While Furillen wasn’t specifically designed for taking pictures, photography was an important  consideration when I laid things out. This was inevitable, given that this is what I like doing most on the grid.

As I said in another post, Flickr has had a major influence on visitor numbers at Furillen. But numbers aside, it has also created a special atmosphere.

It sometimes gets a little bit weird, too.

With people working hard at pictures, moving around searching for good angles and perspectives, trying out different light settings, there is usually a good vibe.

People who go around the grid taking pictures are invariably good to meet: long established in Second Life, curious, and knowledgeable. Being creative and interested in the visual side of the grid, a lot of them also have great avatars.

I also really enjoy seeing bloggers at Furillen. Although they tend to see the sim mainly as a backdrop for whichever clothes or accessories they want to feature, they are always welcome.

The stuff they do is often fun, too.

Flickr in Second Life is quite a social space, many of the active people know each other, take pictures of each other, comment on each other’s work and attend each other’s exhibitions. A bit like any real life art scene, I guess.

The photography competition was intended to tap into all of this, and I think it has worked. Some awesome pictures have been submitted to the competition group: well over 100 pictures since 1 January 2016.

Entries close today, voting on the first round takes place over the weekend, and the winner will be announced on Sunday. The winning picture will be on show at the sim, while its creator gets to choose the next theme – the next round will begin immediately and runs for a further two weeks.

I won’t be voting myself, but will post some of my personal favourites from this round – all on the theme of ‘solitude’ – in the Picture of the Day slot next week.

Meanwhile, to all who submitted pictures – thank you and good luck.