Second Life - "Cyber Photography"
Discussion
Whilst having a trawl through Flickr recently, it dawned on me the huge amount of images being generated by people from "Second Life".
For the uninitiated, Second Life is a virtual online world growing in popularity, with several million members worldwide, of whom 10s of thousand are on line at any one time. It has a real thriving ecomony worth more than many third world countries', with millions of $US dollars being spent by its "inhabitants" every week. It is a hub of virtual creativity, and the interesting bit is how the textures of this virtual world have been lifted from the real world and presented, from landscapes to buildings to the skins and clothes of the "people" who inhabit it (when you sign up for an account, you create an "avatar" for yourself - perhaps in your own image, perhaps not).
Its really rather difficult to explain, so its best you just do a search on google, or a search on Flickr for that matter for images (some 42,000 images in this group alone http://www.flickr.com/groups/secondlife/pool/ )
Now, before you mock all of this, and dismiss applications like Second life as nerdy computer trickery on which you waste your life away while missing on real life, lets face it, who hasn't enjoyed the screen capture function on a good lap from Forza or a similar racing sim. And it actually dawned on me that when it comes to "taking images" inside Second Life, the implications are surprisingly similar to real life.
Location, lighting, subject matter, weather, etc all play a part. The ability is there to pose subject matter or models in an infinite variety of poses. You may need to get up early in the virtual day to catch that lovely sunrise. If you have the funds, virtual photographic studios are available to buy or hire from other users. You may want to hire a model (again, other users) more pleasing on the eye - just like real life. Glamour too! Get your model to outdress in a "virtual" public place, and you'll be chastised!
"Screen capture" has never been so ..... quirky.
I decided that a "Second Life Screen capture competition" was just a little too off the wall for a monthly photo comp, but in the interests of "art", I have created myself an avatar, and will let you know if their is a future in Second Life virtual photography..... after all, virtual businesses are paying real money to virtual photographers to help promote their wares to the hungry virtual masses.
I must be mad.......!!!!! Where's Bob when you need him
my Second Life avatar contemplating the lunacy of it all ..... you won't imagine the time it took to capture that image how I wanted it as he laughed away merrily.
And whilst the image quality is goddam awful when compared to photography, the step by step process you have to go through has, I believe, actually made me think a lot more about real photography and the steps required which are so very often overlooked when you pick up and point your camera.
For the uninitiated, Second Life is a virtual online world growing in popularity, with several million members worldwide, of whom 10s of thousand are on line at any one time. It has a real thriving ecomony worth more than many third world countries', with millions of $US dollars being spent by its "inhabitants" every week. It is a hub of virtual creativity, and the interesting bit is how the textures of this virtual world have been lifted from the real world and presented, from landscapes to buildings to the skins and clothes of the "people" who inhabit it (when you sign up for an account, you create an "avatar" for yourself - perhaps in your own image, perhaps not).
Its really rather difficult to explain, so its best you just do a search on google, or a search on Flickr for that matter for images (some 42,000 images in this group alone http://www.flickr.com/groups/secondlife/pool/ )
Now, before you mock all of this, and dismiss applications like Second life as nerdy computer trickery on which you waste your life away while missing on real life, lets face it, who hasn't enjoyed the screen capture function on a good lap from Forza or a similar racing sim. And it actually dawned on me that when it comes to "taking images" inside Second Life, the implications are surprisingly similar to real life.
Location, lighting, subject matter, weather, etc all play a part. The ability is there to pose subject matter or models in an infinite variety of poses. You may need to get up early in the virtual day to catch that lovely sunrise. If you have the funds, virtual photographic studios are available to buy or hire from other users. You may want to hire a model (again, other users) more pleasing on the eye - just like real life. Glamour too! Get your model to outdress in a "virtual" public place, and you'll be chastised!
"Screen capture" has never been so ..... quirky.
I decided that a "Second Life Screen capture competition" was just a little too off the wall for a monthly photo comp, but in the interests of "art", I have created myself an avatar, and will let you know if their is a future in Second Life virtual photography..... after all, virtual businesses are paying real money to virtual photographers to help promote their wares to the hungry virtual masses.
I must be mad.......!!!!! Where's Bob when you need him
my Second Life avatar contemplating the lunacy of it all ..... you won't imagine the time it took to capture that image how I wanted it as he laughed away merrily.
And whilst the image quality is goddam awful when compared to photography, the step by step process you have to go through has, I believe, actually made me think a lot more about real photography and the steps required which are so very often overlooked when you pick up and point your camera.
You probably are completely bonkers, but I've spent enough time in virtual multi-player environments (doom/quake/elite etc) to be certified. However, My second life started when I moved from England, so I thought if anything should, this this should be my avitar: (generated using a bit of software I have long since lost)
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