New World Notes

Caja's SL Flickr Pick: Engelsstaub Resident Photographs Mouth-Watering Virtual Cooking Spreads

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

Engelsstaub Resident may be the closest thing to Martha Stewart we have in Second Life. Sure, there is no cooking show because how would that work? But there she presents the next best thing, all sorts of photos of food spreads that will make you hungry if you aren’t already. Here is “Pumpkin Party” with a table layout that invites us to sit down and enjoy.

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Striking & Brilliant Avatar Profiles by Grazia Horwitz

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

I seldom feature pictures from my friends. It’s not so much that “no one is a prophet in his own land” as it is already knowing how good they are so there is no discovery. Take Grazia Horwitz. She is consistently excellent and has been for years, so I know how good she is and don’t think to tell others. But, look what you’re missing out on if you don’t follow her. 

Take this profile picture called “Lucius.” It’s a beautiful example of chiaroscuro. Now chiaroscuro does not mean black and white, it means bright and dark, it’s about contrast. Contrast is what makes this photo so powerful. The brightness of his shirt collar against the darkness of the shadows. It’s brilliant.

Cajsa's Flickr Pick: The Rapturously Romantic Second Life Photos of KiiKO

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

KikOO’s untitled photo was taken last year while she was listening to a live performance streamed in Second Life. That look of transfixed bliss is exactly how I feel while listening to a concert. I went to the Oregon Symphony tonight and heard the world premiere of Andy Akiho’s Percussion Concerto and I know I was rapt even though I was not enjoying the gentle fall of snowflakes. She followed the Rule of Fifths, centering her avatar at two-fifths.

Second Life's Flickr Community Create Memorial Photo Group to Honor Member Who Died In Real Life

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

“Why did the chicken cross the road?” was one of the last few photos posted by Autumn Rose (aka Candy Gunpowder) before her real life death in mid-September. “To go on an epic adventure,” her answer to the age-old question, revealed her zest for life. New World Notes featured Autumn back in April, noting her love of story-telling with photos. That optimism and enthusiasm for grasping adventure inspired the “Love Life Autumn Rose Tribute”, a Flickr memorial group:

The memorial challenge was set by Kess Crystal and Autumn’s SL partner Trouble Dethly: “Her art spoke volumes when it comes to loving life, color and living for the moment. We're asking you to take a colorful photo, full of life and vitality, on the theme Love Life. We'd love you to frame with a polaroid finish, as Autumn often did, and posting it on Sunday 22nd September, exactly a week from her passing.” It is hard to choose what photos best exemplify zest for life, so I thought I would feature this photo from her partner, Trouble (below):

Caja's Daily Flickr Pick: Pepsi Sheen Creates Gorgeous, Whimsical Composites from Second Life Screenshots

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

Pepsi Sheen’s photostream is fun and lively. “今夜出て！” or “Get Out Tonight” according to Google Translate, is a bright, vivid example of her stream. The intrepid Pepsi waits for her opportunity to finish crossing the very busy street. It’s a great photo incorporating first and Second life photos into a successful composite, however, if I were her I would be looking at oncoming traffic rather than the street.

Caja's SL Flickr Pick: The Monstrous Beauty of Adra Braeden

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

It is October and suddenly Flicker is full of monsters, but for Adra Braeden, there are monsters all year long. “When the Dead Awake” is one of his more ambitious photos, what with the crowd of walking dead chasing the two. Adra uses depth of field to bring the fleeing humans into sharp focus while those who are chasing them are out of focus. While it is not a black and white, it is desaturated so the colors are barely there. 

Cajsa's Flickr Pick: Evie Heights Shoots Second Life With Surprising Angles

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

I like “Rio” from Evie Heights. It kind of upends the usual beach glamour shot. It’s taken from behind and the picnic gear is front and center and depth of field blurs the basket so you focus on her head which is in the sweet spot of the Golden Ratio and is sharply in focus as it is the focal point of the picture.

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: The Dramatic Virtual World Photos of Avilien

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

“All It Takes 07” is a lovely photo made more dramatic and interesting by being backlit. I love the slight diagonal of the bridge. By being backlit as it is, it becomes more about form, the colors are subdued so they don’t draw our eyes away from the beautiful forms. Avilien has a fascination with form that is realized, not just by this kind of backlighting, but also by zooming in on specific elements.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pick: Venus Germanotta's Glorious Fashion Photos for Aliens

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

Venus Germanotta is the chief fashion editor for FLAWZ Magazine, a Second Life magazine that focuses on the adventurous side of fashion. Germanotta’s styling and photography is always high concept, often glam, and sometimes outré in the best possible way, or they he calls it, Alien Couture. “Family Room” captures all of that. Part of the spread for “Skin Couture”, this photo is a wild, alien fantasy. I love how the clothes melt into the floor. I love Audrey’s second cousin in the background. It is everything.

Cajsa's SL Flickr Pic: Daze's Dazzling & Surreal Second Life-Based Images

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

“Woman of the Wood” by Daze is amazing. I cannot guess how much is Second Life and how much is digital painting, but I don’t care. I love everything about this picture from the woodgrain sky and land to the forest fill in her clothing. Daze centers the photo to give us elements of symmetry (her body, her hands, the trees) and asymmetry (her hair, her eyes) that are in balance. This is an imaginative painting that takes elements from SL and creates something new and exciting.