The saying that March comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb” has always seemed a straightforward enough proverb: when March starts, it’s still winter, and by the end of the month spring has begun. As I write this Editor’s Note, March is coming in like a lion in the northeast. We are expecting 18 inches of snow this weekend alone!
The proverb also seems to ring true this month at FOCUS Magazine. The March issue represents a few big experiences for us. Firstly, this issue will feature our first couples interview with Loegan and Rachel Magic. Their interview has a sweet, romantic dynamic that is a pleasure to read. We have also begun our photography classes, which will occur around the 20th of every month, led by Patrick Ireland, our new Managing Editor. Inspiring, incredible changes are afoot for us all! More and more people have been coming together to help with the FOCUS vision of combining art, friendship and celebrating both. Pleases contact me if you’d also like to participate!
Virtual photography is fast becoming it’s own respected art form. In our lifetimes, it’s possible that we may see CGI images in museums nestled comfortably between famous masterpieces. I’m sure many find that a far-fetched idea but most novel art forms have been historically disparaged. Consider Realism, the dominant style of painting since the Renaissance. Realists cringed and scoffed at Impressionism. And the Painterly style – which placed paint into the amateur hands of the masses – with the metal paint tube. But art does not belong to the elite – or even the highly skilled. I subscribe to the ideal that art is an act of human expression and connection – for all.
I believe that photogs in SL and are taking part in the emergence of an art form that represents our modern curiosities. CGI makes the creation of art more accessible, and access is almost entirely unrelated to race, gender, location, education, and ability. This idea of equality, sharing and friendship are the core foundational values of FOCUS Gallery and Magazine. Our goal is to acknowledge each individual’s contribution, to share experience, and to encourage others to find their own voice in photography within a helpful and kind community. Lofty ideas, I know! But we make it happen every day we participate.
Something I like to do, from time to time, is go to one of my favorite artist’s page on Flickr and look at the very 1st picture they posted. It’s fun to go through their photo-stream and see how far they’ve come. I’ve asked Ornella Batriani to be our re-creation focus for this issue.
Kitten: Thank you so much, Ornella, for agreeing to be the 1st to do this project with me. I just have a few questions for you. You posted your 1st pic on Flickr in November 2011. How did you get started with SL photography?
Ornella: I have always loved photography so since my arrival on SL I always had this desire to make photos but I lacked a lot of technique
Kitten: Did you have any mentors? Did you teach yourself to take pics?
Ornella: I never had a mentor, but it was when I discovered the photos that Bruno Kessel made that I wanted to do the same. Then I discovered Flickr and I wanted to make more elaborate photos too
Kitten: What tools do you use while taking your shots? (LumiPro, Anypose, etc)
Ornella: I work mainly with Lumipro, Anypose and sometimes Animare. For the viewers I use Firestorm or Black Dragon.
Kitten: What are some of your favorite windlights?
Ornella: I use the windlights of Firestorm a lot and I also downloaded some. My current preferences are Anan Adored Dusty, Firestorm phototools and some others but the list is long.
Kitten: Explain your post pic editing. What types of programs do you use? Any favorite filters?
Ornella: I work on my photos with Photoshop or Polarr editor. I adjust my lights and remove the defects with photoshop and for the filters I use those of Polarr editor which are quite well done.
Kitten: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to get started in SL photography or for those who want to progress with their current skills?
Ornella: If I had any advice to give it would be: have fun, take pleasure in doing what you do; the main thing is not to please others but to love your own work.
Liz Winterstorm has been in SL for 7 years and a member of Flickr photo community since 2013. Her artwork spans the sensual, the artistic, the abstract as well as whimsical, creating beautiful and unique color, light and shadows.
Seline: Hi, Liz! It’s so nice to meet you and spend time looking through your photographic work. The images you put together have a very unique feel and look to them. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Liz: Hi, Seline! So nice to meet you, too. A lot of the time my mood of the moment comes into play, I can’t seem to take a picture that doesn’t fit with how I feel. I love poses so I put a lot of effort into finding a pose that represents how I feel and go from there.
Seline: What is one thing you wish you knew when you first started with SL photography?
Liz: Everything! Seriously… I’m completely self-taught and early on I found out I don’t have a lot of patience for learning, so I’ve never watched tutorials. I’m sure that could have gone a long way to making it easier. But a big one for me was derendering. How to simplify a scene by just making things go away.
Seline: Among your work, which is your favorite or means a great deal to you?
