Second Life Photography by Socks

"Back to the.... well wait..." Dream Horizon

I won't be on for Halloween, so I did Halloween a week early at the simboard comp. And this was my look for it.

I went as authentic to the 80's as I could, checkerbaord painters cap I made myself (NOBODY makes these things?!?!? MARKETING!!!" I chose shorts that were printed but still demins, which were period right. High-top chucks-style shoes, the wrist bands aren't period but they're "Correct" as far as fashion goes.

For the comp I did tint the hat neon blue and wore neon blue shades too. I couldn't bring myself to neon pink.

And as far as the t-shirt goes? I made that too based on a shirt I saw back in the day based on a shirt back in the day. What does it mean? Well.... Grampa Reagan said a few things in his time that were.... interesting.... Click here to hear it...

"Sunrise over the ocean" NASA eEducation

So NASA went searchign for water ont he moon by driving a satelite into the surface. So, naturally, I went into SL to see it. I'm in a NASA education sim, talking with people who know what they're talking about. It's pretty cool stuff. In a virtual world, looking at the real one.

"Sunrise over the ocean" Dive World SouthWest

Linden Labs is having a "photography contest" with the theme being the beach. the contest winner is whoever can get the most people to vote for their photo. Nothing about artistic merit, it's just a popularity contest.

Koinup isn't much better right now, they're having an "art contest" in which the winner will be whatever photo is "faved" the most.

This is all a bunch of BS, if you ask me. The same people will win because they have massive friends lists, and "Everyone" will fave them regardless of artistic quality. Meanwhile, those of us who really could use the money to fund other SL art endeavors get shafted because we're not known.

So, I'm taking this rather beautiful picture here at Dive world, which just re-opened recently. No photoshop, no editing, just a straight up photo of the sunrise. And I'm not entering it into any comp simply because I will not win it. The winner will be some naked avatar with large perky breasts in a somewhat slutty somewhat artsy pose that's been photoshopped to death, and the winner will have a friends list in the hundreds.

Meanwhile, those of us who love SL beaches, play on them, enjoy the water and waves? We'll be here long after they've all run off to follow the next "art popularity contest". Some of us take good photos because we actually give a damn about the content, but what do I know? Those grapes were probably pretty sour anyway, right?

I'll be posting up pics once I've had a chance to sort through them all. But, meanwhile, here's my builds you missed. I build the park, and the beach. Pretty decent build, if I may say so meself.

"Leap of Faith" Somebody

I was looking for motocross clothing, something deceptively hard to find in SL I'm finding. But the keywords brought me to this sim, called "T & D Motocross, Off Road Testing Grounds" They have dirt bikes you can borrow, and run around their 3D track. It's got 3 jumps, this one is the first. And first time I hit it, the reaction was "WOAH!". I didn't really look over the track before I hit this jump

If you wipe out, you fly off the bike, which goes in a direction you can't predict it seems. It's an amazing thing to try, because it reacts a lot like a regular dirt bike and racing tactics work here. Throttle open mid-turn for traction, brake before you corner... It's wonderfully challenging.

But if you go, pack a parachute. That +50M drop is a LITTLE scary....

"Tank Cue!" Abitibi

If you don't know about it already, "Relay for Life" is already in full swing on SL. RfL is a benefit for the American Cancer Society that's been run annually for 25 years now, and this is year #5 in SL. And already, records are being obliterated from last year. So what does this have to do with a 45' tall snail?

Well, I plunked down some money (more than I probably should have) to take part in a giant snail race this Saturday to benefit Relay for Life. I coulda got in for a lot less, but I wanted to start near the front of the line. They're hoping for 200 racers this go-round, and I figured I'll take my chances on the lag being lower this way. Some statistics for this event. 45 sims, 50 minutes to a few hours to finish the race. They had around 100 racers last go-round, and as of this moment 25 people purchased scarves to start in the most forward sim. And it starts Saturday, 2 PM SLT. It'll be broadcast "Live" on SLCN.tv (Treet TV now)

So I gots me a snail, and I pimped my Helix Aspersa! I see a 45' tall snail, and somehow my brain thinks "TANK". But I don't want to put a weapon on the thing. So, I went a similar vein. Camo'd the shell and the skin, added tank treads, gave him a bandoleer with supplies (3 bottles of snail ale, 1 vegan MRE, a backpack and an industrial sized harmonica), helmet and goggles complete the package nicely. Just enough for a 45 sim hike.

And the snails themselves are free. Hit up the SLURL above, and all the stuff you'll need to get into the RfL race is right there. Pick up a snail, a "pimp my snail" kit, and donate some linden to get a scarf, and you're in. Just be prepared for a lagtastic time. I'm not going to try to win, I just want to somehow finish. And if you don't want to race, but want to donate, I've got a website going with ACS so you can donate if you so choose. Oh, and I've got an RFL team called "Riders for a Cure", and I'll be organizing fundraisers up to the RFL event itself.

"Easter Egg Hunt" BiW

So, I set up an easter egg hunt over in the art sim. Nothing too hard, just 5 eggs in easy-to-find locations if you search a while. The Lindens gave out a free full-perm sculpty egg as part of a contest, so I felt the need to play with the artists again.

In this pic, 4 of the 5 are in shot. That's all I'm gonna say. Have fun!

"Stunt Junkies" Tsunami Beach

clicking ont he pic will take you to the full comic strip, this is just the first panel. It's an entry into a "comic contest" being put on at Koinup, L$10,000 to the best comic strip, as well as single panel. Unlimited entries, but you have to use a HUD that this person made. Nice HUD, nut it's a little unwieldy in SL.

I can see some fun uses for it tho. So check out the whole comic if you want. Skuff the "Extreme bunny" attempts a death defying leap while surfing! You gotta see it for yourself!!!

"Trippy" SLevolution

Someone told me there was an indie movie showing here. Saw it, good flick too. And then explored the area. Otterglow is trippy.

"Orbiting death sharks" Cocos Island

I have no idea WHY a shark is (1) orbiting the planet (2) pointing it's nose at us (3) signaling another shark to do similar. Makes me nervous tho, is NASA firing sharks off now? It's just one of those things that you stumble into, really.

Photo safari in a Costa Rican based SCUBA dive sim, more photos later in the week.