Category Archives: What I Like

What I Like #7

earth

Earth by Kate Bergdorf

I like Earth by Kate Bergdorf. I love the lighting, even though the sun is not directly visible, we can feel its heat and brilliance in the way it sets the grass alight. I have mentioned before that we unconsciously look for and identify geometric shapes. This beautiful landscape is filled with geometry and that gives it balance and makes our lizard brains happy. Whether Kate Bergdorf deliberately set out to capture all these shapes or whether her innate instinctual search for patterns guided her lens, I do not know. It still works.
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What I Like #6

Turn the page

Turn the Page by Nevereux

I like Turn the Page by Nevereux. Page-turning is common enough that there are dozens of “Page Curl Effect” tutorials on the internet. What I like about this is the idea of turning from black and white to color and even more the use of a person to turn the page. The pose is active and dynamic, as though there was effort involved in turn the page. This was a great concept and brilliantly executed.  Continue reading

What I Like #5

[sYs] PAULINE dress

Pauline Dress by [sYs[ Design

I love this picture from [sYs] Design. Yes, it’s a commercial photo, but that does not keep it from being a marvelous composition. It’s not just that the subject’s perfect placement following the Golden Ratio, but also the use of angles and curves. The curves of the hem, the sleeve caps, and the waist are echoed in her hair and the grass and tree. Her pose gives us angles at her hip and her elbow that juxtapose the angles of the collar and the juncture of the two hills. It is a beautiful composition while keeping it simple so that the focus is on the dress features.
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What I Like #4

Berg

Berg by Skinny Nilla

I love the atmospheric noir sensibility in Skinny Nilla’s Berg photo. There is the dynamic created by the two people looking away from each other, It feels deliberate, not like two strangers passing on the street. Continue reading

What I Like #3

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

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. Continue reading

What I Like—In Remembrance of Amona Savira

material rain

Amona Savira was one of Second Life’s great artists, exploring the potential of SL photography for many years. I have featured her work in my old What I Like columns at Shopping Cart Disco. She has died and many people have responded to her death with art work honoring her memory. This is the last picture she uploaded, that the heavens are weeping seems shockingly appropriate. Grief cannot be critiqued, so I am just going to highlight some of the remembrance photos without comment. Continue reading

What I Like #2

Love can go to hell in a broken heartbeat minute

I love this photo from Taleah McMahon. It’s title isLove Can Go to Hell in a Broken-hearted Minute” and doesn’t it perfectly convey that mixture of anger, betrayal, and a breaking heart all in a chaotic blend of emotion? Continue reading

What I Like #1

Without making promises about frequency or regularity, WHAT I LIKE is back.

Gothic Queen - Mononoke

Gothic Queen by Mononoke

I like this head shot by Tarja Haven called Gothic Queen. It’s a great use of shadow and darkness to create a mood and highlight her face. The angle she holds her head makes the shot more intriguing and the way the sunglasses fade into the shadow adds mystery and intrigue. Continue reading