Liz: The one that means the most to me is ‘The Story of My Life.’ It’s a very personal photo and a special moment with Vrir.
Seline: Do you have any favorite Windlight settings?
Liz: I absolutely love windlights and I spend so much time searching for the right one for each scene. For me, it’s one of the most important parts of a photograph… along with the pose and the angle. I use the [TOR]Big Sun set of windlights a lot and [TOR]Sunrise, Chernoble is one of my favorites. I tend to use a lot of sunrise and sunset windlights. I like the glow a low sun can create.
Seline: What is the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself that you would not have known if it weren’t for SL?
Liz: I know a lot of people say that in Second Life you can be whoever you want to be, but what I’ve found is that it’s enabled me to be who I truly am. I’ve found a voice to express myself that I never would have if not for Second Life. Before I found SL I felt I had a creativity inside me but no way to let it out, and when I found SL and then started blogging I never thought photography would become a passion of mine. But it has.
Seline: What is your favorite thing to do in SL aside from photography?
Liz: The time spent with my partner, Vrir is always incredible and never seems long enough. But when he’s not in-world, I like taking in live music, particularly Jack Slade, who’s one of my favorites. I’ve recently started working for Elle Boutique, which I’m really excited about. I keep busy, bringing Elle coffee and rubbing her feet, plus I’ve been known to screw-up and make her life a little more difficult. Overall, it’s lots of fun! And of course, I’m on my pose stand a lot, just looking at myself.
Seline: What is the wildest, most insane, or weirdest thing you have ever seen in Second Life?
Liz: Hmm, wild, insane or weird… That can sum up any given day in SL. I know we’ve all seen a guy with his junk outside his pants so that’s almost mundane now. Early on in my SL, my sister and I put ourselves through a wood chipper. We laughed like crazy as our avatars were spewed out in chunks!
Seline: What does a perfect day or moment in SL look like for you?
Liz: The perfect moment for me has always been to sit looking out on a sunset, whether on a beach or somewhere flat with a big sky. The Hazardous sim comes to mind. I really miss that place. I’ve always enjoyed the serenity and peace a sunset can bring, in Second Life and real life.
Seline: And finally, how has TSFTG affected your SL?
Liz: At first, TSFTG was only a group on Flickr that I could post my photos to and keep up to date with other photographers, which I’ll add, is a really great group of photographers! Then I took in an event, which isn’t common for me, being an extreme introvert. I usually stay home and work. But, I ventured out to one of the exhibit openings and really liked the atmosphere. The art was incredible, but for me what’s more important is that I felt welcome and comfortable among the crowd. It’s great to meet some of the photographers that I’ve been following on Flickr for so long and being around creative people is always inspiring. To be a part of something that’s as accepting and encouraging as this group is, is important for me. I believe we’re all here to help lift each other up.
As I was out celebrating the US Memorial Day when I noticed Yoh Boa — one of our TSFTG members — dancing away. It was a great fotobomb opportunity seeing how his wife, DJ Avalon, was spinning tunes to the packed crowd. I took some time to catch up with Yoh as I crept up behind Avalon’s tip jar…
Greg: Yo, Yoh! (editor’s note: Greg totally got that from Angela) Nice to see you here on this fine Memorial Day!! Tell me, where are your favorite spots to take photos?
Yoh Boa: Well, I’m an old SL surf bum. I’m drawn to the ocean, so I love to take beach and surf photos. Avalon and I just did a blog and took some pictures at Kia Kaha.
Greg: That’s awesome – I saw a few of those photos on your Flickr page! What’s your favorite place to shop?
Yoh Boa: Other than Cabela’s? Oh, you mean in SL! I’m kind of a Cold Ash fan. Shopping may not be on my top 5 list in SL though 🙂
Greg: Haha of course. We’re guys! So when you have free time, what things do you like doing most?
Yoh Boa: Avalon and I have been building out a sim. It’s called “Mon Joli Cadeau.” Our vision is a classy place for couples in a Paris setting. We are also planning an art exhibit and gala for July. It’s been a blast! Avalon does most the creating, and I hold the toolbox and blueprints.
Greg: Sounds amazing! What else inspires you most in SL?
Yoh Boa: AVALON! I’ve been in SL for 12 years and most of that time lived a quiet surf life with close friends. I come from a technology background in RL so the graphics, photography, and creativity always intrigued me. Now that I have more time, and have an amazing creative wife, I am enjoying learning photography. I have a long way to go, but it’s been fun to learn.
