The Quieting

*After a long hiatus, I'm back to doing the two things I love the most in SL, photography and traveling.  I'm going to be doing a little more this time, namely showing my traveling in SL, with different vehicles and some of the sites I see.  Those trips though will be shown on a blog dedicated to that traveling, which is called Second Life Travel Journal.  This blog though will be dedicated to what it has always done, which is destinations, since 2016.*

I think, for my first post is about The Quieting.  The amazingly talented and wonderful woman responsible for this sim is the same one that did Auld Lang Syne and The Forgotten, who goes by the name Elo.  I covered her first sim but sadly missed out on her second one.  Thankfully, I get the chance to cover her third installment.  

The sims theme is fantasy and she nails it beautifully, creating an atmosphere of peacefulness and a visual delight for the eyes, with scenic views that breathtaking.  If you are looking for a place to do photography, explore, or just relax in, The Quieting delivers all of that and more.  

The photos are a small taste of what is waiting for you at The Quieting.

The Ippos Collective: Pegasoi

While looking through lm's and different links from friends, I came across a link called the Ippos Collective.  I had not heard of it before so I popped over to see for myself what I would find.

At this time of the year, I am normally looking for fall/Halloween style sims and on Pegasoi, which is where I landed, I found a small section with some fall, with the remaining portion of the sim in an amazing fantasy landscape style.  Impressive is a good word to describe Pegasoi, since it is done in a manner that gives you a visual feel of being somewhere quite ethereal.

Normally, before I start clicking photos, I do research on the sims.  I find out what inspired them, how things are set up and basically get a general feel for the sim.  I'll be honest, Pegasoi was so pretty, I just started clicking away happily and found out later that there is not 1, but 4 sims to enjoy, hence the "Collective" part of their name.

Due to the fact that each sim is amazing in its own right, I will be doing 4 separate posts for the Ippos Collective.  Pegasoi is the first of the series.

As you can see, there are areas where the season is reflected on this sim.

The Illustrious Linden Mole

As many of us know, especially the older residents, the Linden Moles are those employees from Linden Lab, who are responsible for setting up and maintaining the mainland.  They terraformed, landscaped, and created the web work of roads, that go through the entire mainland.  They are rarely seen, but you know that at least someone put all those roads, linden trees and the buildings up that is on Linden public land.
What many may not realize is that they also have a sim that they live on.  Yup, there are roads there, along with a center square, a pub, and quite a few residences, many with the name of the mole or, in one case, the Linden who lives there.  The other fun fact is that this is all open to residents who may want to drop in, visit and take a look around. The sim is called Meauxle Bureaux, which is a bit of a mouth full when you try to say it, but it's worth at least one visit, even if it's to cure your curiosity on if the moles really exist.

The alluring draw of Pacifica

In the last couple of weeks, I have heard several people request for underwater areas to take photos.  The original intent today was to find the Halloween area that is being set up over at Pacifica, but alas, that was not open yet.
As I stood on the dock, debating on looking around, I noted their diving gear and signage about an underwater area.  Unable to resist the urge to peek, I slide under the blue waves near the pier to find a breathtaking underwater world open up to me.  As I moved further through the water, I found many areas of wonderful beauty, just waiting to be discovered.  With thriving aquatic life surrounding me and a landscaping set up to amaze you, I started to feel the draw and pull of the sim as it showed me it's beautiful layers of visual treasures.

Our turn through The Looking Glass

In 1871, Lewis Carroll invited us to go through a looking glass with a little girl named Alice, where she was met with fantastic adventures with amazing creatures in this wondrous fantasy land, which was her second trip in fact to this strange land. 
In Second Life, we can travel through to an amazing and wonderful land, thanks to the creative and talented minds of Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee, the owners of The Looking Glass sim.
They have created a sim that is fantastical, whimsical and different, with touches of steampunk atmosphere, earthy charm and a wonderful eye to the smallest details.  Depending on which lighting you choose, you can go from fantasy, to steampunk to gothic very easily. 
I took several photos myself, getting a small taste of some of the things that the sim offered but it's a sample, since there is so much more than what I can even show in just one posting..so drop by and visit and see for yourselves on how many things, wonders and adventures you can find here.

One of Annan Adored's windlight settings

Regions windlight settings

As you can see from the photos of the same tree, windlight is really everything, giving the same thing a whole different look and feel about it.

The Looking Glass

Everlong: Eclectic View

I've heard of Everlong a few times, through facebook and the destination guide, so I finally popped over there to take a peek of it for myself.  The best way I can describe it is it's like a dream that you have been invited into, with a variety of different looks and feels about it the different areas.  You have grown up, relaxing areas and then it goes to things that we remember from our childhood, like a favorite doll or a carousel that we never wanted to stop riding.
The landscaper/creator of Everlong has put together an eclectic mix of beautiful scenes that makes one feel like we are being given the rare gift of looking into their mind or invited to even view images from our own.  Either way, take the tp and see for yourself, it is well worth the visit.

Everlong - The sim is moderate, so please keep this is mind when you are doing photos here

Telrunya - Forest of Dreams

I admit, I have a deep fondness for fantasy themes that go with Fae or Elven.  It's probably from my days in roleplaying, when I first started in SL.  The outfits and looks were amazing and the only limitation was what your mind put on you.
Telrunya truly fed all those things in me and more.  To say that this sim is breathtaking does not do it justice.  The designer, Nessa Zamora; not only invites us into her dreams and fantasy world, she creates a dreamscape of color and composition that blends, flows together and allows her guests to indulge in a plethora of different areas filled with fantastic beauty and secret gardens.  As she states in her own profile, "A haven for  those who look for a tranquil environment, a home for fairies, fauns, elves and those who love to be lost in a dreamworld... "
**Side note:  the sim is not only amazing and beautiful to see, it is also graphically demanding.  This is not for those computers that are faint of heart or weak in the graphics card division."

Credit:
Sim designer and owner:  Nessa Zamora
Telrunya

Foul Whisperings: Etheral and Dark Beauty that it is.

     I recall coming across this sim a couple of years ago.  Foul Whisperings is hauntingly beautiful and almost ethereal in it's atmosphere.  According to the sim owners description, it's a symbolic treatment of the key elements or themes of Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. 
     I admit, I'm a geek; I love Shakespeare's works and in fact own a very impressive collection of his plays so a sim dedicated to one of his most well known plays is intriguing to me, to say the least. 
     The sim is designed with different scenes from the play, incorporated in the design to create an amazing experience all together.  This is a sim that honestly deserved to be explored slowly, so that you can discover all the different areas.  There is, according to the notecard that you can receive, an experience that has also been set up, so that you can fully be immersed in the atmosphere that they designers have produced.
For photographers or photo hobbyists, the sim sports some very impressive and diverse areas that are wonderful for different photographic themes.  From dark, maybe gothic look, to an ethereal and possibly even a macabre theme, it's all located at the sim for your pleasure.  
As you will see, I went with more of a fantasy/medieval theme for my own outfit, so there is a few more looks I hadn't mentioned earlier that is also doable at this fantastic sim.  Enjoy!

Credits for Foul Whisperings:
Developed by Kate Richards, Angela Thomas and Kerreen Ely Harper through a grant funded by the Australian Council for the Arts Literature Board, and sponsored by investor partner, the New Media Consortium.

Producer: Kate Richards (Nini Dubrovny)
Director: Kerreen Ely-Harper (Dorothy Porta)
Virtual Worlds Content Designer: Angela Thomas (Anya Ixchel)
Design Consultant: Adam Nash (Adam Ramona)