Category: Exploring Second Life

I don’t tend to cover SL destinations which are BDSM focused. Not because of any prudeness on my part, but because I’m aware that things like BDSM and D/s are not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s also fair to say that – and without wishing to appear unkind – I’ve tended to find that a lot of BDSM themed regions in SL aren’t really that captivating to the eye (no pun intended) or genuinely attractive.

However, there are always exceptions to any kind of generalisation like the one above. Such is the case with The Cyprian Garden, developed by the Obscura Land Group under the leadership of Dorian Meredith. If I had to use a single word to describe it, I think that word would be “stunning”.

The garden, which I think I’m right in saying has only recently opened, is a genuine tour de force in design and layout. Everything has been artfully considered, the landscape carefully crafted and the flora, etc., chosen with an eye towards presenting an environment which is both open and welcoming to visitor, inviting them to linger and explore, while also providing seclusion and privacy for those wanting to enjoy one another’s company, be it in friendly conversation or something more intimate. Paths wend their way around the shoreline and through trees, over hills and through valleys. Tall trees provide shade, flowers bloom everywhere, and water drops from tall falls, meanders through streams and pools in ponds and lakes. Even the surrounding mountains both add to the beauty of the region and to the sense of seclusion and intimacy it generates, while the soundscape of birdsong in the trees further enriches the immervise feel of the garden.

There are places here for people to meet socially, with armchairs and stools laid out in the shade of trees or under vine-hung trellises; there are also places for couples to sit together and watch the world go by. Given that the garden is BDSMfocused, there are some accoutrements on display: a large, cushion-floored cage hanging from a tree here, another ornate cage there, and so on. But for the most part, those areas devoted to more intimate play tend to be secluded (one being underground). Please do note that I say “for the most part”; this is an adult-themed region after all, and that does need to be kept in mind when exploring.

For those who do enjoy the added spice of consensual adult activities, the play areas are such that the overall design and layout of the gardens means that people aren’t necessarily going to be tripping over one another. There are also skyboxes overhead; whether these are residential or for more private assignations (or both)  I’m not sure. There is a rental station hovering over the region, so I assume at least the former, but to be honest I didn’t spend time looking at what was overhead; I was simply enjoying the beauty of the gardens.

Seasoned SL travellers will recognise much of the flora and builds used in the garden, which includes many of Alex Bader’s ever-popular pieces, as well as items by Kriss Lehmann, Mandingo Quan, Aki Shichiroji, Wendy Xeno, Lilith Heart and others – all of which blend perfectly together and give considerable depth and feel to the region.

For the SL photographer there is a lot on offer here, allowing for people’s activities in the gardens and respecting others’ privacy. So much so that a photo contest is currently under way, although the closing time and date of 12:00am on the 27th September is looming fast!

Those wishing to enter are invited to submit up to two colour images of 1024×768 resolution, taken within the Cyprian Garden (the actual theme of the image(s) are left to the entrant’s discretion). Some post-processing is allowed, but submitted pieces must not include text. On offer is L$5,000 in prizes, with L$3,000 going to the first place winner, as decided by the contest voting system.  Anyone interested in participating can find further details on the competition, including an entry form, at the information boards within the garden itself.

If you do set out to explore the garden, do be aware that the region is shared with The Domaine Imperium. For the most part, the two blend together seamlessly, and the east side of the region, under the auspices of the Domaine, is as open to the public as the rest of the garden, with one exception. That is the private residence located on a small island down toward the south-east corner of the island. This can only be reached via a gated wooden bridge – and the gate should serve as warning enough. However, a security system is also in operation to deter trespassers as well.

For my part, I enjoyed my visit and explorations, wandering along the paths and tracks, snapping as I went. The region is fairly quiet right now. While there were a fair few comings and goings in and out of the region, these appeared to be taking place up among the skyboxes and were none of my business and certainly didn’t interrupt my wanderings.

If you’re happy exploring adult environments and love natural spaces and gardens in SL, or a looking for a more refined venue for consensual adult activities, then you may well want to add The Cyprian Gardens to your list of places to visit.

Related Links

• The Cyprian Garden SLurl (Rated: Adult)

With belated thanks to Laurie Gothly.

I first blogged on The Looking Glass, the fabulous joint creation of Marcus Inkpen and partner Sharni Azalee, back in October 2011. While I make frequent visits there, it surprised me to realise that I’ve not blogged about it in the nigh-one two years since. In that time some things have changed within the region, and my SL photography has (hopefully) matured somewhat. This being the case, I decided to gather together snaps taken during my most recent visits (the last being in August 2013), and update my thoughts on the region.