Greg: Well, you’ve really come a long way. Those classes at FOCUS are paying off! Finally, how has TSFTG benefitted your SL?
Yoh Boa: We are both pretty new to TSFTG and have been introduced though DJ gigs. What a fun and nice group of people! Patrick and Angela are very warm and welcoming, and I think they model that for the rest of the group. Kindness is addicting and FOCUS is all about that. Greg: I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing more of you at FOCUS and TSFTG events.
Greg: I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing more of you at FOCUS and TSFTG events.
“Spirituality” was once a word that almost always referred to formal religion. Today, the term also refers to personal experiences of a transcendent dimension and the deepest values and meanings by which people live. Outside of organized religion, a spiritual belief can be in something beyond the observable world. Perhaps a belief in personal growth, a quest for the meaning of life, or encountering one’s inner self. Virtual spirituality? Same meaning.
In a virtual environment like SL, the opportunities for spiritual pursuits are limitless — as befits our nearly limitless environment. Spiritual organizations of every type abound, as do the opportunities for individual discovery. Some celebrate formally in groups and others just provide opportunity for individual thought and contemplation.
A celebration in June you will see observed in SL is the pagan celebration of Midsummer or “Litha.” The focus of this celebration is the power of the sun. The earth has warmed up and is pouring forth its bounty in crops, flowers, and general greening of the northern hemisphere. Days are longer, and nights are softer. There are many ways to celebrate this holiday, both formally and informally. Perhaps the best celebration is to spend some time enjoying the outdoors and connecting with nature, or — in our virtual world — visiting one of the many beautifully designed nature sims with a bit of imagination.
Spirit Pond Chrystal Mountain
Also in June is the new moon around June 3, and the full moon around June 17. New moons are traditionally a time for making wishes and plans for things we wish to manifest in the future. The full moon is a time of releasing whatever no longer serves us in our lives. This can mean anything from physical cleansing to letting go of old limiting beliefs. The June full moon is the Strawberry Moon and celebrates the sweetness of the ripening fruit and the fertility of our world, which makes it a good time to identify and release the things that are keeping ourselves from ripening or growing. Whatever your spiritual path, these markers — which occur every month — are just two of the ways our universe (if we listen) gently guides us to self-care and offers us an opportunity to grow.
Namaste (the divine in me sees and recognizes the divine in you).
NAP Club is a peaceful, tropical “place to snuggle or nap” according to owner Rogue DeLaRue. Maybe it is – sometimes. Other times it’s a fantastic live music venue like Monday, when – back to back – Loreen Aldrin and Wolfie Starfire appeared in front of a happy crowd. NAP Club deserves a lot of credit for bringing in top SL talents! Other upcoming live music include Agatha Knowles, Jesie Janick, and Zoree Jupiter. Busy place!
By the way, if you want to rent a sailboat or just lie in a hammock, you can do that too. When I dropped in a few days ago, Jim Croce’s “I Got A Name” was playing on the stream, so I laid down and looked up at the palm trees. Since I didn’t get bonked on the head by a single virtual coconut, I’ll probably be writing another review soon – after I get back from a month backpacking in Colorado. (My dang RL alt drags me everywhere with him!)
June is a great month. For most of us in the northern hemisphere, it means school is out, the days are long and the weather is warm. The name comes from Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and fertility. That may be why June became a favorite month for weddings. In much of the southern hemisphere, it’s time for open fires, warm cuddles and bingeing on Netflix!
As I write this, there is a new moon in the night’s sky — that sliver of promise that the full moon will reliably appear again soon. There is a feeling of wonder, of safety in certainty, but also an underlying uneasiness about how much we don’t know and may never understand about the moon. Or life for that matter.
CybeleMoon’s photography evokes a similar feeling. Her photography is undeniably beautiful, but beneath the surface, if you dare to look, we are given a foreboding invitation to look through a keyhole into her dreams. If we let ourselves be hypnotized by her details, we experience the surreal, the possible, the impossible. Through her jewel-toned hues, we can hear the ringing of love’s distant echoes, but she also reaffirms the serenity of our own heart’s abiding hope. If you can, please stop by the gallery.
We are also featuring DJ Avalon Boa – a good friend to TSFTG and our usual DJ at events. Even more than the artists, or the curators of the gallery and magazine, everyone knows her name and hears her voice as the gallery’s welcomer. In this issue, we learn a bit more about her and her busy SL. Please enjoy this issue!
