Dang, there is just too much great art from Second Life® folks on Flickr®. This is just from a few days and doesn’t even capture a quarter of the pictures I like.

And the stars were blue by Erika Xaron

Erika Xaron’s And the Stars Were Blue is successful on many levels. It creates a mood of introspection and solitude. Note that the horizon is placed according to the Rule of Thirds, but that the subject is not, placed instead on the fifth line. Often a picture will be more dynamic if you mix a third with a fifth rather than both on a third. The fifth is the outside limit for placing the subject in most circumstances unless you’re cropping part of the subject out of the picture. The other great compositional choice is the color overlay. Yellow and blue are opposites on the color wheel so work together beautifully.

Slow Motion Clicking by Fitzhugh Tightly

Fitzhugh Tightly’s Slow Motion Clicking is another example of the Thirds/Fifths interplay. The horizon is on the fifth this time and the subject fills the right-hand third. I love the bold color and high contrast.

Eye Shadow #2 by James @ Studio136

Eye Shadow #2 by James @ Studio 136 is another fabulous composition. In the first place, we pay more attention to incomplete pictures because they engage our minds in filling out the missing bits. We don’t consciously imagine a chin and forehead, but our subconscious has already done it for us. That little bit of extra effort engages our attention more closely. Cropping closely, he placed the left eye according to the Rule of Thirds.  In addition, the way the line of the cheek meets with the sinister diagonal on the left not only makes our lizard brains that love geometry happy. We have this whole issue thing with left-handedness, the left-side is the sinister side, children punished for writing left-handed and so on. It’s very silly, but as silly as it is, it is also real. Humans are weird.

Lovesick 4 by Mouse Mimistrobell

Mouse Mimistrobell’s Lovesick #4 is well-named. We know at first glance that the subject is unhappy. First, her back is to us. Unless she’s kicking up her heels, facing away is a good sign the subject is unhappy. Then look at the bent knee, suggesting tentative insecurity and indecision. Add the colors, blues and grey, the color of sadness. Of course, the subject is placed according to the rule of thirds.

Untitled by Kiko

Kiko’s Untitled is another example of subtle choices evoking sorrow. Again, she is looking away. The color blue dominates. She is also placed according to the rule of thirds, her back lining up to the line while above the subject is exactly on the line.

Sanchez Sucio by Adolf Chaplin

I love this photo from Adolf Chaplin called Sanchez Sucio. I love his crazy avatar and his photostream is profane, wild, and hilarious. It’s a reminder of why Second Life is so much fun. It’s our world, our imagination and Chaplin’s imagination runs wild.

Night by Smilla Kalina

Honestly, I could not choose just one photo from Smilla Kalina. Here is Night, but then look at Balance #1 below. They vintage treatment, the desaturated colors and shadows all combine for a verisimilitude that is almost uncanny. They have this noir quality that just draws me in.

Balance #1 by Smilla Kalina