At first glance, not a lot appears to have changed over the years; however, appearances can be deceptive. While the run-down urban area is still very much present, the Looking Glass shops themselves have now gone. They’ve been relocated to a sky platform, leaving the ground level of the region as a veritable tour de force of Markus’ and Sharni’s creativity.

As befitting the nature of the urban quarter, the old Looking Glass stores haven’t been re-leased; they stand empty, just a couple of unwanted packing cases left to gather dust. Elsewhere, the old theatre is still its dilapidated self, the coffee shop still awaits patrons while a couple more pieces of graffiti appear to have found their way onto walls.

One of the things I love about The Looking Glass is not only the way in which tableaux have been  set-out in a manner which so very artfully demonstrates the depth of their beauty and the attention to detail poured into them, but also the juxtaposition of themes and imagery which can be found as one explores.

From the very urban look at feel of the corner town, it is only a short wall down steps and through a rocky arch to a setting which is altogether more medieval in look and feel, with wood-framed buildings setting atop the stone walls of an old castle, complete with a brooding tower rising over the local landscape. There are a few subtle changes to be found here for those who have not visited in a while.

Carry on around the island, under the arches of the great ruined bridge which forms part of the region’s focal-point, and the place takes on an air of fantasy. Here is a verdant land filled with plants which are exotic in both look and colour, where a house sits shaped from the stump of some gigantic tree, a wizard’s tower sits atop a tall rock, and where gardens float serenely overhead.

Another delight with The Looking Glass is that it is not just a shop-front; it is a place to be explored and enjoyed, and where there is often something going on, whether at the amphitheatre, the ruined temple atop the rocky hills which split the region in two or at The Looking Glass gallery itself, which is currently preparing for a winter exhibition entitled Animals in the Scribbled Wild, featuring the artwork of Scott Rolfe, better known to many in Second Life as Scottius Polke, and which opens on December 17th.

Whether you’ve been to The Looking Glass once or a dozen times, it is a place which never fails to enchant and lift the spirits. Visitors are always welcome and there are plenty of places to explore (including some which are not so obvious!) or to sit and think and watch as the world drifts by.

And if you have yet to visit, then your taxi awaits; I very much doubt you’ll be disappointed by the trip.

Related Links

• The Looking Glass SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Reflections on The Looking Glass – October 2011

Hybie Mynx is both a fellow SL traveller and blogger; she’s also the proprietor of Savoir Faire Shapes & Poses, located over her homestead region of MiLova.

The ground level of the region forms Serenity Gardens, a lovely landscape where visitors are invited to explore, and which offers ” a majestic hike through forest, caves, waterfalls, rustic, coastal shores and romantic beach areas”, with the land description concluding people may find it “a little eerie, a little enchanted”.

Here you’ll find a lush wooded landscape split into two by a rocky gorge, itself spanned by a wooden bridge. On the larger of the two parts of the island, the woodlands are mixed with open areas of grass, and there are a number of points of interest to explore, with pathways winding through the trees, gazebos, a small cottage and, perched on a hill with the gorge on one side and horseshoe falls on the other, a tall wooden lighthouse. This side of the island also has the beach, with a curious sculpture garden perched above, overlooking it.

Across the wooden bridge sits the “adult” area of the region – with a sign at the end of the bridge warning you that it is. However, given that the region is G rated, don’t expect things to be overly Adult here; the ToS is still the ToS. However, there are secluded spots here for couples to snuggle-up and enjoy one another’s company, either outdoors or hidden within a cave. Or people can simply wander through the woods, which are lit by floating paper lanterns, enjoying the scenery.

Object return in the region is set to 15 minutes, so if you did want to spread a blanket of your own or pull out a canvas chair and just sit and watch the world go by, you should be able to do so. Just make sure you pick your things up behind you. There are also a number of places scattered through the region which offer places to sit and watch or think – or both.

The island was a little busy when I visited, but nothing too excessive, and it made for a pleasant hour’s exploration and picture-snapping.

Related Links

• Savoir Faire Serenity Gardens SLurl (Rated: General)

In August, I paid a visit to Collins Land, Cerys Collins’ homestead region at Aqua Shores. My time was a little pressed when I dropped-in, so I didn’t get to stay as long as I wanted back then. Even so, I found the region beautifully put together and striking in its contrasts.

