LOTD #276 – Facing Fear

She blinked, confused, as cameras flashed.

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One of my favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson – Always do what you are afraid to do.

I’ve always wanted to be a better photographer, both in RL and SL.  I’ve taken online courses and tried to teach myself, but my photos never seem to match what I see in my head.

A month or so ago, I was scrolling through my social media and saw that the Visionaire Institute in SL was accepting applications.  I’ve thought about applying for several semesters, but never did.

All those negative thoughts ran through my head – “I’m not good enough, I’ll never learn to take photos like X” – and on and on.  Mostly it was fear talking.

Fear that I wouldn’t be able to learn. Fear that I wouldn’t be able to hold my own with the other students. Fear that I wouldn’t be creative enough. Fear of stepping out of my comfort zone. Fear of social interactions.

This time, though, I decided to face my fears, and I applied.  I thought, if I get in great, if I don’t, I can always apply again later.  I purposely tried to put it all out of my mind after I applied, so that I wouldn’t drive myself crazy.

I actually succeeded in not obsessing over the application, so I was happily surprised to get a notice that I had been accepted into the program.  🙂

And I’m so glad that I applied – after only two classes, I’ve learned a ton and have met some of the greatest people. I am looking forward to learning more and hopefully improving my skills as I go.

Thanks, Mr. Emerson. 😀

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Details:

Hair:  Elikatira – Betty

Skin:  Glam Affair – India

Eyes: IKON – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Head: Lelutka – Simone

Dress: Brii Underground – Sofia Dress

Jewelry: Modern Couture – Gianna

Pose: Nantra

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Infatuation – LOTD #271

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I’ve been so busy working on dance projects that I haven’t had much time to take any photos.  So this week, while I have a bit of a break, it’s photo time!

When I take photos, I try to use new items I’ve acquired, and then I can sort them in inventory. I’ve gotten so behind and acquired so many things (thank you, free SL13B gifts!), my inventory was getting out of control.

I spent much of yesterday sorting and boxing and deleting – so cathartic!  Some of the things I had yet to unpack were Birdy’s items from The Arcade. A good friend gifted me the bikini (which is amazing and fits my Lara body perfectly), and I had the arm/leg chains and the headpiece from my own plays.  Add in some gorgeous hair from Truth, and Bam!

I haven’t worn my mesh heads in so long I’d forgotten how much I love them, especially for photos.  I have more time to play around with layers and modes in Photoshop if I don’t have to spend hours smoothing out spiky bits!

I can’t wait to finish opening boxes and find out what other treasures are waiting inside. 😛

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Details:

Hair:  Truth – Damaris – Gingers

Skin:  Glam Affair – Jamaica

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Head: Lelutka – Simone

Bikini: Birdy – Boho – Bikini – White  (@ The Arcade)

Arm/Leg Chains: Birdy – Boho – Arm Chains – Silver; Leg Chains – Silver  (@ The Arcade)

Headpiece: Birdy – Boho – Headdress – Red (@ The Arcade)

Pose: Nantra

Keep Your Hat On – LOTD #270

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You know how sometimes when you sit down to do something, you sort of get on a roll and before you know it, you’ve done way more than you intended?

That’s what happened when I sat down to blog some of my goodies from the Vintage Fair.  😛

I was trying things on, sorting them out, taking pics, and suddenly – I had three LOTD posts done!

This pic is of the fabulous cloche hat and gloves from Eclectica.  I am always looking for great vintage pieces, and I found them. 🙂

The gloves are mesh – I just alpha’ed out my Maitreya hands and they fit perfectly.  The cloche hat comes with or without hair – the hair version lets you change the hair color to most colors.

If you haven’t made it to the Vintage Fair yet, don’t wait.  It’s open until June 26, and there are some terrific vintage-y things you don’t want to miss!

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Details:

Hair/Hat:  Eclectica – Buchanan Hat – Ebony

Skin:  Glam Affair – Margo – India

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Head: Lelutka – Simone

Gloves: Eclectica – Buchanan Gloves – Ebony

Pose: Infiniti – Handy

I’m Not Bad – LOTD #269

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I saw this harness outfit by Salt and Pepper at the Vintage Fair, and I had to have it.  It comes with a HUD and you can change the metal and pearl colors.

I wanted to keep the look for this photo simple, so I added some elegant earrings I had from Glitzz and some gorgeous hair from Elikatira (also from the Vintage Fair).

If you haven’t been to the Vintage Fair yet, you’re missing out.  There are some fantastic vendors there with some absolutely amazing pieces.  There is an ARC limit (75K, I believe), so wear something simple and avoid jewelry!

I know I’ll be going back several times to pick up pieces I missed on the first go-round – I’ve got my eye on a fab vintage swim cap from Meva. 🙂

Happy Shopping!

