The Art Fish : Emergence

You can see a lot of the pre-amble test shots I do before creating my final images on my Second Life Profile  feed. I find it quite a useful way to keep track of and test ideas.

Emergence

Emergence (B)

Some costumes in SL are epic and this is probably one of them. Made by BamPu Legacies who also did the amazing Poe Hat for last year's Art In Hats. This time Bambi has made a glittering jewelled thing.

BamPu Legacies is part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com

Fashion Details :

MORARA MAJESTIC ANGEL

For Fair Play Janaury 2016 Exclusive item and will be sold at  BamPu Legacies after the event.

Fair Play presents: "The Forgotten Game"

Each sale will contribute 10% - 50% of nett price to following

foundations:

- Relay For Life Of Second Life

relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/

 - Team Fox For Parkinson's Research

http://www2.michaeljfox.org/site/TR/TeamFox/TeamFox?px=1148354&pg=personal&fr_id=1720

BamPu Legacies Links & SURLS

BLOG:   http://bampulegacies.com/

FLICKR:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/92130367@N07/

MARKETPLACE:  https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/130576

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/BamPuLegaciesByBambiChicque

BamPu Legacies - Morara Majestic Angel @ upcoming Fair Play

(Wings, Garments, Collar & Headdress)

with parts from Bare Rose Tokyo (B@R) Self Control

(Sleeves, Ankle Bands)

No.7 Vieja Martha Fly Away Lashes 

LODE head gear *Butterfly Rare BIG*

Doll

Lelutka Simone Head & Lara Body using

Glam Affair Lelutka Heads Gift (Artic Aria)

Makeup Ys&Ys Carol Applier for lips 

Own Shape

Manicure - Shakeup Gradient for Maitreya (Fabulous!)

Mina Roosje Hair (Materials)

Argrace Saki Hair (White)

Props

{anc} IronOrb, Forest Lantern (Magic Purple A,B,C), Nebra Beads Heavenly Blue Field, Ephemera A&B

Screen Capture of Studio Setup (Note E&W direction)

Wind light settings for this shoot 1.

Wind light settings for this shoot 2.

Outfit Details (for this model)

Outfit Details (for this model)

The Art Fish : Tempus Regina

Tempus Regina II

Tempus Regina I

Lately I've been helping someone put together a look that they liked from one of my previous shoots. Admittedly, I'm really not very good at documenting my processes for myself. It tends to be a whole session of experimentation and I very seldom save an outfit after I'm done with it. Helping this person has made me think that I should work on documenting my process more carefully perhaps in the following way...

Close crop for blog size : The detail in this crown from DM! is simply amazing.

I do suspect that the time an average person might take to look at an image on flickr or even a blog is possibly less than 5 seconds unless it really grabs them or if they enjoy looking at details. There is just so much to see and only so much time with which to see things. This idea of time has been weighing on my mind what with the new year and all and is the inspiration for the last few images I've been making.

Outfit Details

BMe or Blue Moon enterprises (Part of MFGC https://medievalsl.wordpress.com) is a designer that is new to me but what an amazing discovery! I really love the rich details in fabric that they have put into this dress. It comes in a few other colours but I have chosen to work with one called " Peace"

More info on this shop :
Store : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rising%20Phoenix/202/226/24
Profile : http://secondlife.com/destination/bme-bluemoon-enterprise
Blog : https://bluemoonenterprise.wordpress.com/
Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/109542875@N04/
MP : https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/92817?id=92817

Other credits as follows :
Fashion :
BlueMoon Enterprises Audrey dress in Peace available at The Alchemy Event

Accesories:
Devious Minds !dM - VictorianGothic - Crystal Crosss Crown (Gacha)
(SH)/Sad Harlekin (now Xansa) - Pearls of Venus Necklace
Pixel Box Earring Steampunk Magical Treasure

Pets:
Culprit UniQrn Nightmare
{anc} long hair dog - mix

Body :
Lelutka Simone Mesh Head & Maitreya Lara body
with Glam Affair Lelutka Heads appliers gift - Leda in Petal (available in Lelutka)
D!va Hair " Giz" from Arcade Gacha
Sparkle Makeup Applier for Lelutka by Ys&Ys from Shiny Shabby (Dec)

Props :
Ruins by Raya Jonson
{anc} city. timelamp /night [little & big hands]
7. Apple Fall Oversized Horloge (From Gacha)
:Fanatik Architecture: Rocks & Cliffs WALES Gate

I've decided to try and document the varying windlight settings I make for my shoots and their variations by taking a screen capture as follows :

Windlight Settings

The Odd Fish : New year, new renewals, new adventures!

