Category: Reviews

Elise Sirnah is not only an established Second Life photographer, she also has an eye for region design, something she has demonstrated with Mimmo, the Homestead region she co-holds along with Grace Shade (graice2). It’s a place that I’ve visited on a number of occasions, although this is just the second time I’ve blogged it, the first being back in 2019.

I’ve no idea how many times the region’s looks may have changed since then, but July 2021 saw me hop back to take a look. What I found was an interesting setting that brings together mixes of tropical and temperate environments and public and private spaces – the latter placed in such a way that it is relatively easy not to confuse them as part of the public areas – into a single setting.

At my last visit, Mimmo had the look and feel of a garden and extended grounds of a Tuscan style villa that occupied one side of the region, the rest of the landscape flowing outwards from it. With this iteration, the region offers far more of an island-like setting, offering numerous discrete point for photography, all of which more-or-less flow together as a continuous whole.

When looked at on the map, the region has an an intriguing look, resembling some kind of vast sea creature basking on the surface of the sea, its head to the north-west, three of its flippers outstretched and a bulbous tail to the south-east. Two of these “fins” are formed by headlands, one stumpy and sandy, the other sinuous and heavy in trees, with the largest of the off-shore islands forming the third, and another of the rentals making the bulbous “tail”.

The use of smaller islands as homes for the rental properties helps minimise the risk of accidental trespass, the private spaces they represent only reachable via stepping stones through, and bridges over, the coastal waters. These smaller islands, together with the southern end of the main island give the region that more tropical feel, with sand and palm trees much in evidence. North and east, the rest of the main island is far more temperate in looks.

The north-west of the main island is dominated by a curtain of cliffs together with a large body of fresh water below them. A stream proceeds from the lake, forming a “spine” through the region as it runs south and east to reach the sandy coast and a fallen lighthouse that once overlooked one of the region’s rental isles. Paralleling this stream for part of its course is a rough dirt track, which also circles through the region’s landing point whilst also presenting obvious paths to follow when exploring.

The landing point sits within the fenced grounds of a large wooden cottage / farmhouse that looks highly suited to the role of a studio gallery.  It shares it grounds with a small potting shed and old British-style telephone box. This cottage is one of two large structures on the main island, with the second reached by following the track north and west from the landing point and over the single formal bridge spanning the stream (there is also a makeshift bridge made from logs also available further downstream).

The second structure takes the form of a barn – or possibly warehouse, given the paved waterfront it is built upon – conversion sitting on the west side coast of the region. At first glance, this looks like a private residence, but on examination it can be seen this is not the case; rather it presents a cosy home with furnishings and fittings by Grace (that is already giving me ideas about a possible new place on the home island!).

Balancing this house to the east of the stream is a gently sloping landscape that sits as something of an extended garden, complete with an old folly, places to sit, sculptures, and a geodesic dome for those who need a little shade from the Sun. More places to sit and past the time can be found throughout the setting: along the coast, or just back from it (or even out on the water), off along the north-east headland with its small hill (note the little island just off this headland is another rental property, not part of the public spaces), and also on the stubby western headland, where a little café sits.

There are some rough edges to the the landscaping – rocks and mesh not fully blended into the terrain so they either float or leave gaps, the odd floating plant, etc., but nothing that serious detracts from the overall photogenic nature of the region, or the opportunities to visit, sit, dance and / or swim. Those wishing to have rez rights can join the local group for a fee of L$150 –  but do please clean up after use! Also, do note that a local chat extender is in use within the region, and can be disabled by using channel /999.

SLurl Details

• Mimmo (Pomerania Park, rated Adult)

Following a recommendation from Shawn Shakespeare (SkinnyNilla), I opted to spend a little time on the farm. The Blackwood Farm, to be precise, a Homestead region gorgeously presented for public visits / use by Corvus Blackwood.

Sitting under a burnished summer sky, the clouds turned to bronze by a low-hanging Sun, the region presents as a single island into which  a channel of water has cut its way, roughly dividing the landscape almost into two. To the west, the land is predominantly low-lying, to the east it is dominated by a raised table of rock marked to the north and south by ribbons of scrubby coastline, the former of which sweeps east and west across the width of the region, curving past a small off-shore isle to the west, the home of a squat lighthouse watching over the channel between the two landmasses.

The western side of the setting is home to the Blackwood Farm. This is a place, we’re informed by a large friendly sign close to the landing point, that is family owned and operated. An unfenced field of corn sits just behind the sign, stretching south along the track leading up to the farm, fir trees and a rocky mound also sitting with it within an oval of rutted tracks.

An aging gateway and fading wall guard the entrance to the inner sanctum of the farm. They face the imposing farmhouse that is flanked by barns to either side, and is fronted by a square fenced field of cattle.  It is a peaceful, pastoral setting: chickens wander freely, apples are in the process of being picked from a little copse of trees, a little lemonade stand awaits those in need of refreshment. In fact the setting is so peaceful, deer are happy to graze on the grass within the farm’s grounds.

The farm is overlooked to the west by a uplift of land topped by a windmill that offers one of the many places to sit within the setting, a pair of batterer trailer homes sitting in the shadow of the hill, between it and the span of the south coast. Very rough and ready in their set-up, the two trailers are clearly occupied: a fire pit is burning, a fan is on to cool seats under one of the trailer’s awnings – but both have been left to a little goat to watch over. It forms one of several small vignettes awaiting discovery by visitors, and which bring the entire setting together as a whole.

