probably the third spot I went to today. I had an idea back in the cafe but I couldn't find a good composition for it, after working on it for an hour or two. I couldn't find a good windlight for this one either, but, oh, well.

location: Edelweiss - Mont Saint-Michel


Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Dream Boat (modified)
water: Glassy (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 20.0
F-number: 17.0
Foc Length: 300
Foc Time: 0.5
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 1
Strength: 0.35
Luminance: 1.0
Warmth: 0.0
Width: 1.3
Alpha: 0.25

The DOF is hardly there, really. I wanted to preserve the crispness of the houses down below without the lines being too harsh.

I also wanted to add some haze to emphasize the distance, but because there's really nothing between the foreground (the saint) and the background (the houses), it makes it look like the foreground objects were just pasted on, and it looks odd. DOF and stereoscopy look best if there are objects that gradually recede to the background.

20130405

070 - The grey-haired librarian

Where's Dim Sum? #070 - The grey-haired librarian


Dim Sum watches the grey tabby from the corner of her eye, then goes back to reading her book. (Yes, cats read books. Or at least we look at the pictures.)


The landmark from Skeat Abonwood took me to the monastery, but I found this little cafe/restaurant in one of the houses by the water. And it looks like there are shops hidden inside the other houses. Lots of nooks to explore!

location: Edelweiss - Mont Saint-Michel (Le Cafe Poulard)


Technical notes

windlight: Places Cornfield (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 20.0
F-number: 16.75
Foc Length: 120
Foc Time: 0.5
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 1.0
Aspect Ratio: 1.0

Glow Settings:
Quality: 8
Iterations: 1
Strength: 0.35
Luminance: 1.0
Warmth: 0.0
Width: 1.3
Alpha: 0.25

370 - Eggs and bunnies and peeps (360°)

Dim Sum joins the peeps who wanna be bunnies. At least for Easter. For non-US folks, "peeps" are marshmallow candies shaped l...