Angel Encounters at the Chakryn forest

Earlier today I did some random map exploring and landed at a region called Minas Tirith - maybe there will be more about that later! However, returning to the Chakryn Forest after helping a friend do well in a "best in Jeans" club competition with a few votes (she won 419L!), I encountered a beautiful and kindly avatar, Yasmina, who totally overwhelmed me with her grace and humility.

Yasmina at the Chakryn Forest

Yasmina is herself a stunning, artistic Second Life image editor/creator - and uses free photo/art software! When I saw her amazing work here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yasminazem/page1/), I felt I shouldn't try to take her photo, but she encouraged me to try, and said she'd be interested in the result! We agreed to stay friends, and I hope to learn more of her amazing artistic style and techniques for using such programs as GIMP, Twisted Brush, Paint.Net, Photoscape, Photofiltre to create such amazing effects and artwork! Look at her photos! They look like the work of a Photoshop expert!!

After taking a few snaps I agreed to share them with her and expressed the hope that I might learn some of her editing techniques. Like a true artist she advised me to just play and experiment and develop my own style - very similar to Rockwell's advice about real life photography - and I guess that's the key - find something you think is beautiful and interesting and do your best to let your photography capture these scenes. I think I have a long way to go!

It did make me wonder - does anyone need Adobe Photoshop? There are a lot of free programs out there - the GIMP may be hard to get to know, but already I have found "Twisted Brush" an easy, fun program play with! I'm fortunate enough to have access to Adobe CS4 and CS5 as part of my work, but there are alternatives.

If you are interested - try these programs!

http://www.gimp.org/
http://www.pixarra.com/download.html

http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

http://www.serif.com/free-photo-editing-software/

http://www.getpaint.net/

http://www.vicman.net/vcwphoto/

http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm

Great Ballrooms of Second Life

If there's one place where elegance and style REALLY are shown off in Second Life to the maximum extent of pixels in 3D, then it is the formal Ballroom. Ever since finding Camelot Gardens years ago, I've found this is the place to meet the most beautiful people in SL, and also the most stunning Avatars. The ballroom generally attracts a more mature kind of SL user, and the most extravagant of costumes!

The Ballroom is not just a place for dance - it is a place for courtesy, chivalry, wit and romance. Often a Ballroom will have a theme or era in which visitors may dress or roleplay for. Camelot Gardens has a hint of the Medieval, Avilion is something of a Elven Middle Earth SIM, Frank's Place for elegant Jazz, Casablanca captures the movie theme. While there are many serious roleplay SIMs which demand costumes to suit, nothing quite like the ballroom invites elgant dress-ups combined with non-combative intimacy - no clans and combats, this is one-on-one moving of minds and hearts together.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Franks%20Place%202/167/106/36

Franks's Place is often mentioned as the quintessential ballroom. It has style, a broad theme (named after Frank Sinatra), a hint of formality with staff for greeting and welcoming, a lovely ballroom and side areas for sitting to chat, even faux dining. In some ways though, it is a victim of its own popularity, I visited at 11:20pm Monday (SLT) and there were more than 45 Avatars causing considerable lag, making it difficult to enjoy the experience for some time.... and of course it is a classy place - you must have a premium Avatar and stylish, top-dollar attire to be taken seriously there... that's fair enough to.

Frank's Place Elite Club (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Franks%20Place%207/132/48/26) is an attempt to address the overcrowding issue by setting up a Premium Club on a new high-grade SIM. To be allowed there you need to join the group (500L$) - at the time of my Visit there were just 8 Avatars at the Elite Club, and it looks a beautiful location too, relatively Lag Free!! (at the time of my visit I saw a 1 month old Lady Avatar with the group title "Sexy Freebies Paradise" being told at the entrance about the 500L group joining entry requirement - and making sure she got a free dress on Joining!)

The Ballroom - quite apart from the dancing - is quite a beautiful place to escape and enjoy, especially with that special someone!

Chakryn Forest revisited

It's still a spot I love to drop by - lots of interesting people, unique Avatars, and this stunning waterfall is worth gazing at (and a lovely photo backdrop).

Freon standing before the waterfall at Chakryn Forest

Dixie, my latest random free photo edit - she was happy with the texture!

Recently encountered someone who claimed to be the Tallest Woman Avatar on SL - at 12 feet - but an awkward and stick-like figure, visiting two busy "Escort" establishments in quick succession, made me wonder a bit about their claim to be the Tallest, or even a woman! (no capacity for voice verification) However, as with all such encounters, I can have a laugh and say "quite interesting!"

The Second Life TOS - IMs and photography issues?

"Disclaimer: Chat/IMs may be recorded & shared (stating this, releases me from liability per SL TOS)"

When I saw this in someone's SL profile today, it wasn't the first time, but it began to get me wondering. This line in a person's profile does seem a bit rude and insulting. Everyone knows that when you use SL, you can set preferences to LOG or record all text that passes in Local Chat range, and all person-to-person Instant Messages or conferences. That's part of the software, we can all do that. Logging is also important for personal defence purposes in case of abuse, and to produce logs as evidence in an abuse report seems quite reasonable to me.