Over to the east, the primary upland is home to the Apple Fall Old Manufactory, a structure that is so popular among region designers that at times it feels as if it is a required feature within an public region. Its popularity is likely down to both its aged looks and its flexibility of use. Here it has been turned into a charming house, complete with a large patio terrace that stretches from it to a little open-sided potting shed. It is an altogether eye-catching setting – but do please be aware that the house is actually a private residence, as indicated by the localised ban lines that will appear if you stray too close.

The rest of the hilltop is very much open to exploration, as is the rough coastline to the north and below it. Reached by steps cut into the slope of the upland, this coastal area is again a place of little vignettes – a camp site, walks, a dock stretching out over the water and little boats that again add to the richness of the setting.

Those wishing to rez within the region can do so by joining the local group (fee: L$250) – but those who do re asked to clean-up after themselves.

Such is the all-round natural looks to the setting, it really is an ideal location for avatar photography whilst the landscaping is equally photogenic; what is more, the setting works equally well under a range of different environment setting to the default – as I hope can be seen in a couple of the images here.

Whether or not you opt to play with the environment settings or use the shared environment, The Blackwood Farm is visually and – thanks to its sound scape – aurally engaging, richly detailed, and a joy to explore and photograph. This being the case, it should come as no surprise that I’d note it as a recommended visit.

SLurl Details

• The Blackwood Farm (Violentia, rated Adult)

Shawn Shakespeare (SkinnyNilla) and Lien Lowe invited me to get a sneak peek of their new design for their homestead region of Nelipot ahead of the region’s “official” re-opening in its new location – an invitation I was delighted to accept and jump upon.

The first time I visited the region, it offered a ruggedly handsome island surrounded by gently undulating off-region hills that together suggested a temperate archipelago, perhaps caught in early spring. Within the region itself lay a richness and depth of detail that delighted the eye and camera, as I noted at the time in Nelipot’s beauty in Second Life. This remains the case with this latest iteration, which includes a number of touches that harken back to that previous design that give an underlying sense of continuity between the two settings whilst also allowing this iteration to be unique in and of itself.

While the region still sits within a surround, the low island hills have given way to a range of high mountains through which water from the sea beyond winds, giving the impression that the land here is a small nest of islands cupped within a sheltered bay, the tall peaks protecting and hiding them from the world beyond.

There are four islands making up the group. two small islets, one of which comes close to being an outlier such is its position and difference to the others in the group, and two main islands that sit as a cupped pair. Lying towards the south-west, the landing point is on one of the smaller islands, a grass-topped table of rock which the landing point shares with a small chapel. It is separated from the two large islands by a channel of tidal water that can be crossed in one of three ways: wading through it, flying over it, or by grabbing a swan pedal boat from the rezzer at the little dock just down from the chapel.

Taking the pedal boat is perhaps the best option for those who wish to really appreciate the region naturally, as it presents the opportunity to skirt around the beach of the more western of the two large islands to reach the shallow open waters to the north. Here, it is possible to pedal around and have a little fun – providing boaters keep an eye out for the region boundary. More particularly, it presents the two large islands as they lie, one cupped in the curving arms of the other, the beach of the nearest of the pair continuing along its north side, facing the second of the two small isles.

This second islet looks almost like a an upwelling of coral that, for whatever reason, a departing sea level has exposed over time to allow nature’s other mechanisms – wind, rain, erosion – gradually turn into a group of connected knolls that offer a little retreat covered in scrub grass and where seeds of flowers have been blown to take root together with a quartet of scruffy, wind-blown pines.

A further boat rezzer sits on a deck built out from this little isle, providing the means for visitors to come ashore and enjoy the islet’s offering before continuing their journey aboard another pedal boat. East of the isle the water is broken by humps of rock that stretch towards the headland at one end of the largest island in the group. Sitting like stepping stones a giant might use to cross the water, these rocks sit as a hazard to navigation by boat – but is is possible to plot a route through them and so reach the calmer channel of water that separates the two large islands.

Crescent-shaped, the larger of the pair holds its sandy-edged cousin cupped in its arms. Such is their position relative to one another, it appears as if these may have once been a single landmass, the slender tongue of land that almost connecting them adding to this – although the dilapidated state of the bridge that spans the narrow gap between tongue and island also suggests it’s been around a long time, so if the two islands were ever connected, then it might have been very long ago…

All of the above is just a thumbnail sketch of the setting – the real meat is in the detail that Lien and Shawn have built into it, something they have done without a major impact on viewer performance. It is within some of this detail that those little echoes of the previous build can be found. Take, for example the sheep that graze on the crescent island, and the way some of them are doing so close to a parked vehicle. This directly reflects Nelipot’s previous iteration, whilst the change in vehicle and presence of the nearby headland and its lighthouse makes it clear its is not just a copy of the past design.

The best way to discover this details – the warehouse converted into a cosy house, the summer house on the beach island, the open-sided pottery shed with its pot-bellied kiln and pots and vases that await glazing and firing, and so on – is by exploring directly. This brings into focus the care with which Shawn and Lein have again created a setting that is welcoming to visitors and offers multiple places, indoors and out, where people can sit and pass the time and enjoy cuddles and quiet times if they so wish.

Exploring also reveals all the little touches that help bring the setting to life – the wrap-around sound scape, the St. Bernard waiting to greet wanderers and the many cats who are content to sleep or ignore those who wander by in that way only cats can – aside from one, who is very clearly keeping his eyes on all that is going on from his vantage point! -, and so much more.

Rich in natural beauty, complete with a perfect soundscape folded into it, Nelipot remains a must-see destination. Many thanks to Lien and Shawn for the invite to drop in!

SLurl Details

• Nelipot (Safe Haven, rated Moderate)