2016!
I'm hopeful for the new year and what it might bring - which is as good a place to start as any.  Meanwhile over on flickr, I've been happily regular in my picture making as follows :

Nest

Bunny Hunny

Glittering Cloud

Ink

I'm really grateful for being able to blog for shiny shabby and most of my latest images reflect this. I find that being a blogger also helps push my own creativity as I try to interpret and portray the various creations from the event in a personally fulfilling way.

Recently on flickr I joined a group called " Flickr is my blog" and I'm finding this to be quite true. I tend to use blogging as a means to elaborate on thoughts and ideas more than anythingelse. Who knows though ;-) another new year in the life of this blog :-)

The Fish Eye Lens : Composite Layering

"Usagi and the Ephemera"

Perhaps one of the things I most use with photoshop is layers. 

I like to experiment with creating composite images that I make in SL and often play with different windlights and shadows with a little of that " How to make a 3D image look even more 3D?" vibe to it - applying fabricated DOF and so on.

Final Composite

The Layers
As you can see, the final image consists of many component "bits"

Background Image (Original)

Layer 1 (Original) applied over background with Color properties
(This layer has also been blurred for the composite)

Layer 2 (Original) applied over Background and Layer 1 with Color Dodge properties

Credits :

Little Branch "Wildforest" from Shiny Shabby (out now) 
www.flickr.com/photos/129494941@N05/23136999026/in/pool-2... 

Cotton Bunny and Ephemera by anc 
www.flickr.com/photos/88035880@N04/19467097288/

The Art fish : Portraits

"Nouveau Scissors II"

Of late I have been creating my images based around the idea of a typical studio portraiture set up. Some cliches apply such as the signature abstract all purpose photographer's background; the "spot" light and fall off. What I find interesting about the idea of portraiture from an SL perspective is the shorthand in trying to capture the essence of a character in one frame.

"Surreal Sorbet"

Who are these characters that look back at you from the print frame? What are their stories and what was happening when the camera flashed...

"Theia"

Do we like our SL portraits to look hyper realistic?

Production Notes

"Nouveau Scissors II"

From Shiny Shabby

NOMAD Nouveau Scissors Set (Frame + Chair)

Essenz Missouri Boots (size S - still big on COCO FD)

Everythingelse

Outfit:

COCO RuffleSkirt (Lace-Black) + PDD Black Ballet Tutu (Flexi Prim Part) +

AZUL CHIC (from With <3) Sleeve Parts (L+R) + Zibska - LaVie En Deux Collar

+ DRD Chain Necklace (Mono)

Accessories :

Scrub - Like a nun collar (xxs)

Lark - Rose Veil Black

Swallow - Septum Ring (Copper)

Remarkable Oblivion - Scissorhand

Elua Hollis2 in OmbreA

"Surreal Sorbet"

From Shiny Shabby

Style:

Azoury Kate Cap

Elisa Collar

Coffera Ringset (For Maitreya)

Kibitz Renata Earrings

Claw Fringe Cuff (Metalic)

Body :

Clef de Peau - Astrid (for Lelutka)

White Widow - DeadMan Tattoo (Comes in Layers and Appliers for various mesh bodies including Lara)

Else:

ieQED Octobra

ieQED chanel pearl panties

Lelutka Aria 1.3 + Maitreya Lara (Full)

Genesis Lab Tongue

Dura 3rd Anniversary Hair (Free)

"Theia"

Theia by Calico Hair

together with partial from Lyrical B!zzare Templates (New Releases) Spanish III

The Fashion Fish : Urban Pirate & Other LOTD's

Playing virtual dress-up is fun!