However, for all other purposes, I believe what I write is mine, and to go on to share it with others without my permission would seem to be rude, especially if it is used in a negative way to embarrass or harrass.

Section 7 and 8 of the SL TOS deal with Intellectual Property Rights and Conduct of Users. Nowhere are "Instant Messages" and their logging or sharing specifically mentioned. It is very much something the Linden Labs makes clear they are not liable for (ie. the bad behaviour of users in-world), but set guidelines which would enable the suspension of an account.

My personal view is that except in the case of harassment and a need for an abuse report, private IMs are private. Cases where people paste/share private IMs are usually a kind of harassment intended to embarrass (or worse), and are abusive behavior in themselves. These fall under a fair definition of a violation of Section 8 (v), and no note in your profile would absolve you from such behavior or somehow make you immune from the TOS, or give you a free hand to violate it, like some Second Life 007!

Recently I've seen some witty counters to this arrogant kind of disclaimer.
"Regardless of what you have written in your profile I do NOT give permission for my IMs to be shared - and my opinion matters more because it is what I wrote and I have claim over it!"
(or words to that effect)
A neat try there too, to bring some sanity back to SL, but even that was said tongue in cheek. Consider the most basic analogy - sending a letter. A letter becomes the property of the recipient when it is received. You can't retract it. Conversely, if you go on to share the content of a personal letter (without permission or the correspondent, or even against their wishes) with others to embarrass the writer, you're low-life, and being very rude, even abusive, but they were obviously wrong to trust you with their words!!

People explicitly stating they "may share IMs" does not absolve them of anything. What it does encourage though is a counter-claim:

"Disclaimer: I do not permit my private IMs to be shared without my permission - if you do this, then you are in violation of Section 8 (v) of the Second Life TOS - embarrassment, harassment and violation of my privacy - and will be reported for abuse. I also wish to retain copyright over my original words and explicitly refuse permission to have them re-used or passed on without permission!"

Ok, so that might not get you much further either, because anyone RUDE enough to require such a reminder is not worth chatting to anyway. But it may help some of those "Chat/IMs may be recorded & shared" profile notice writers realize how defensive and rude it makes them look!

There is of course another reason why such people may add those notices to their profile. It may be THEY have been harassed and stalked, and are quite scared - and so it is more or less a warning to the persistent harasser (and can effectively cause them to back off). This notice has cropped up in the profiles of those with a certain style or bent and in a certain industry, so it may be for self-defense, and just temporary. It is wiser to be more fully aware of the TOS and personal legal footing though, I'd have thought! So in all that I've written so far, I hope that I've helped you be more aware of the IM-logging sharing issue and how some statements "look" in your profile!

Section 7.7 of the TOS and photography.

In public places in SL, you're free to take snapshots anywhere of anyone. (the TOS clearly states if you don't want photos taken you must restrict access, to the land or by the land covenant!). Video or Machinima is a different story and you must have permission of the landholder and any featured Avatars! However the TOS and linked Snapshot and Machinima Policy makes in clear that....

"Consent is not required for any snapshots."

And ONLY if the covenant of a parcel of land specifically mentions a ban or requirement of permission for snapshots are you required to seek it - "no mention" means you are free to photograph anything on publically accessable land.

That's a good thing for photographers to know - their rights. However, my personal view is that asking an Avatar for the opportunity to photograph and edit an image of them is good etiquette. (a modeling fee is only appropriate if you want them to pose, take their time etc in a photoshoot) I often upload free profile edits to the Avatar if we have developed a rapport. Otherwise, while I'm just a freelance photographer and would normally expect to be paid for work I'm asked to do - my hobby can be carried on anywhere in SL - free and unrestricted, and that's fun!

the Enchanted Forest of Chakryn

This was a place I found in the darkest recesses of an older Avatar's Landmark Inventory folder... and landed to take a peek, wandering around and finding... a sculpture of a sleeping nude Giantess Goddess in a clearing!!

 Freon sits beside the glorious sleeping Goddess "grand odalisque"

Maybe Gloop's foot fetish draws him here?

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chakryn/137/105/38

A beautiful, atmospheric forest/stream/lake SIM, this deserves an explore around, but at high graphics settings it does demand patience. There are many sparkly animations and rays of sunlight! What added to the appeal was the amazing sculpture and interesting characters that caught my attention.

Not long after visiting, I spotted a Blue Gloopman, a bit impish and odd with an all blue coloured Avatar, hovering around the Goddess Sculpture. I found from several sources that he has a foot-fetish and imposes himself on all female Avatars rudely, asking if he can stick his long nose between their toes, following them around and persisting in IM, to the point where they feel stalked and must mute him - he'd been a regular problem in the forest. I hope I was able to discourage him firmly enough so he doesn't spoil the visits of future travelers - while I was polite and firm he was rude and abusive, but left the SIM and has not troubled others since!

