Photo-Op on SLDiscovery.com is a semi-regular feature that puts the spotlight on a Second Life spot that makes for a cool place at which to take photos inworld. Not an entire sim, not even a complete parcel, but just a single specific location - a spot.

Have you seen the Shermerville Bridge? Well, head on over to the south side of Straits of Shermerville, right on the very edge of Barcola actually. You'll get a great view of the bridge, and it offers a fun place to show off some semi-urban fashion. This Barcola SLurl will set you down a short distance away from our target, but watch your step, because the best spot (between an old-time street lamp and the speed limit sign) really is on the *very edge* of the sim. Note the dashed red line I added to the picture. It's not visible at the actual site, so don't fall off!

If you turn up your Draw Distance, you'll see the buildings from Shermerville Central in the background to the north. I liked keeping mine right around 200, which omitted the buildings but left a hint of land in the distance. With a great expanse of water and sky visible, this is a fun place to play with Windlight settings.

There are some wonderful visual compression effects available when applying a focal zoom, turning the lines of the bridge into a piece of abstract art. Cross over to Straits of Shermerville on the bridge itself then turn around to face Barcola. While still standing on the bridge, use Alt+Click or camera controls to move your camera back across the Barcola street to the south. Then apply Ctrl+0 several times, to increase the zoom level (in increments) to fill your portrait area. (Ctrl+8 will zoom out by increments, and Ctrl+9 will instantly return you to the default zoom level.) Using focal zoom is an excellent way to "get closer" to a subject without the distortion caused by moving the camera itself.

However you set up your frames, try to keep a bit of that speed limit sign present. It seems to add just the right amount of spice to this semi-urban area.

Style Card:
shape: my own
skin: Sachi Vixen, (Professional Goatee), Library
eyes: Sterling Artistry (Mystery Eyes, previous instore freebie)
hair: Wilted Rose, (retired brand)
gloves: Mire, (JFTG2 hunt gift)
outfit: Pasarella, (The Count, Vampire Hunt gift)
leg band: Venus Designs, (Schildknaap, JFTG2 hunt gift)
boots: Great Royal Wife Designs, (SLD Great Toque Hunt gift)

poses by Izumiya, Juicy, Ks2cool

Photo-Op on SLDiscovery.com is a semi-regular feature that puts the spotlight on a Second Life spot that makes for a cool place at which to take photos inworld. Not an entire sim, not even a complete parcel, but just a single specific location - a spot.

Pink is for girls...but when it comes this hot, it overrides gender entirely. So bring on your avatar (male, female or other) to this outrageous field of pink, tucked inside the accompanying building to the Berries Inc. shop in Yebizah.

This place kind of looks like another shop, but there are no products for sale inside. There's only a couch here, positioned in front of the curtained, highlighted and VERY PINK grasses. Just walk on in and get your camera ready. That pink is mighty strong, so I'd recommend not trying to compete with it; wear neutral colors.

You can flip through some of your Windlight settings in here, but you'll notice they don't have much effect on the surroundings. That's due to the Full Bright and Glow aspects overriding basic lighting effects. But you can still select a Windlight setting for enhancing your skin and clothing.

Have a seat! You'll discover this is no ordinary couch. It has a vast repetoire of surprises for you in its menu-driven pose selections and adjustments. If you aren't finding the right position while seated here, be sure to check all eleventy-hundred pages of the couch's menu. There is a pose available for every mood.

When you're finished with the couch, step into the field. You might find yourself becoming pop art.

I love vegetation in SL, especially areas of grass, even in bizarre colors. I always have to walk right into it. This field might be considered "small," but with the right camera angle, it can readily fill the frame and give you something to cheer about.

All those hues of pink, magenta, red, white...kind of puts me in mind of Valentine's Day, a holiday that is quickly approaching. Perhaps this field of pink could assist you in making your valentines this year!

STYLE CARD:

skin: Belleza (old instore freebie)
hair: ETD (Jared, modified color)
eyes: Sterling Artistry Boutique, Newport Keys sim Winter Snowflake hunt gift (find the snowflake before Jan 30)
moustache & soul: Discord Designs
shirt, vest, pants: Wilson's, JFTG2 hunt gift (find the fedora before Jan 31)
shoes: BalAni, HFTFF hunt gift (find the apple before Jan 25)
 
 
 
 

Newport Keys starts the New Year with a Winter Snowflake Hunt. Several shops all around the sim have gifts packed in small sculpty snowflakes just for you. Guys, there's even stuff for you out there! Take a look:

Gorgeous artwork from PantherzProdz (L) and DragonLady Designs  (R).The green is my skybox wall, not part of the artwork. The painting on the right is animated, the snow really falls.

Shirts from 333 and Style for Him. There's a men's version of the 333 shirt, and the one from Style for Him is actually a men's shirt (but it looks really great on the girls too).

Rozza's hunt offering ... very pretty tank and jeans.

You'd think that Shapely Designs, Sterling Artistry Boutique and ~LilyPads~ coordinated their hunt gifts. I can assure you this isn't the case, but they sure do go well together. 

The hunt runs until January 30th, so you have plenty of time to wander the sim and snag gifts. Just look for the shops with the sign shown below (there are more than what I've shown here, including gestures from AudMart).