My passion for sailing both in RL and SL often takes flight in photography. Capturing images of sailing craft has, for reasons that are more instinctive than conscious, always spoken to the artistic and aesthetic side of the sailor in me. But the sense of satisfaction taken in review of a perfect shot soon fades…unless the combination of time and place and image combine to either demonstrate or communicate something unique…as it relates to the sailing life.

I think that truly gifted photographers seek images with depth…meaning that what the viewer sees as visual is certainly essential but serves only as the first layer, an access point if you will, for a moment rich with time, place, motion and beauty - components of the vision that together advance the artistic. I’m not gifted but I enjoy the medium greatly…and appreciate the opportunity that nautical photography gives me to share my passion for rich sailing images of meaning and depth with other like-minded people.

When MarkTwain and I discussed this column he, like any good editor, focused me on developing a space for SLsailing.com that could offer our diverse and growing community of SL sailors a unique perspective. He agreed with me about the power of images and how this holds true for both RL and SL. And he agreed that a column written around specific images of sailing in Second Life…that explored the meaning and depth of an image as it relates to the SL sailing community was a worthwhile concept.

So here we are with “Now Picture This.” Being the sole proprietor of a photography studio (Zephyr Nautical Photography in Sailors Cove) I naturally come to the table with a wealth of SL sailing images but welcome suggestions from readers (with proper credit given where it’s due, of course). I can’t promise that everything I offer will meet the definition of “high art”…but I do look forward to exploring the sailing images we capture with the viewer “snapshot” button together.

Stay tuned for the first chapter of our visual sailing journey and until then…fair winds.

LL