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