Photography

Just A Couple

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…of friends, lovers, hearts.

Second Life is sometimes called a game and sometimes called a social networking platform. Whatever you decide to call it, there will always be people who meet and becomes friends or lovers. It’s the nature of people to seek others out for a connection of the heart, whether platonic or romantic.

I love taking photographs of couples. To be able to capture the bond between two people and express the emotions of the moment is one of the most rewarding parts of photography for me. Knowing that whenever they look at that image it will stir a memory of that place and time is what makes it worthwhile for me.

Formal shoots give me the opportunity to select a pose and have more control over the setting. And I’ve loved some of the photos I’ve done of both lovers and friends.

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But some of my favourite photos are those that have been taken “in the moment”…those pictures that are a snapshot of who those people are together, reflecting why they chose to be lovers or friends. Sometimes romantic, sometimes whimsical, sometimes silly. They’re all a part of why people choose to spend their time together and I love photographing those moments.

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I’m discovering this blog is about much more to me than photography. It’s about my adventures in Second Life and the amazing people who have touched my life there. The stories that have been told, the friendships forged, the affairs of the heart. Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.”
― A.A. Milne

Goin’ To The Chapel…

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Weddings. They happen in Second Life, just as in real life. And trust me, a virtual wedding can be just as much work to plan as a real life wedding!

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My best friend and one of my Second Life sisters, Abbie, got married in December. As her maid of honour, I was involved from the beginning in helping to pick out dresses, flowers, the cake, tuxes, final decision on the venue and generally keeping the bride from totally freaking out and setting fire to the dresses, flowers, cake, tuxes and venue! (Yes, there’s a story there, perhaps to be told another day 😉 ) The wedding took place on December 22, 2012, but that was actually the third date, due to real life issues. Yes, those play a major part in any virtual wedding, from time zones to health or personal issues to internet and hardware failure (and I don’t mean the wedding night!)

Abbie asked me to be her photographer for the wedding, but I declined as the “official” photographer. Mainly because I was part of the wedding party and would be busy doing what a maid of honour does, but also because I was afraid that I might miss some magic moments. If there are technical issues with a standard photo shoot, it can be rebooked. But a wedding…well, you’ve got one shot at getting it right and god help the photographer who screws up a bride’s wedding day!

As it turned out, I took over 270 photos, anyway, from us getting ready to the ceremony to the reception and after party. I put together an album for Abbie that consisted of about 40 photos that I deemed acceptable. Part of the reason for the lower strike rate was that it’s tough taking photos on the fly. But the main reason was because while I wanted to create a theme for the photos, after a while they just seemed repetitive. I see no point in padding a portfolio just for the sake of numbers. Besides, wedding pictures can be like Aunt Georgia’s vacation pictures; after you’ve seen 15 or 20 shots of her and Uncle Ralph drunk at the luau, you’ve seen them all 😉

Because this was a Christmas themed wedding, I wanted to give the photos a wintery feel without being cold. I could have used cool processing, but instead I used a frosted halo to give the photos a consistent feel. I also softened the images frequently to give them a more romantic impression.

The Ceremony

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The Wedding Party

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The Reception

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And of course, no wedding would be complete without its share of boo-boos, glitches and a random penguin!

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I admit to trepidation over doing wedding photos, but when it was over, although I wasn’t completely happy with the photos I took, the important thing was that the bride and groom were. Their special day has been captured for eternity, allowing them to happily walk into the future together, hand in hand ♥

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My Cherished

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People who don’t inhabit virtual worlds like Second Life often don’t understand how two folks can meet and almost instantly find a connection when they only have avatars and text as their means of communication. Just because you can’t see or touch someone, though, doesn’t mean that relationship isn’t as real. I work as a host and shift manager at a rock club in Second Life (Breaking The Rules). My job there is to greet people, help them out and just be social, making sure they enjoy their time at the club. As such, I meet a LOT of people on a daily basis.

But sometimes, you just ‘click’ with a person and know that you share a bond that will always exist. A ‘sister of the heart’ or a BFF, to be cliche. Tylar Hemmit-Revestel is one of those amazing women whom I will always hold dear. The nickname “My Cherished” came from a Facebook app that listed your friends and how much they love you. Silly nonsense, but in her case, so true.

In our club, the tip jars project the Second LIfe profile picture of the host and DJ. And Tylar’s was, well…average 😉 It was a snapshot that wasn’t sized properly and you could barely make out her features. You certainly couldn’t recognise her beauty from that photo. One night, she mentioned she was saving to have new profile pictures done, and I immediately volunteered to do them for her. It took us a few weeks to actually get the time together for the shoot, but finally, one Friday night, I got her to my home and I flipped her through pose after pose, dragged her around my property to different locations and made her go through wardrobe changes until the poor girl was probably ready to shoot me 😀 I took over 70 shots and in the end, I presented her with 21 photos that I found acceptable. Not a bad strike rate, actually, but I believe that is because I know her so well and I was able to capture her moods and personality more easily.

I wanted to show the different sides of Tylar. And I’m proud to show the world how I captured those aspects of My Cherished.

Thoughtful

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Carefree

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Sensual

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Provocative

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And as My Cherished puts it:

Hello, World, Here’s Tylar!

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Oh, and that friend I mentioned in my first post who told me she loved how I had captured so many sides of her in her portraits? Who encouraged me to offer my services to others? Who gave me the confidence to do just that and as a result, begin this blog?

Yep. You guessed it. That was Tylar…My Cherished ♥