Now I’ve had the opportunity to make up for my lack of time during that first visit, as Cerys has been busy re-working the region, and she extended a warm invitation to me to take a look at it ahead of it being opened to the public once more. And I have to say, she has again done a wonderful job.

The new design sees the region take on more of a low-level coastal feel – although there is still a rugged backbone of plateau-topped cliffs snaking through part of the region, splitting one of the islands in two. There are three main islands all told now, two of them low-level and grass-covered, one devoted to the outbuildings of a small farm, the other home to a tall stone-built church, a slender wooden bridge sitting atop the water connecting them. The third – with the hills running through it, is the largest in the group.

I say “main islands” as there is a forth, although column of rock might be a better description for it. This rises from the sea on the north-east side of the region, and atop it sits the arrival point, which will be instantly familiar to anyone who visited Collins Land in its last incarnation.

From here you can look out over the region and get a first glimpse of the changes which have been wrought. To get to the other islands, you have a choice of two rope slides (recommended!) or using the wooden elevator, which will take you down to water level, where you can hop into a rowing boat and paddle your way around the place – which is actually a nice way of seeing everything, and you can also pick-up a boat from the wooden pier on the main island.

Collins Land is still very much a place of contrasts. For the most part, it is very rural in feel; grasslands, trees, a farm and country church, the plateau atop the cliffs a wooded park.. However, the main island also offers a slightly more urban feel to it – there is a paved road and sidewalks, street lights, a post box, bus stop and stone-built house with free-standing garage. There’s a children’s playground here as well, as a quayside pushing out to sea.  The road itself winds through a short tunnel under the park-topped hills, to the wooden pier where people can either sit and relax or take a boat out onto the waters.

Cerys’ attention to detail is again everywhere; I particularly like the little vignette which appears to suggest a slight altercation between a UPS delivery man and a dog as to whether or not three parcels should be delivered to the front door of the main island’s house …

I understand from Cerys that Collins Land will re-open to the public in October. Until then, access is by invitation only, but once the region does re-open to all, I really do recommend you pay a visit. You won’t be disappointed.

Related Links

• Collins Land SLurl (Rated: Adult)
• Collins Land Flickr group

Everyone has a unique and unknown world churning underneath.  The ability to set yourself apart lies in whether or not you’re willing to pull up the roots of who you are, and then plant yourself on the surface for all to see.

So speaks Bowie Zeplin, creator of the marvellous Pangloss; and she has certainly revealed something of a world of her own, offering it to all in Second Life to see.

I came across Pangloss after bumping into the Caminante de Suenos (“Dreamwalker” or “Walker Dreams”) blog, which features it in a photo spread. And it is fair to say that something which features flying turtles does tend to be an attention-grabber.

A Homestead region, and still under construction at the time of writing, Pangloss is wonderfully surreal in look and feel, featuring items from some of SL’s most popular creators. It also places the visitor in a bit of a conundrum: are you actually on land, or are you walking through some fantastical undersea world? Are you in a fabulous sculpture, or touching on elements of dream, fairy tale and fiction?

The trees and flowing water, the surrounding hills, the wooden pier and rowing boat: all seem natural enough and speak of being out in the open somewhere. But then there are the turtles, two of them airborne, a third seemingly preparing to launch itself away from the ground. Are they really flying? Or are they swimming through a mystical sea? And what about the humpback whale, hovering over the north side of the region, fluke rising and falling, as if powering it through invisible water?

You decide.

There’s a certain poetry here in the juxtaposition of images  – one of which literally is poetry. It’s as if the gates of Bowie’s subconscious have been set wide, and images of dreams and echoes of thought and memory allowed to tumble out to be given form. Even the colours here are quite unlike any natural landscape or setting, adding to the surreal feel.

The subconscious is a huge storehouse of information and memories; little wonder, then, that along with the huge set-pieces like the turtles (which you can climb up to and wander their backs) are smaller tableaux suggestive of childhood memories and tales once told or read. Here, for example, a tall wolf strides purposefully upright, hooded cloak about his shoulders, followed at a distance by a young girl dressed in red, the hood of her own shawl raised against the wind. Over there is a table set for a tea party, complete with an odd assortment of chairs and stools – including one atop a pile of books, suggesting a rather small guest is expected. A dormouse, perhaps…?