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Details:

Hair:  Elikatira – Betty – Essentials (@ Vintage Fair)

Skin:  Glam Affair – Margo – India

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Head: Lelutka – Simone

Outfit:  Salt & Pepper – Yvette Harness – Cream (w/Pasties) (@ Vintage Fair)

Earrings: Glitzz – Zania

Pose: Nantra – Social Climber (modified)

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Sultry – LOTD #268

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I don’t normally like censorship, but I do try to avoid any NSFW posts.  However, I’ve been having so much fun taking pics with the goodies I picked up at the Vintage Fair, that I kinda forgot. 😛

So, out comes the trusty ‘censored’ bar – I wouldn’t want any of the faint-hearted to keel over while reading my blog!

I do have an uncensored version on my Flickr stream, so if you want to mosey over there and have a gander, feel free. 😀

(If the link doesn’t work, please let me know – Flickr has changed their rules and I’m still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to posting pictures from there to here!)

I’ve been shopping like a fiend for the last week or so – so many new events open that I hadn’t been to yet – FaMESHed, Collabor88, We ❤ Roleplay, and (thanks to one of my fabulous blogging groups), I was lucky enough to snag an early access pass into the Vintage Fair!

I love being able to wander around before an event is open – it’s not crowded or laggy, and I can actually walk around, instead of cam-shopping.

I was especially excited to see what was at the Vintage Fair, and I wasn’t disappointed.  There are some fabulous items – accessories, hair, skin, clothes, decor – anything and everything.

The outfit you see is from Avenge at the Vintage Fair.  I’d never heard of Avenge before, but they are definitely going to be added to my go-to shopping list.  I took another picture in an outfit I picked up from there (click here to see it) and I know I will get lots of use out of both.

The fabulous hair is from EMO-tions, out now at the We ❤ Roleplay event.  I love the soft curls.  The necklace is a treasured piece from deviousMind – the LaSombre necklace.

I’ve also been playing around with some free filters and actions I got for Photoshop – so much fun!

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Details:

Hair:  EMO-tions – Jaily – Brunette (@ We ❤ Roleplay)

Skin:  Glam Affair – Margo – India

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Head: Lelutka – Simone

Outfit:  Avenge – Soft Bondage (@ The Vintage Fair)

Necklace: !deviousMind – LaSombra – Onyx/Gold

Earrings: Indyra – Briolette – Noir

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Seething – LOTD #267

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Ok, so it’s been another while since I did a LOTD post.  I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and I put together a picture.  I uploaded it to Flickr, and then tried to embed it into my blog, as I have done since I got Flickr.

I usually make my LOTD photos private, that way they don’t show up on my Flickr feed until after the blog post has published.  Except now it doesn’t work that way.  -.-

Flickr has changed the rules without any notice once again.  Now in order to embed a photo I have to make it public.  Which is what I was doing, but AFTER my blog post published.  There are those of us who like to work ahead, and have our posts scheduled, rather than hitting ‘publish’ as soon as we are done.  There is something called a ‘guest pass’ that is supposed to let you have an embed code for a private photo, but I couldn’t get it to work correctly (or at least, it may work as Flickr intended, but it doesn’t work as I need it to).

So now, I have two choices – I can make my photos public in order to obtain the embed code so I can add them to my blog post, or I can find an alternative to Flickr. Well, three choices, I suppose – one other being that I could go back to just uploading my pics directly to WordPress.

I originally began adding the photos to Flickr and then embedding them in order to save space on my free WordPress account – you only get 3GB of storage with WordPress, which goes pretty quick when you are taking hi-res photos with large file sizes.

After scanning my way through the mind-numbing Flickr forum, it appears the change was triggered because the embed code they provided violated their own TOS.  (I’m still not clear on why.)

I’ll have to do a few more photos and see what option I think is the best for me.  I can upgrade my WP account to get more space – perhaps once I get closer to the limit, it might be worth it.  We shall see.

In the meantime, my photo turned out to be pretty prophetic – I was seething myself by the time I figured all of this out!!  Instead of 15-20 minutes, I spent several hours reading and searching.  Gah!

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Details:

Hair:  EMO-tions – Fenia – Blonde (previously at We ❤ Roleplay)

Skin:  Glam Affair – Margo – India

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Eye Makeup: White Widow – Belle – Red

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Outfit:  Belle Epoque – Sabah – Red  (previously at We ❤ Roleplay)

Pose: oOo Studio – boo!ty pose (modified)

Waves – LOTD #266

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It’s been a while since I did a LOTD post – which is too bad, because I’ve collected so many fantastic things since my last one!

I’m still having a lot of fun playing around with lighting and projectors in-world.  I needed a new profile pic as well, so I set to work.

The wallflowers are by ChiC Buildings and are available in three different versions at On9.  The dark version is pictured here.

The hair is the latest from Truth – the Fenella hair currently available at Uber.  It comes with or without the hat – this is the hatless version, obviously. 😛

I’m in love with this necklace from Bauhaus Movement, which I picked up at Shiny Shabby.  You can’t see the colors in this photo, but they are fabulous!

From Glitzz (quickly becoming one of my favorite stores), I added the Ophelia headband.  A versatile piece and one that will be a costuming staple, I’m sure.

Also from Glitzz is the lingerie – Becky in black.  It comes with various appliers (I always appreciate when there is a Maitreya applier so I don’t have to go hunting for my Omega relay!).

