Breath in the Oxygen!

Due to RL, this post is a long time in coming.  Back in December, I had the pleasure of meeting SixDigital and seeing her amazing sim, Oxygen. 

The sim is done with a bit of a vintage feel to it, with plenty of beautiful areas to visit, including a gorgeous beach that is set up with not just an eye to detail, but you get the sense of peaceful serenity, as well.  A walk around the sim is not just a pleasure, but for a photographer, it's pure joy.  She balances the visuals out in a manner that is not overwhelming, but wonderful to behold, in each area you look.

Not only is it a cornucopia of wonderful visuals, but it's also active as well, with a variety of different events and activities for you to enjoy.  If you feel like you never wish to leave this treasure of a sim, there are also rentals that are available at the sim, so you can make it your home as well.

Drop by, join the group and enjoy!

Ville de Coeur

One of the things I have found to be inspiring is individuals creativity and the ability to bring real-life places, into Second Life.  People have recreated or been inspired by real-life places, building them on amazing, scenic regions and bringing them to life with their creativity.  Ville de Coeur is one of those places in Second Life.  It covers 7 regions, each one showing off the creativity and talent of its owners, Bedrick Panacek-Guisse(Bedrick Panacek) & Ayla Panacek-Guisse (Ayla Guisse).

Places like Ville de Colmar, Cote d'Azur in France, and Chateauneuf-en-Axios in Bourgogne, France, have been used as inspirations for creating this amazing network of regions. You will find beautiful villages dotting the rural landscapes, with little quaint shops and homes, tucked in between the mills, hills, and canals.

As you walk or drive through each region, you can see that everything has been built with an amazing eye for detail, with each region seamlessly connecting to the other region.  Whether you do the walking tour, ride in a carriage, or take the trolley tour, the experience is smooth and beautiful to behold.  If you don't want to use those methods of travel, there are bicycles and horses that you can borrow, where you can ride the many horse trails or ride your bike down the many roads and pathways that you will find in each region.  No matter which method of transportation you decide to go with, you will be offered a cornucopia of scenic views to enjoy along the way.

Ville de Coeur is also very active.  They hold events, dances, get-togethers; along with having rentals for both residents and shop owners.  The list is long, on the many things you can do and interact with.  The people who live here are warm and friendly, as are the owners of this amazing place.

I visited the different regions and took a sampling of photos, to give an idea of what awaits you at Ville de Coeur.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Edit:  I noted this after writing the article that Ville de Coeur also has a Flickr group for their regions.  If you take photos, please consider adding them to their group and sharing with them your experience there.

Petit Lac Des Cygnes

Petit Lac Des Cygnes, which means Little Swan Lake in English, is inspired by the Southwest French countryside, near the foothills of the Pyrenees mountain range, according to the introductory notecard you receive, upon entering the sim.  It is the private home of Cougar Sangria & Henry McAuley, who have graciously opened their home to the public, Wednesday - Sunday.
There are several areas that you can visit on the sim.  There is a quaint cafe, a private dining area called Antoinette's, a maze, the L'Orangerie, and a swimming pool.  The Chateau that you will see on the land is the owners private home, which is not a public area, but with all the things to see and experience, you will be kept quite busy.
There is a group, with a small 25L fee to join, if you need to rezz something for photos, with only the small request to clean up after yourselves.
They do have a 75 script limit and a 200,000 complexity limit active there, so please keep that in mind when visiting and sex is prohibited.
They also have a Flickr group that you can join so you can share with them any photos that you may take of the sim. 
There are many areas for some fantastic photo opportunities.  The landscaping is incredibly detailed and well thought out and the feel is both rustic and quaint, at the same time.  A lot of love, time, and effort was put into the creation of this sim and it's obvious in the amount of detail that you will see here.

The Ippos Collective: Nymphai

This is the 3rd installment of the Ippos Collective, the Nymphai sim.  The best way to describe this sim is to think of an old town charm, with rustic cabins and campsites through it, along with corner stores to add charm and appeal and dirt paths to wander down.  There are areas where campers can gather together, to catch up and enjoy each others company, along with a landscaping that begs to be seen.  They have a corral for horses, so if you are a horse enthusiast, they are set up for you very well and pets are allowed here. This sim is set up for you to literally walk around it and is connected to the other sims, so if you are on a horse, you have a wonderful ride ahead of you here.
There are residents here as well, so heavy emphasis on respecting their areas is a must and is also home to 2 larger events, The Secret Affair and Enchantment.

**I went to visit the last of the 4 sims and was going to do a post on it as well, but realized after I landed, it is even more residential than any of the other sims.  I am uncertain on how open it really is so I will not be doing a post on that one, due to privacy concerns.**

The Ippos Collective: Ippos

This is the 2nd sim, in the Ippos Collective, the Ippos sim itself.  Filled with idyllic views of amazing forests, beautiful paths to follow, and plenty of open spaces to enjoy, it's home to quite a few SL photographers, according to the Ippos website. 
The whole sim is in full autumn bloom, with falls palette painting your view with vibrant colors and amazing opportunities for photos.  Each area is filled with wonderful discoveries, each one was done with a very critical eye for the most minute detail. 
As mentioned, there are residents on this sim, so respect to the residents is emphasized, which is understandable.

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.

Field of Dreams

If you are an avid fan of photography, then you should be made aware of this fantastic event that occurs each week called Photohunts.  I've done many photo hunts with this group in the past and they find the most fantastic, out of the way, amazing sims!  I'm not sure how they find all of these wonderful treasures, but they do.  If you want to take a little peek at them, you will find them here.
Thanks to this group, I can also bring you this wonderful sim, which was featured back in February by the Photohunts group called Field of Dreams.  The amount of detail and the feel of the sim is blended perfectly together to create a rustic and charming atmosphere throughout the sim.  There is quite a number of great areas for photography at the sim, allowing for quite a variety of different shots that can be done here, keeping in mind that the land does have a moderate rating, so no xrated photos please.
As you will see from some of the photos I took while I was there, I had alot of fun with both windlight and angles on some of the shots.  I hope you enjoy!