And if this is the opening of the subconscious, then just like we can sometimes find uncomfortable thoughts and images welling up from beneath in our own minds, so too is Pangloss edged with a little darkness, such as the huge hands, clutching at the side of a hill but soon to vanish, leaving deep furrows in the land over which they passed, suggesting a desperate attempt to gain any kind of purchase in order to stop the inevitable slide into whatever lies beneath the calm-looking water.

That this is a place where dreams and the subconscious are set free might best be indicated by the tree-top bed lying towards the centre of the region, surrounded by the imagery and vignettes.

Everywhere you look there are images and scenes, most of which offer more than one possible interpretation – just like our dreams offer themselves to more than one possible meaning. Take a look at the alien in its little spaceship; it’s at once cute and fun-looking and also darkly disturbing as one takes-in the defenceless cow rising towards the ship in a green beam of light. Just what has the creature in mind for its helpless captive?

This rich collage of images, ideas, thoughts and symbolism make Pangloss a rich and varied feast for the eyes and the mind. It’s wonderfully immersive and captivating. And while I frequently say this about the places I visit, it is a SL photographer’s heaven, offering so much for those who want to capture the unusual and / or love to play with windlight and camera settings.

The default windlight for the region appears to be based on Will Weaver’s Phototools – Quidditch Light, and it works. However, given the very nature of the place, it cries out to you to play and fiddle with settings. I actually ended up rotating through a fair number of different options, twiddling with the sun, glow, clouds, haze and taking multiple snaps from the same angle, etc. But because I really couldn’t get away from the feeling of being both underwater in some mysterious realm, or perhaps exploring another world entirely, I gravitated towards Bryn Oh’s BLUniverse, which for me just seemed to fit the region and its vignettes.

Highly recommended. Just be sure to take your imagination with you – it’ll enjoy the experience as much as you.

Related Links

• Pangloss SLurl (Rated: Moderate)

In July I paid a visit to The Untroubled Sound, Arty Skytower’s beautiful region modelled after New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds. It’s a popular destination for SL photographers, and rightly so.

As a result of my visit, Arty dropped me a line inviting me to take a look at another region he’s been developing, the Artist’s Garden SL Botanicals New Zealand Bush Walk. It’s another beautiful  place, a landscaped coastal region with paths and walks which allow Arty to demonstrate his range of New Zealand focused flora and his landscape accessories.

You arrive on wooden walkway which follows the coast of a bay, leading back to a white-boarded house in one direction, and in the other, onwards around a headland to a small beach area, before allowing visitors to explore onwards around the island.

There are some remarkable examples of New Zealand flora to be seen here; everything from plants through to trees (I love the Pohutukawa tree on a rock), any of which can be purchased via the packing cases you’ll encounter as you explore.

Follow the paths around the island and you’ll find much to delight; places to sit, places to watch the world go by, and places to simply enjoy your surroundings, including a delightful central garden area with a large body of water for the local ducks to enjoy. I do recommend that when exploring, you have in-world sounds enabled; there is a wonderful soundscape to accompany the region.

It’s in the garden, located behind the main house, that artwork by FumbleBee (RL artist Janet Marshall) can be found. These are paintings of various scenes from England’s Cornwall, and which are also available for purchase. Inside the house itself are more examples of Arty’s flora and displays of Fumblebee’s art – stunning studies of birds native to New Zealand.

Those who have visited The Untroubled Sound will find much that is familiar here; the region appears to be in a coastal sound, boats are present, both tied-up at the quay or anchored in the bay. There are similar waterfront elements with paths, the house and style of sim surround. But this is not to say the Artist’s Garden is merely a copy of The Untroubled Sound; far from it.

By using similar elements and style, Arty and FumbleBee have created a somewhere which feels as if it is a part of the same landscape as The Untroubled Sound; that if you were to cross the water and follow the coast around the high, rugged hills surrounding the place, you’d eventually find your way into another drowned valley – and to The Untroubled Sound itself. This feeling of continuity between the two does much to lend them to a side-by-side visit if you’ve never been to either.

For the SL photographer, the region offer as many opportunities as The Untroubled Sound.  Arty has supplied the region with a foggy default windlight, suggestive of an autumnal evening, but the region lends itself to a huge number of windlight options, while the sim surround positively invites tweaking the cloud coverage and planning with different windlight options to invoke different moods.

All-in-all another worthwhile destination which comes highly recommended. Enjoy!

Related Links

• Artists Garden SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• The Untroubled Sound SLurl (Rated: Moderate)