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Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves – The Nature Of A Woman

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1 2304 Rain Curves

In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves.
Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

When I look at photos of stick-thin women, I have to wonder, what is the appeal? What is more boring than a straight line? The gentle curve of the hips, the breasts, the shoulder and upper arm, soft and gently sloping, defines the feminine form. That women – and especially young girls – are conditioned to eschew this natural phenomenon causes more harm than can ever be expressed in a simple blog.

The Weekly Photo Challenge prompt this week is Curves. This photo not only shows a modern version of a curvaceous woman, but the framed print harkens back to a time when this shape was considered ideal.

There are other examples of curves in this picture, but the nature of a woman cannot be overshadowed.

Please click on the link above to see other examples of “Curves.”

Milestones and Moments

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Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.
Rose Kennedy

This is my 100th blog post. I’ve been thinking about it for about a week, knowing it was coming up. I wanted to do something different for it, since it’s a milestone. I’ve been trying to come up with some sort of a special photograph to go along with it – a new location, a new technique, something different.

But my inspiration failed me.

It’s been a good week for me, in many ways. I have reached daily and weekly highs on views of my blog, I hit 100 blog followers (not counting Facebook followers), and I won my first photo contest. But a couple of comments and events in Second Life upset me, and I’ve barely logged on. Oh, well…we appreciate the sunshine more after the rain, right? I’ll get over it and I’ll soon be prancing my way happily through SL again soon, drama be damned.

Instead, I’ve decided that the moments are more important than the milestone. So rather than stress over an all new photo for this post, I have created a gallery of some companion shots of those I’ve blogged before. Most are new edits; the others are ones that for one reason or another, I didn’t choose at the time. But each one represents a moment in the evolution of my journey.

You can click on a photo to enlarge it, or just glance over the thumbnails. Either way, this is a glimpse of my story thus far.

Thank you for being a part of my world. This blog has come to be a reflection of who I am. Each moment I share here lets you see a bit more of who I am. Not just Peep, but the real me.

I hope you stick around for the next 100…and more.

Humbly Proud

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I’ve said frequently that I’m rarely (if ever) truly happy with my photographs. I am definitely my own worst critic. In fact, it took me a long time to even publish any on Flickr and have rarely entered a photo contest. I have considered entering more often, but I look at the pool of entries and decide mine just doesn’t come up to scratch.

Recently, Second Friends, a social networking site started a while back by Seth Regan/Mankind Tracer specifically for Second Life residents, ran a photo contest. I have been a member of Second Friends since September, 2012, but admittedly haven’t done much there, other than check in once in a while. But when I saw a notice for the photo contest – without a view of the other entries – I decided to throw my hat into the ring. I think entering it blind was the main reason I did it. I wasn’t comparing my work to the other entrants.

Ironically, I sent in my entry a couple of days ago, but for some reason, the email bounced back. By the time I realised it, I thought the entry deadline had passed and I just shrugged it off, thinking it would be another of my failed attempts, anyway. But then I saw a post that there were still three hours to go until the deadline, and I resent the email.

This time, it went through. And to my shock, I won first place.

The photo I chose was one of my very favourites I’ve taken. It was from the 2304 Rain post I did a couple of months ago.

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Please click the link above to visit Second Friends, and if you are a dedicated Second Life dweller, join. It’s an opportunity to socialise with other SL residents and post about what you’re doing there – events, your business, or just the fun you have in our amazing virtual world.

The prize is to have my photo displayed on the home page of Second Friends for a month, along with a link to my blog. So for a full 30 days, whenever I log in to Second Friends, I’ll be reminded that sometimes I need to stop being so critical of my work and just be humbly proud.