Tell us about yourself and what first attracted you to Second Life?
CS: I actually began using Second Life when I was in college. I was a part of the technology department for the university and we were told to create accounts and explore Second Life, as it was being used as a platform for classes that students could log in and attend from home. At first, I didn’t understand how it worked and why anyone would use it. But slowly I found my way around and it grew on me and now I will be celebrating my 10th year coming up in May.
What got you started in SL photography?
CS: Several years ago, a very dear friend of mine was exploring photography and I was exploring dance. Seeing what she was up to, I became interested and we ended up dragging each other into the other’s area of interest. We both ended up dancers and photographers. I ended up working for a place called A Touch of Glamour, a photography studio. Utterly optimistic, I remember messaging several established photographers and seeing if they would take me on as an apprentice or help mentor me. And, well, I got told no, but that didn’t stop me and I kept on pushing myself to learn and grow. I opened my own studio and after a couple of years, I decided that if I wanted to be better behind the camera, maybe I should learn what life was like in front of it and I enrolled in Miss SL Academy, taught at that time by Ponchituti Boucher. Because I had no idea how much work one academy was, I ended up signing up for MVWMA as well and I got quite the education attending both simultaneously! From there, I heard about Visionaire and enrolled in my first opportunity to learn from others in SL about photography.
SEX IS EMOTION IN MOTION
BY CATALINA STAHELI