Up, Up, and Away!

The airplane stays up because it doesn't have the time to fall. Orville Wright

It's been a while since I had a chance to write in my blog.  Life likes to throw you some busy periods and I have had a long stretch of one.  Since I have had a little more time, I have been keeping myself busy finding some new and interesting things to do and see.  Through some friends, I was introduced to two amazing groups, GTFO(Get the Freight Out!) and Drivers of SL.

Through these groups, I have been exposed to some wonderful places on the mainlands, like Aniak Airfield.  While there, I was able to take some photos of the decorative skills of Syler Avon & Rurua, who are responsible for the amazing look and feel of Aniak Airfield, which is owned by Cinn Bouchard, the owner of the wonderful GTFO game.

The airfield is a fully functioning airfield, where you will see planes coming and going.  They have a monthly competition going on for the pilots, the Flyer of the Month and a system that is unique to their airfield, called a STOL runway landing sensor, which measures the accuracy of landings and take-offs.

As for the setup, the whole area is set up with a quaint rustic, vintage-style of feel to it.  All of it is tastefully done, including their little rental homes and parking/storage areas for your planes.  The entire airfield is not just well thought out but wonderfully put together, so there is consistency through the entire area.

For photographers, this is a fantastic area for vintage style photos and if you need to use a pose stand, you are able to do so here.  *Remember to clean up after you are done and keep in mind, there is active planes coming and going in this airfield.*

Achill Island: A Touch of Irish Charm

Yesterday I did a bit of a walkabout on the grid.  Translation: I was profile perving and finding places that I have never heard of or thought they sounded interesting.  

Achill Island was in the 8th profile I had perved..I mean, checked out. and it just sounded so charming, quaint, and adorable that I had to take a peek.  I'm really glad I did that.  It has this sweet, charming feel of it, that was reminiscent of Ireland.    Designed and landscaped by the talented Minnie Atlass, she captures the feel, colors, and atmosphere of the Irish countryside in vivid detail.  

As you will see in the photos, it is set up with rolling hills, a peaceful and relaxing pond, and the cliffs are rugged and dramatic looking, similar to what you would find in Ireland.

Photographers are welcome but this is also a private home for Ziggy Duster and Grace Sixpence, who are gracious enough to open their land and share, so respect for their private areas, please.

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.

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)

The Trace: A new beginning

Well here I am, putting fingers to keyboard once more and blogging again.  With several shake ups in my SL world happening, I needed to find an outlet for myself, since I found alot of time on my hands suddenly; when the sim I managed for 2 years suddenly closed.  Since I have an overabundance of LM's in an overly bloated inventory, I figured why not blog once more...
I choose The Trace since I have been hearing others mentioning this names a few times on both FB and inworld.  Curiosity piqued, I grabbed my handy dandy LM and popped over there.  Impressed is one word that does applied, along with Wowed.  The sim has been done with a beach style theme, with rolling hills and cliff sides placed in such a way that it blends perfectly.  With an eye to detail, the designer recreated something I would see in RL, like in a little town in Nova Scotia for example, with the waves gently lapping at the shore and seagulls singing in the sky overhead and fields of flowers waving in the breeze around me.  Picturesque and peaceful are two words that come to mind when I visited this beautifully done sim but don't just take my word for it, take a peek at the photos and do visit The Trace and see for yourself.

For the most part, I went with the windlight settings that the sim already has set up, though in the one of myself, I'm using Xanthe's Flawlessness windlight and in the photo of the seagull/horizon, that is the Barcelona windlight setting along with the glassy setting for the water.