Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting; read about her in this Second Life Spotlight
SL Monochrom is a small, but mighty, group of just 96 members who have shared around 3,000 pictures, all deliciously monochromatic. There isn’t a stinker to be found. Karla Glen shared this untitled picture that takes the common clichéd image of a person standing in a doorway looking into the distance and subverts it by replacing the person with a couple dogs. In addition to its clever play on a common sort of picture, the detail is sharp and the lighting is perfect.
Now, just because an image is clichéd, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. There are many gorgeous pictures of a nude woman lying on her stomach on her bed, a person jumping into the air on the beach or sitting on a cliff or rock formation looking out to sea. As you can see by Karla’s example, you can even shoot a clichéd image and tweak it into something fresh and exciting. The folks in SL Monochrom are talented enough they do it with ease.
For more marvelous monochromes, click here:
Did I say pics of someone sitting on a rock formation looking out to see is a cliché? Catherine Nikolaidis shows how to avoid that in “Venus By the Water.” She moves close in, her subject filling the entire frame. We only see glimpses of the rocks and the sea. I also love how she is dressed in a lacy, low-backed garment made of shadows. Perfection.
Since Audrey Hepburn, headshots of women with their chin resting on their hands have become commonplace. So are pictures of people chewing on a straw of wheat. In this untitled picture, S q u e e e z e put them together, moved the focus a few inches south and created something completely new. I love his play with depth of field. Look at how detailed the wheat straw is. Look at how the dots go in and out of focus. It’s a glorious picture and does not live in the same neighborhood as cliché.
The whole hands touching the head cliché has many variations. So does using chiaroscuro to illuminate and obscure. ※Anyone※ worked magic with those conventions. At first glance, it’s as though she has created a new creature. This pic might even feel confusing at first, but in a good way. For me, this picture was completely fresh and unique. I love it. The title is “The best way out is always through” which suggests she may be portraying getting out of your own head.
SL Monochrom is simply amazing. There are over 3000 pictures waiting for you to enjoy. They are so many exciting pictures that are not just beautifully composed and artfully conceived. Many take commonplace image concepts, image clichés, and turn them into magic.
All images copyright the various artists.
See all of Cajsa's Choices here. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter, on her blog, and on her Ko-Fi.
Suggest Flick images and Flickr feeds to Cajsa Lilliehook! Tag your picture with #CasjaNWN -- or tag Cajsa Lilliehook on Flickr by adding her to the photo.
Cajsa’s Choices is devoted to unique, artistic, and innovative virtual world-based images and screenshots that showcase the medium as an art form and Second Life as a creative platform. (Generally not images that fit on this Bingo card.)
Cajsa Lilliehook is a sixteen year resident of Second Life, where she owned a photo studio, spent several years as a DJ at The Velvet, and for her first SL job, cleaned up prim trash. She co-founded and runs the It’s Only Fashion blog with her best friend Gidge Uriza. She also has a book review blog, Tonstant Weader Reviews and a cooking blog, Single Serving Recipes. She spends a lot of time researching and reporting on Republican sexual predators. In her first life, she is a retired grassroots leader who has worked for economic and social justice issues most of her life. She is also the minion of a cat named Nora.
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