Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
“Open Your Eyes” is an extraordinary picture from Sia Aurora. It was in a gallery curated by Siobhán Muintir, who I am certain is the Queen of SL Flickr Groups. On Flickr, administrators of Flickr groups can change the cover at the top of the page and often use that feature to highlight particularly beautiful or innovative work. The group is SL Meditations and is focused on meditation in Second Life. Like all of Siobhán’s groups, it is meticulously moderated so you aren’t bothered by irrelevant pictures and don’t have to pan down forever to find the gold you are looking for.
I have featured Siobhán Muintir’s fabulous pop art before and I have mined Siobhán’s groups for excellent pictures on particular topics many times over so I thought it was time I asked her about her groups and learned she spends about two to three hours a week checking all submissions. On Sundays, she chooses new banners for the groups. She spends an hour or two inviting new work. She might find someone she likes and will study their stream, inviting several pictures to the appropriate groups.
She doesn’t open the group to self-management as that doesn’t seem to work for anyone. She approves every submission. If someone keeps sending off-topic pictures, they are removed from the group. She also has four invitation-only groups because folks just kept submitting off-topic pictures. Her three busiest groups are Snow White, Instrumental, and Just Cats.
This is an extraordinary gift to all of us. There is no business being boosted, no microtransaction for every click. It is simply a gift.
For more from Siobhán and her groups -- and my conversation with the curator herself -- click here:
Humanity’s Heart by Tazara Bailey in Poppies SL
I was curious how she viewed the connections that grow in Flickr and Second Life. She messaged me that a lot of Second Life activity on Flickr is economic. There are the bloggers, the creators, advertising, and events, all promoting themselves. On the other hand, she described an in-world exhibition built on artists she found in Flickr, writing:
I've only ever known Flickr, for me it's helped to create and sustain my own sense of community. Several years ago I curated a show in-world based on images from my Blessed are the Kooks collection. I reached out to every artist, invited them to show their work, walked them through each step, hanged the work, labeled the work, chose the entertainment for the Opening, personally invited each artist, and advertised it. We had an excellent turnout of guests and visitors.
The Librarian Is Not Amused by Scylla Rhiadra in Books, letters, Literati SL
Siobhán Is not a natural photographer, not inheriting her father’s facility in taking wonderful photos. While my forefinger obscured every picture I took during a high school trip to Spain, she tended to feature her thumb. Pre-digital, film and developing were costly and so she stopped. She still shot her thumb when she moved to the digital era. But in Second Life, things were different.
She explained it to me this way: “Coming into SL was like finding the key to a heavenly bouquet. I was pretty crappy at the beginning, I keep those photos and see there was something struggling to break through. Persistence, studying the work of others, picking up tips and shortcuts here and there has been my education.”
“Sometimes You Just GOTTA Get the Shot” by Jonathan Negru in Camera equipment SL
She also shared with me some advice for aspiring SL photographers:
No matter your skill level, keep shooting. Your eye will become better as you go along. Look at other people's work noncompetitively. Shut off that inner harsh editor voice and remember, nobody knows everything. You have your own unique vision and style, you will find it as you go along.
Create a small free Flickr group and post your photos as is. You can make them invisible to anyone but yourself, experience the thrill of seeing yourself on a website. I stayed hidden a long time, then eventually switched to public view. The first fav surprised and delighted me. Each one after does the same.
Siobhán Muintir is a SL Flickr hero for me. I have administered a few groups. I haven’t the temperament for it. All the off-topic submissions frustrate me. I admire her commitment and steadfast work year after year. To introduce you to her work, beyond her photostream, there are her galleries. In addition to the group showcases, there are some special collections such as Blessed are the Kooks and More Kooks. There are also several galleries showcasing tendernes and three galleries of pictures that resonated with her for various reasons. And below, you can find links to all her groups and the year she started the group.
Can you believe Flickr has no way to look up all the groups someone moderates? Nor is there a way for her to share it. Each group had to be searched to get the links.
- A Whisper of Smoke 2017 Invitation Only
- Books, letters, Literati SL 2017
- Bunny Fun Killer Rabbitz Jackalopes 2021
- Camera equipment SL 2017
- Corvidae SL 2017
- Cows VIRTUAL Bulls Bison Buffalo SL 2021
- Flammed Ingos & 1-leg stands 2020
- For Your Eyes Only 2020 Invitation Only
- Fowl Deeds - chickens, geese+ SL 2017
- Frogs in Secondlife (and toads) 2024
- Get Kraken! Tentacled Beings SL 2017
- Happy Trailers to you SL 2018
- In Memorium Queen Elizabeth II 2022
- Instrumental Music SL 2017
- In the end; Grief and Loss in SL 2017 Invitation Only
- I Used to be Snow White but I Drifted Invitation Only
- Just Cats SL 2018
- Kinetics Dance 2021 (Moderator)
- Les Baigneuses SL The Bathers 2018
- Meditations SL 2018
- Out-Foxed in SL Foxes Fennecs Kitsune 2017
- Penguins Pingouins Auk Manchot SL 2020
- Poppies SL 2018
- Queen Anne's Lace, Cow Parsley, Yarrow 2018
- Seagulls Mouettes in SL 2018
- Snakes and Ladies: Medusa & Eve SL 2017
- What a Sheep Shot !(Llamas, alpacas) 2021
- What a Sty! Pigs, Guinea Pigs, Hedgehogs in SL 2017
- You get my Goat! SL 2022
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.
Want to recommend amazing SL artists for future posts? Posts links to their image feeds in comments here. (Self-promotion welcome!)
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 seventeen 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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