Production Notes :

The Glad Rags 

Ascend Fringed Out Cardigan  - Ascend are debuting at Shiny Shabby in this upcoming November Round (Starts 20th Nov.) I absolutely adore this piece for its texturing, model and attention to detail. Also as a boon, it fits well over Maitreya Lara (seen here)

Wanderlust  Tugged Panties (Noir)

JD Boho Vintage (Brick) - There's a quirk with this model of boots from Just Design. When wearing with high socks, the Maitreya Model boots don't actually fit with the socks. You need to wear the Belleza ones (also included in package) as far as I can tell , this is a glitch that hasn't been fixed and later updates simply include a notecard explaining this match-up.

The Blinnnng 
B@R Geargun Halster (Free Gift) from Bare Rose Tokyo. Occasionally I'll go browsing June Dion's amazing creations, They have a random prize giver in store and this is one of those gifts that you get just for being there!
ieQED pirate doubloon hoop earrings and necklace - Very lovely textures and attention to detail here - Gacha
Alchemy Pirate Hat (Forest) also a Gacha Prize although this one I got as a gift from Luly Soup who is a fellow gachaholic
MINIMAL Captain, Red & Green Pirate rings + Indian Pirate bracelet all Gacha Prizes available at Shiny Shabby 
Bliesen + MaiTai NousSommesUnis - B + M created this as a simple gesture in the aftermath of 13/11/2015 Paris. This is available for free at their flagship store.
Remarkable Oblivion Photographer's Eye

The Pets
Mesh Parrot (Marketplace Cheapie - Probably a free model if you trawl the web and are clever enough to upload it yourself)
[Black Bantam] Baby Monkey - Peanut (Squeeeeeeee! This primate is really adorable and one model of a few as Gacha from Kustom 9) If you missed this Gacha I suggest trawling MP or  the Gacha Yard sales to pick a copy up for yourself!

The Urban Pirate(s)
Nebraska Oddfish (Maitreya Lara, Lelutka Head - Aria)
Angel Leitner (TMP-ness and Model's own stuff)
Calico Hair - Larya (Old school flexi prim hair but it works!)

The Fashion Fish : Art in Hats 2015 (The Loot)

As I write this, Art in Hats has already come to a close (hope you got yours!) but I thought I would share my purchases and styling ideas with you.

Annabel Lee
Hat by BamPu Legacies " Poe's Reflection" Art Hat

Peacock Peahen
Hat by Spyralle "Jeu d'esprit"

Jazz
Hat by Cica Ghost "Cica's Hat2"

Production Notes :

Annabel Lee

I think the hat itself has a very strong narrative and this inspired me to shoot a set-up based on Poe's Annabel Lee.

Clothes

{Junbug} Vintage Prom Dress in Ivory

ieQED hand spike (platinum)

Maitreya Vintage Collar (Ivory)

Body

[INK] Hair - Surrealism in Blonde

Chelle (lipgloss) Sheen 2

Zibska - Frost - Smoke

The Annex - Snow Queen Lashes

Props:

Arbres Obscurs 2013 Hallowseve Tree (Dark with Bats) Sept. 2013

DRD Haunted Piano 

Shai - Murder of Crows Mystery Rare (From TAG Gatcha - Haunted Mortuary Ed.)

Peacock Peahen

It's easy to have the hat wear you rather than your wearing the hat. To offset the vibrance of the hat, yet draw equal attention to it, I kept the model in monotone and played with the idea of  the hat itself being its own creature.

Clothes

Parts from "Wild Thing" by Boudoir

Body

Glam Affair (Luria Skin) worn with Maitreya Lara 

For a long while the only way to wear Luria was with the default system avie as it's an old Gacha prize from one of the first few round of the Arcade. However as Glam Affair have designed the default skins for Maitreya Lara, voila! A close mesh match!

No. 7 Ballroom Lashes

Jazz

I created this image post Nov. 14th  in the wake of the Bataclan massacre. I was in Paris myself earlier this year and have a dearly loved one there. Jazz is one of my favourite genres of music and as a treat while out there, we were ourselves at a Jazz club in the 10th arrondissement. It fills me with much sadness that such an incomprehensible tragedy should scar these streets of Paris.

Clothes

Dead Dollz  Juliet Prize (In Black)

Props

Double Bass by Causality