Last but not least, one of my favorite shoes from Friday – the Kendall platforms in coal.  I love the way the ribbons look on the legs.

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Details:

Hair:  Truth – Fenella (@Uber)

Skin:  Glam Affair – Margo – India

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Lingerie: Glitzz – Becky – Black

Necklace: Bauhaus Movement – Dee (@Shiny Shabby)

Headband: Glitzz – Ophelia – Black

Shoes: fri.day – Kendall – Coal

Pose: Aerial Poses – Dance (modified)

Decor:  Wallflowers (Dark) by ChiC Buildings (@On9)

Evolution – LOTD #265

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One of my favorite things is learning.  Which is fantastic, because there is always more to learn when it comes to Photoshop! 😛

I’ve been using Photoshop off and on since 2004, when I was first introduced to it.  However, I didn’t really start learning it until about a year or so ago.

Once I discovered photography in SL, I set out to try and learn as much as I could about both photography and Photoshop, hoping to improve my skills.  I don’t have as much time to devote to it as I would like, but I’m slowly working my way there. 🙂

This photo is fairly simple, but the amount of skills used is pretty long, if I think about it.  I started with a green screen photo. After removing the green screen, I found a background image I liked.  I added shadows, I used a blur filter, I used the ‘match color’ image adjustment, I changed blending modes, and I used layers to add textures and colors . Which may not sound like much, but each of those things has skills within skills.

Photoshop is very complex, but I’m enjoying the process of learning how to get the most out of it.  If I look back to my first photos, I can see a definite change in style and technique!

Next on my agenda is to finally sit down and learn how to use my Wacom tablet – that’s been on the back burner for far too long.  😛

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Details:

Hair:  .:EMO-tions:. * PETRA * – Red (with flowers add-on)

Skin:  Lumae :: Eirtae – T4 – Fawn // Cheri (Freck / Brow 5)

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Dress: BE Designs – Olivia – Royal Blue

Earrings/Necklace: Lazuri – Enchanted Diamond

Shoes: Maci – Fetish Leather Boots

Pose: Ma Vie – Didi

 

Beauty, Beware – LOTD #263

Her glacial blue eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

“Would you like a drink?” she asked, gesturing towards the cups on the table.

He swallowed audibly. “Thank you, milady,” he said.

Her smile did not reach her eyes.

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After finally finding time to do some unpacking and organizing, I came across this fantastic gown from Purple Moon, which I picked up at the last round of Enchantment (I think).

I’ve been a fan of Purple Moon forever, and it is a fabulous.  Poulet is extremely generous with her group gifts and it’s well worth the group slot. 😀

I’m sporting my new Tuli skin, which I bought at this year’s Skin Fair.  I love all the brow options (which I didn’t have with my previous skin), and it came with appliers included (a huge savings!) and tons of makeup layers.

The jewelry is from Glitzz, which is fast becoming one of my go-to stores when it comes to costuming.  She has a ton of fabulous lingerie and lots of other items – jewelry, headpieces, and more. 🙂

Amacci is a new-to-me hair store, but I love this elegant updo.  I’m always looking for great hair, so I will definitely be checking out their other designs.

The cups and table in the photo are from Black Tulip, and available at this round of Genre.  This month’s theme is ‘medieval’ and I think I bought out the round!

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Details:

Hair: Amacci – Amelie

Skin: Tuli – Iris – Tone 5

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Electric

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Dress: Purple Moon – Amalthea Dress – Blue

Earrings/Necklace:  Glitzz – Zania

Pose: Elephante Poses

Cups/Table:  Black Tulip – Medieval Table Set Up

My Ithaca – LOTD #262

She leaned on him lightly, testing his strength.

Feeling his warmth, his reassuring presence, the comforting beat of his heart, she relaxed, melting into him.

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Today’s LOTD post is brought to you by the Pose Fair 2016. 😀

I was lucky enough to get early access to the Pose Fair and one of the things I snagged was this gorgeous couples pose from Glamrus Poses.

I don’t often get a chance to pose with my lovely husband, so I like to take advantage when an opportunity presents itself. 😀

Called ‘Never Be Alone,’ I bought it as soon as I saw it.  I love how her hand rests gently on his shoulder, and how she leans into him.

There are tons of amazing poses at Pose Fair this year, so make sure you visit before it closes.  The fair is open until March 26th at midnight, so you only have a few days left!

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Details:

On Her:

Hair: D!va – Layla – Moonstone

Skin: Eye Candi – Nina – Tone 4

Eyes:  IKON – Triumph – Pale Cerulean

Shape: Laqroki – Glow (modified)

Body/Hands/Feet: Maitreya – Lara

Dress: SAS – Serendipity – Black

Earrings:  Heart & Soul – Earrings

Pose: Glamrus Poses – Never Be Alone

On Him:

Hair: Redgrave – Chris – Black

Skin: Redgrave – Craig – Rich Tan

Eyes: Argrace – Shiny – Lime Green

Tuxedo: KK – Men’s Tuxedo