Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
Mr. B’s photostream would be perfect for a game of “Is it Life or Is It Second Life?” except every picture is Second Life. I think Second Life looks more real in black and white and his pictures harken back to a time when all pictures were unless they were hand-colored by the photographer. The white frame on these pictures make me think of old slides that usually had a number stamped on them and the name of the photo studio that developed them.
This is a picture of Jodis Old Train Station, Jodis. [To teleport, click here]
It reminds me of a single page my sister found from some long lost photo album (at right). It was a piece of that heavy paper old photo albums had and it had two pictures on it, one of my dad when he was a young man, the only one from before he got married. The other picture was of the river that went through the family farm.
This was taken some time in the 1920’s and you can see the similarity in how photos were developed. I suppose they needed wide margins for those little paper corners you had to stick them on with.
For more of Mr. B’s extraordinary Second Life travels, click here:
I love how he frames this so most of it is sky. It emphasizes how lonely those old farms could be. A picture angled from slightly higher showing more land and less sky would be cozier, but this better captures the isolation of a prairie farm. When your next door neighbor was two miles away and you had to hitch the wagon to a horse just to go have a cup of coffee and play a game of whist with the neighbors it got lonely. This was taken at Bryn Oh's Lobby Cam, Immersivist. [To teleport, click here]
This reminds me of Willa Cather’s “My Ántonia” and her description of the wind. “The wind shook the doors and windows impatiently, then swept on again, singing through the big spaces. Each gust, as it bore down, rattled the panes, and swelled off like the others. They made me think of defeated armies, retreating; or of ghosts who were trying desperately to get in for shelter, and then went moaning on.”
Here he shows us how repetition and lines can draw us in. I love this angle and how each bike is significantly less distinct going back. He’s really not that far away, but still we see diminished detail and a lighter color from bike to bike. The bikes in a row feel festive, like dancers in a stage revue. When you’re not looking, they get up on their back wheels and dance.
Mr. B’s photostream is unique and endearing. I love how these pictures convey strong emotional context. These pictures document his travels through Second Life, but they are as much an emotional journey as a visual one. His account is new, so he may have maxed out an old account that I would love to follow. Right now he has 158 followers which seems a crime, but it does take a while to be seen. But what a treat when you see him.
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All images copyright Mr. B
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