It was the Seelie Fae, Tpaa, who gave me an insight into the vibe of Chakryn, and even the meaning of the sculpture "grand odalisque" - at peace and with her ear to the Earth. Showing me around to the most beautiful places, the friendly Fae, though sadly dismissive of we "Hoomans" and our shoes and ways, responded profoundly to my humility (yes I took of my shoes and socks) and inquiries and taught me about the peace of the land and her role as tree guardian, and the history of the Fae race.

I saw others enjoying the peace and serenity of the forest, and took a quick snaps of other beautiful Avatars.

A lovely time of exploration, chatting and dealing with a funny nuisance, as well as finding some photoshoot inspiration!

Lindens for Free - are they worth it?

If you enter Second Life from a position of affluence in "Real Life", you'll have a premium account and be able to afford to buy Linden currency - just 1US$ buys you about 260L - it's too easy.

Some, however, are not wealthy, or would rather not spend real money in a "Game", so look for Lindens by working or hunting for free L$/camping places. This can be fun, though generally to accumulate a significant amount of SL currency you have to be persistent! If you're eager to buy items in SL and not get Lindens the easy but expensive way, here are some possibilities.

Many locations, to boost traffic, have buttons or voters which allow you to get 1 or 2L per day. There are various kinds of "camping" (staying at a place for a small amount of money), then there are Money HUDs and the "Profile Pick" PPRS systems which pay you regularly to keep a location in your "Picks" section in your profile (these boards are less common now, but I've made 1000s of Lindens from them!).

For a while I made a notecard to store 20 or so of these locations for all my Avatars to visit, so I could make 50-150L per day on average. Then, using a Bletaverse cone to TP from place to place for 2L/place (10 min wait) I chanced upon Antdog Gears' "Freebies Directory" collection/group home base.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blackmount/235/222/73

What this enterprising SL denizen, Antdog319 Gearz, has done is collect MANY more Free L$ earning locations and ideas (including the handy Travel Money HUD) into one place, where you can get his notecards, folders of links and any new ideas he finds, by being in his Group. While it costs 30L to join, I found that with 1 Avatar I could make 40L immediately, and have found with my group of Avatars and friends, a higher daily free L$ target can easily be achieved.

New Avatars have openings for special beginners earners like the Wolfhaven Money Trees and some kinds of one-off voters, so help newcomers or new Alts get started well.

If that's fun fundraising, and it works, it can be handy - however sometimes the time involved makes it seem not quite worth it if 8US$ can get me over 2000L instantly, rather than a week of careful accumulation!!

IM or see me in-world for other secrets including the lucrative weekly use of B-Places voting!!

Your fellow explorer in SL,
FreonFractal

More Explorations - LAQ my Favourite Skin shop!

Getting to understand how skins work (with shapes) took me a while but the LAQ Shop was a stunning education for me.

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Laqroki/155/53/31

Not only do the skins look so beautiful, but their combination with Shapes, Eyes, makeup, even "cleavage" enhancers and hair are all well catered for under one huge emporium. In fact with a former partner I experimented with a number of Avatars of all shapes and styles, and found these skins beautiful for photography as well as eye-pleasing. This shop is not the ONLY such "beauty" warehouse - I found others that cater more to Asian skin/forms, or have a different emphasis, and may review them in future, but this tends to be my first stop.

Allowing time to rez, and to walk around slowly, is important. Even if you're not shopping for something immediately, just see the range to be aware of what is possible in skin shades and types. These are beautiful!

favourite beautiful places in Second Life

Reflecting on three years in Second Life, I have to say that two places stand out as "beautiful", and relaxing, even romantic. There are many other places I visit, but these are the ones I keep returning to, as they are nice to chill at, and exquisite as photo locations.

Japan Tempura Island (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/tempura%20island/203/76/34) is a SIM that glows with serenity. The streaming music is designed for relaxation and a chillout ambience, and while it is orientally themed, it is quite universally romantic too, I can hear Enya's "May It Be" now, alongside Kitaro and Loreena McKennitt, such an eclectic blend of beautiful and serene music.

The Autumn-hued forest (pictured) is lovely in it's golden-red leaf tints, there are areas for TiaChi and meditation, and impressively huge ballroom hall, and forest and cave areas to explore that allow for solitude or a quiet spot to share intimacy with that Significant Other.

 

Camelot Gardens (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Camelot%20Garden%20Paradise/52/204/75) is the other location that springs to mind is one that goes right back to my earliest days in Second Life, and while it has changed location since then it remains a beautiful favourite place, not just for it's luscious waterfall (nice as a photo backdrop), but also the spacious ballroom area and romantic Castle. Many lovely locations to walk around and Cottages to rent make this a great place to take that special friend, to meet at a table or couch.

Second Life Wanderings

The most recent of a number of Random Camping Alts, FreonFractal Resident became a photographer-writer-reporter so I could do some more wild exploring, un-inhibited, and meet a lot more people, learning more about SL and photoediting in the process.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56163344@N04/

 Photo of a "random" Av I met at "Gold Game" (at the PPRS boards) - a stylishly designed camping Alt!