Cajsa Choices: 12 of My Favorite Holiday-Themed Photos from Second Life

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and seasonal photos are where it’s at. I absolutely love “Couldn’t Resist” from Samanda Eddingham Jewell. I am drawn in by the angle, the perspective that places the rope in the forefront, showing the subject from the back. The slumped shoulders suggest sorrow and loneliness–something many experience during the holidays when they are far from home. I love how depth of field focuses our eyes.

Yes, this magnificent Christmas photo “Merry Christmas to You All” is from Second Life. The artist Doni even explains how she created it and the items she used on her Flickr page. Doesn’t it look just like an old-fashioned illustrated Christmas card? Some of it is how it is framed by the evergreen boughs. It’s beautifully balanced without perfect symmetry which makes it far more interesting than absolute symmetry can ever be. I love the imagination and the creative way it pays homage to the past. And yes, I know it’s from 2011, but I didn’t have this column back then to highlight it.

“Driving Home for Christmas” by Eria Ziemia is an exquisite photo. The lighting is beautiful, the fence forms leading lines and there is even an ess-curve road. This incorporates so many excellent elements of excellent photo composition, but even better, it’s evocative, calling up emotions and memories of years past.

For those of us who love stunning photo compositions, the return of Moos Hultcrantz with this photo called “Baja Norte” was an early Christmas gift. Hultcrantz creates amazing scenes that are set in time and place with an eye for detail and authenticity. His photosets are always complete, but not overstuffed. They are not made to stuff as many bloggable items in the frame as possible, but to be as authentic as possible while telling a story. I don’t know him, but I have missed him during his hiatus.

Many more below the break!

“Plastik Cookies” by Alisaundra Andel is a marvelous example of how zooming in and shooting a close photo of a couple items can make a beautiful graphic image. A few wrapped packages, a plate, and cookies are all it takes to evoke the tradition of setting cookies out for Santa and recall childhood traditions.

This untitled photo from Portilly reminds me of the Christmas cards my mom always chose. An amateur birdwatcher, she always looked for the Christmas card with birds. This is beautifully done, blowing out many of the details so it looks almost like a watercolor.

“Second Life 01.12.17” by Angelo Diabolico is a darling capture of Santa coming down the chimney. See his feet? It has the look of an illustration with pen and ink. I assume she applied one of the many filters that outline edges and make photos look more like cartoons and illustrations.

I cannot resist “All Christmas Trees Are Perfect” by Caitlin 'Caity' Tobias. I approve the sentiment and it’s a joy to see the Christmas tree reimagined. She shot it in the HHAX Atom 1, a gift from Huckleberry Hax to celebrate ten years of blogging. With the angle and its progressively smaller tiers, it also suggests a very retro futuristic tree. Or am I just imagining it?

Speaking of H u c k l e b e r r y H a x, his “Christmas and Second Life” is a great photo. I love how the picture centers on the gift, that everything is blurred, but you still get emotional content from his body position. There’s a tentative quality to the way he holds himself that is appropriate and deliberate as evidenced by the commentary he includes speaking of the “fragile bubble” of joy and innocence we create for ourselves in celebrating this holiday.

No holiday collection could be complete without a photo from Skippy Beresford who always tells a story with his pictures. This is the third chapter of his Little Prince story collection, “Chapter Three: The little prince shares with his friends…” His photostream is a magnificent collection of stories, hopeful and kind. Exactly what the season needs.

“Curiosity” from Kylie_Jaxxon also tells a story, the curious fawn inspecting the water pump. I suppose he hears the air in the pump hole or perhaps a glug or two. I am curious why there are so many spotted fawns in December, since their spots should be gone by August or September at the latest. It’s not just this picture, there are pictures of spotted fawns in the snow from greeting card companies and everywhere, except in the wild. Oh well, so what if it’s not biologically accurate, it’s adorable. I also like the place this photo was taken. Holiday Trace is an excellent place to take picturesque winter photos.

“Post 297” by Rafaela Brianna is adorable and reminiscent of a Christmas card with its near symmetry. It is exactly what it needs to be, cute and adorable.

Cajsa Lilliehook joined Second Life in 2007 and has been enjoying the art of SL ever since. Disliking the common practice of critiquing poor photos, she decided to highlight good ones and explain why they work in hopes of inspiring with praise instead of criticism. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter or on her blog.

Comments

[Huckleberry Hax]

Honoured to be included on this list, Cajsa!