043 - Ruins and roses

Dim Sum finds herself in the middle of a rose patch after chasing after that mouse, which got away anyway. She gingerly walks through the thorny vines, then sits down to lick her fur back in place.


These ruins are actually smaller than they seem. It's kinda cute. That part in the right foreground with the cylindrical top looks like a tiny pyramid.

This was not my first choice for the subject matter. I was going to shoot a globe, but it didn't look interesting enough and I couldn't find a good windlight that fits it. That took a long time, so I gave up and then I found this spot, which was still a little difficult to compose.

location: Betelgeuse 5

Technical notes

windlight: Places Greed (modified)
water: Default

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.65
FOV: 21.0
F-number: 6.5
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
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

The windlight here is actually plain. I wanted it to look like a normal bright spring day, so I just focused on the shadows.

042 - The answer to life, the universe, and everything

Dim Sum curses the dolphins for stealing all the fish. She notices a mouse, however, and steps on its tail, just before some guy comes along frantically looking for his towel.


The top item in the search list for Douglas Adams in SL returns this combat RP sim, which is supposed to be a small planet near the red giant star Betelgeuse. The landing area looked like a typical sci-fi setting, which was kinda boring. After reading the rules and grabbing the visitor tag, I took the teleport to some place with a fancy sounding name, and ... o ... m ... g ....

This place is definitely not boring.

I recognized the handiwork. Most of the objects, the structure, the trees, the out-of-this-world floating island-plant-vine-jewel-thingies, and the bridges were created by Elicio Ember.

Ember Farina introduced me to Elicio's work when she showed me the mer sim for the Fantasy Faire in March 2011. Then I went and bought half his store. Actually, more than half. Then I asked him to marry me. Well, he didn't, but he gave me a couple of gifts to thank me for my shopping spree.

location: Betelgeuse 5

Technical notes

windlight: Pirate (modified)
water: Default

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.75
FOV: 22.4
F-number: 2.54
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
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

The challenge was to tweak the windlight so it would look like it's a planet near a red giant star, without burning your eyes with too much red, while using shadows to emphasize the sculpted decorative motif near the roof of the structure.

041 - A whale of an appetite

Dim Sum's squints at the big dinner in the distance as her stomach grumbles.


I've been to some sims where it was very easy to find good shots, as though the sim designer had photographers in mind. Some sims were very interesting when you get there, but framing and composing shots were challenging. Zoo World is one of the latter, unfortunately.

I wanted to do one more photo though, because two is not really representative of a place with so many interesting things in it. I was ready to give up and move on, when I realized there was a whale in the water outside the walls of the zoo. And a pretty lighthouse too! (/me loves lighthouses. And whales!)

I couldn't decide between this version with the tail out of the water and another one with the tail underwater.

• This one feels more dynamic somehow. The whale is closer to the viewer, giving a better sense of its largeness. You can't mistake the whale for a rock. The tail's shadow adds to the overall light/dark balance. However, you'd expect the water to be "disturbed" by the tail lifting out of it. At the very least, you'd expect water dripping from the tail. But the picture is supposed to be unprocessed.
• The alternative (see below) feels more peaceful. The whale is more "inside" the picture, but also smaller. The overall picture is lighter. The tail is underwater, so no need to worry about dripping water. However, a small sliver of wave froth is interrupted at the middle left edge and I thought that was distracting.

I couldn't decide so I asked two lovers for their opinions. Each one chose a different one, both with very good reasons. Hmmm.... So I went with the version that made my heart beat just a little bit faster.

Which one would you have chosen?


location: Zoo World

Technical notes

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

Depth of Field:
View angle: 7.25
FOV: 35.0
F-number: 12.0
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
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

The alternate version:

040 - Mount Rushmoose

Dim Sum quietly eyes the heavy accessories these creatures wear. What pains beasts are willing to suffer for fashion!


When my ex Jon and I lived in Newfoundland, Canada, we used to go on walks up the hills behind our apartment. One day, on our way up the hill, we turned around a bend, and a moose was standing right in the middle of the trail. The moose stopped chewing when it saw us, but we didn't move and eventually, it started chewing again.

Jon, fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), had a disposable camera with him, and he probably wanted to show off at work how close he got to a moose. So, in spite of my whispered pleas to "let's go," he started taking pictures of the moose with the camera going click-click, click-click. And he moved closer and closer and closer. Click-click. Click-click.

The camera might as well have been on a loudspeaker. Everything was so quiet, except for the clicking of the camera. Well, at least until it was replaced by thundering hooves that chased us down the hill.

Needless to say, we survived the adventure. But we lost the camera.

location: Zoo World

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] MIDDAY - Why so blue? 1(modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.65
FOV: 25
F-number: 12.0
Foc Length: 285
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
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

I wanted this to be a lot brighter but the face on the mountain would get washed out, so I had to find a balance.

039 - And the giraffe too

Dim Sum meows the traditional family birthday song.

I had to do this one early, because it is also a birthday greeting for my youngest sister. We have a traditional family birthday song that goes:

Happy birthday to you
You belong to the zoo
With the monkey and the donkey
And the giraffe too.

Fingol pinged me while I was taking this pic, so he became my token zoo visitor. :D  See his version here.

model: Fingol Greyhaven
location: Zoo World

Technical notes

windlight: Pirate (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.727
FOV: 25
F-number: 15.0
Foc Length: 160
Foc Time: 0.8
CoC: 10.0
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

038 - Newton's Cradle

Dim Sum meows to warn Opal to get out of the way of the swinging balls. But she wouldn't listen.

This is a continuation of yesterday's photoshoot for the Exploratorium blog. I was aiming for a geometric composition and I wanted the background to be as plain as possible without having to derender too much because I wanted to retain a sense of the environment.

model: Opal Lei
clothing: Inga Wind Clothing
location: Sploland

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Lo Light 03 (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.5
FOV: 40
F-number: 12
Foc Length: 72
Foc Time: 0.5
CoC: 10.0
Resolution: 0.7
Aspect Ratio: 1.50

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

This was a very long session (several hours) because I was interrupted a couple of times, and I kept crashing. I've had bump and shiny turned on and I realized that that would crash me if I have shadows and DOF turned on at the same time.

And here's a closer version:

037 - Dominoes

Dim Sum rubs her neck and face against Opal's stockinged legs.
Opal Lei sneezes.

I needed to do some photos for the Exploratorium blog for a post about the machinima videos that I do for the Splo Museum.  I've been asked for pictures "with not so racy outfits" as in the first set I submitted.  :D  Well, okay, I must admit my midriff was showing in that first set and it was a kinda seductive pose. Anyway, I think this is the most conservative outfit I have.  And I chose white for Opal to match with Dim Sum's fur.

I figured I'd multitask and do the daily pic.  Besides, the Splo is a great destination with fun things to play with, like in the RL Exploratorium.  Smart cats hang out here.

Many, many thanks to Inga Wind for keeping me clothed with these great mesh clothes.  I wonder if she has outfits for scandalous cats....

model: Opal Lei
clothing: Inga Wind Clothing
location: Sploland

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Light Explosion II (modified)

Depth of Field:
View angle: 0.606
FOV: 51.0
F-number: 10.3 for the full-body version; 18.5 for the half-body version
Foc Length: 196
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

Here's the half-body version: