The 2017 Hair Fair Photo Contest!

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Three Knots | 1 Comment

I’ve been busy over the past few days, while recovering from this annoying injured thumb on my left (dominant) hand, working on some photographs for the 2017 Hair Fair Photo Contest.

Hair Fair is one of my favourite events of the year. Because duh! Hair! And I’m lucky enough to have early blogger access again this year, so I’ll spend lots of money and show you super cool hairs!

Every year, Hair Fair sponsors a photo contest, and I often enter it. This year I’ve done five photos, and that’s the limit. I’m sorry, judges.

The link above is to the official notice about the contest; the theme was “Wild”, and the idea was to picture hair colours that aren’t in the usual, naturally available human range. This post has been half written for two days in hopes I could get it done ahead of the contest deadline, but I’m afraid I haven’t managed it, and I’ll just have to do a better job next year.

Here’s the first of my Hair Fair Photo Contest entries for this year.

Joy!

Hairstyle—Corumel (Summer Hair Play)
Hair Store—Tableau Vivant
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa Lona
Skin: Lumae Adore Ianthe
Eyes: Mesange Iskander
Ears: Lumae Leevi Long Ears
Silks: Axix, Heaven Silks Purple
Butterflies: Nantra
Location: White Owl Island

I initially wanted to photograph Gwyneth scrying something, with her hair all over the place, but the minute I put this hair on I knew I wanted her in the water somehow. There were numerous false starts with this photograph, because I kept wanting her to be attacked by a sea monster– but things kept going wrong. And we just won’t talk about that time the giant undulating tentacle ended up off the shores of White Owl Island….

Here’s number two:

Who Shall I Be Tomorrow?

Hairstyle—Joga
Hair Store—Analog Dog
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Lona
Skin: 7 Deadly s{K}ins, Farrah
Body Glitter: Izzies, Rainbow body glitter
Eyes: Mesange, Iskander
Ears: Swallow, Elf Ears High Definition
Dress: This Is Wrong, Owls Dress
Wings: BareRose, Black B Wings
Jewellery: EMO-tions, Falcon Earrings and Necklace

So, most of you guys know I love Analog Dog Hair. I knew I wanted to showcase at least one of Queue Marlowe‘s beautiful hair designs in these photographs. I picked this one, Joga, because it’s relatively new, and because it’s whimsical without being silly, and because I loved the way the green and red work together in this colour. Beloved took me on a date to Calas Galadhon, and I remembered having taken some photographs there yonks ago. I came back there for this one, and I was so pleased with the light (and the fact that “The Owls are not what they seem” shows up pretty well in the photograph on this photo. Of course, after I’d taken it through the whole editing process, I discovered that the hair is clipping the wing. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed that… I’d already entered the photograph when I suddenly saw the imperfection, and now I can’t unsee it. So it stays, because otherwise it’s a good photo, and I love so many things about it.

Miles Away

This third photo features hair from another one of my favourite designers, Wasabi Pills. Raven was released for this years’ Fantasy Faire, and I’ve worn it a lot. I wanted to do something like a portrait for one of the entries, and I wanted to investigate a region I hadn’t shot in before. So off I went to Phabolaois Stran. I love water sims, rain sims, and this one did not disappoint. I will be back again, I’m sure. I spent a lot of time waiting for this group of birds to un-clump so I could photograph them recognisably, which is probably why I left them in, rather than cropping them out to yield a stronger photograph. I still like the way the hair colour looks against the landscape.

Hairstyle—Raven
Hair Store—Wasabi Pills
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Lona
Skin: Lumae, Ruby
Eyes: Mesange, Iskander
Ears: Swallow, Elf Ears High Definition
Clothes: Yasum, Boho Skirt and Top
Necklace: The Plastik, The Grolda Necklace
Circlet, Cae, Lasa Circlet

Pink

Pink, like most of these, is not the photograph I started out trying to take at all. Elikatira‘s Lalora, don’t get me wrong, is every bit as gorgeous today as when it was released last year. I did want to take at least one photo in White Owl’s Faerie, but the original plan was for this shot to have some softness to it, and I’m not sure it does, in the end. She looks determined, maybe even angry. Her hand is tense. The sunset lighting makes her look if anything more like she’s just made a battle plan. That said, while I know a lot of SL people who do not like these wings, I absolutely love them, I have them in every colour they were released in, and I do not get the chance to photograph them very often. I love how perfectly they match the pink of her hair, how they echo the makeup. And I like the way she really does pop against the landscape.

Hairstyle—Lalora
Hair Store—Elikatira
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Lona
Skin: Lumae, Ruby
Eyes: Mesange, Iskander
Ears: Swallow, Elf Ears High Definition
Wings: Alegria, Wings of Cotton Pink
Dress: MoonAmore, Sugar Branches Dress
Makeup: Picchi, Sweet Fairy Makeup

Take Off

Some things I cannot resist, and one of those things is going back and hoping to fix my mistakes. The thing is, Calas Galadhon doesn’t allow object rezzing and I couldn’t find a group to join that would let me do that, so placement wasn’t and couldn’t be perfect. And, you know, there’s only so much time in the day, and so I decided to go with something different. I love that this shot gives you the whole scope of the wings, and I did at least remember the windlight I used, which is a far sight better than I usually do here in Chaos-land. There were some birds around, as in previous shots, but I didn’t worry about them overmuch as they were a long way away and the focal bird would be the one wearing these beautiful wings from BareRose.

Style cards are above in the text. Farrah is available at Vintage Fair!

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Blink, and you could miss it….

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Three Knots | Leave a comment

This month’s GENRE theme is Victorian!

There is always so much going on! If you’re not careful, you could miss stuff. For example, this month’s GENRE theme is Victorian! Genre is one of those events that has been going on for a few years and has had a few spikes and dips, but the last couple of months have been amazing. Last month was Viking, and I forgot to tell you about it, or I had too much other stuff to talk about, or my work schedule got out of hand (likely), so I didn’t get around to that. This time around, I promised myself I’d talk about Genre. I also haven’t got a chance to talk very much about what’s happening at Hairology this month, so I want to show you three different outfits in this post. Don’t worry: I do have an epic story post coming, hopefully tomorrow! But tonight is all about Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion!

This dress is Senzafine‘s Zenobia gown, and her textures are really striking, no matter what colour you choose. I can never choose, so I tend to fatpack her gowns, but that’s because I have a hard time with, you know, choices.

Here, you can see a glimpse of the bodice detailing.

Here, you can see the glimpse of the bodice detailing; I love the smocking on the front. The skin I’m wearing is another of the new offerings from 7 Deadly s{K}ins; Izara has really hit it out of the park for the SL Skin Fair, Mali. The skin is built around 7 Deadly s{K}ins’ new body appliers, and they are so easy to use. Mali is a Lelutka face applier. I kept Gwyneth a redhead for this post, because I love the red eyebrows on this skin. The freckles are also great.

Stealthic hair from Hairology!

The hair here is Stealthic, for Hairology, which closes in a few days. The hairlines and textures on Stealthic‘s hair have been impressing me since I first discovered them at the 2015 Hair Fair, and this is one of my favourites to date: Cadence. This is Lelutka’s new Cate Bento mesh head, which is a little softer than the Simone. The ears are Swallow‘s Elf Ears High Definition, the eyes are from Mesange: the Bering eyes are available for a few more days at We ❤ Roleplay. I found the Earthstones Velvet Rose Choker at The Liaison Collaborative.

Another great hair from Hairology!

This next outfit features another great hair from Hairology, Runaway’s Jasmin. The skin is another of 7 Deadly s{K}ins‘ releases for Skin Fair, Wednesday. These are the same eyes from Mesange: I just loved the purple colour with this dress, and I kept the rose choker on her as well.

Beautiful furniture from Raindale adorns this set for the whole shoot.

Beautiful furniture from Raindale adorns this set for the whole shoot: these items are from the Birdside gacha. It was at the February Crossroads events, but you can find it at Raindale’s main store now. The gown is from BareRose, Tasha in purple. The gown comes in sections, and it’s beautifully shaped. it comes with boots, but here Gwyneth is wearing the Harriet Booties from Wicca’s Wardrobe, which are also available at Genre, along with the dress.

No shoot featuring this dress would be complete without a picture of the amazing BOW.

No shoot featuring this dress would be complete without a picture of the amazing BOW. When I tried this dress on, the first thing I noticed was that I had a huge bow on mah butt! And I kind of love it!

Not everything at Genre is formal Victorian.

Not everything at this month’s Genre is formal Victorian: this is Poeme‘s Neo-Victorian in Damasque, here worn with some black legging appliers and the Wicca’s Wardrobe boots.

This is the new Catwa Lona head.

This is the new Catwa Lona head. One of my favourite styles from the March Hairology is from Iconic; this is Esme, and I’ve been wearing it around just casually for weeks now. This is a Lumae freckled applier for Catwa, Ella, also available at Skin Fair. The eyes are once again Mesange; these are the Capriccio Eyes, which you can get for a few more days at The Chapter 4. The necklace is from Empyrean Forge, Breccia.

So, yeah; not a lot of my usual scintillating content here, but do take a trip to Genre. You’ll be glad you did. And don’t forget to visit the Skin Fair before it closes!

No style cards for this post: everything’s in the text, and I’m kinda tired, and it’s Dyisi’s RL birthday, so I have to think of her right now. 🙂

My Trip to Nu Jyorck!

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Three Knots | Leave a comment

Gwyneth:

I know, I know, it was ages ago. But so much has happened. Now that Mabon has come and gone and I have some free time, I’m sneaking cross-world to share the memories of my trip to the alternate New York City with anybody who might be reading this. I know it seems ridiculous, my need to share all this. I guess it comes out of my former life. I mean, if I were going to write a novel. If I were. It would be like this.

So, Father set me up with this very eligible Fae bachelor for a date to a charity ball in an alternate version of New York City. He needed someone on his arm who was a Royal Fae but not connected to any of his political affiliations. I think I only accepted this invitation because there was so much going on at home: goblins, witches, rabid Cwn…. yeah.

Clutie and Dani were only a little upset that I didn’t go with the blue gown they’d chosen previously. Once they saw the kind of shopping there is in Nu Jyorck– which is this amazingly interesting version of New York with an alternate history I’ll get in to later, they aren’t upset at all.

My date, David, turned out to be a total dud. All he wanted to talk about was financial planning. I was bored at “Hello.” Luckily, there were a lot of interesting people to be met at this party! In this version of New York, Fae are an out class, and some of them are upper-class. Mortals love mixing at Fae parties, and some of them will do, well, wow. Just about anything to get invited to a Fae party. It was quite an education, and totally different from the mortal versions of New York I’ve seen on other world hops. But, the politics are brutal, according to what little of David’s prattle I listened to.

The high point of the night was meeting Arahaelon. Wow. Talk about your Nordic elf hotties! This guy, whoa. He knew how to dress, he knew how to dance, he could talk literature and movies, and we started in on alternate universes and the differences between his world and mine. I was completely captivated by this guy. If we’d been in Faerie, I’d have … well. I’d have asked him to be part of my family, if you know what I mean. A Queen is only as powerful as her Consorts, or so they say. But, sigh, I was at this event with David, so I had to spend the evening with him. I figured I’d never see Ara again. And no matter how hard I tried to ditch David, he was always there to take my arm and lead me into another dance.

Before I had a chance to get a phone number or an email address for Ara, we all went back to an acquaintance of David’s for an after-party. But, you know. Fortune was on my side— it was Ara’s place! Apparently he and David have some kind of familial or political connection.

Here’s a photo of five of us at the after-party.

Here’s a photo of five of us at the after-party. That’s Arahaelon on my left. Isn’t he gorgeous? The other guy is David, and the woman next to him is his sister Gael. The woman in the front is a mortal: she was all decked out in Fae-fan fashion, an implanted unicorn horn that can apparently be removed very easily, and some beautiful silver sylph ears. I don’t remember her name, but she was funny, very funny, and I could understand what they all saw in her. Everything she did was hysterical: she was the life of the party, even if it was Ara’s house.

The photographer didn’t like the first pose and made us all re-pose for a second one.

The photographer didn’t like the first pose and made us all re-pose for a second one. I’m afraid he took me a little off guard: Ara and I were deep in conversation about something, as we were for most of the night, and once the event was over, David wasn’t nearly as omnipresent. Apparently, he expected me to be a firebrand like my adoptive father and not my intellectual, imaginative self. I think he … well, I think he thought we’d end up in the sack. And while David was certainly attractive, ih. I’m much more interested in guys who are smart and excite my imagination than, yeah. David is richer than god, which I guess makes him feel like women are more of a commodity than a necessity in life.

Eventually, it was like nobody else was there. Ara and I just spent the rest of the evening, well, talking. He never once made a move on me, but I got the feeling he was interested. We did end up exchanging contact information.

Just before I went back to my hotel, he made a suggestion.

“Listen,” he said. “I’m thinking about heading down to the Ericksson Pier tomorrow morning, check out the street market. I’ll be there around ten, if you want to come. Leave the sparkle brigade at home; if you want, we can make a day of it, have some lunch, make a memory or two before you head back to your Realm.”

I took down the address.

You know how, sometimes, when you meet someone important, the world just kind of collapses?

You know how, sometimes, when you meet someone important, the world just kind of collapses around you? Colours seem brighter, stuff slows down? Yeah. This was one of those moments. I knew in a day I’d be on my way back to Faerie though, and I can’t imagine cosmopolitan Arahaelon wanting to come spend time in a Faerie Realm which is at the back end of nowhere.

But I showed up at the Eriksson Pier the next morning at ten o’clock sharp.

But I showed up at the Eriksson Pier the next morning at ten o’clock sharp. And no Arahaelon. Oh, well: I could enjoy the Pier all by myself, and — oh, no; there he was!

Here we are trying to decide what to do with our day!

Here we are trying to decide what to do with our day! We ended up buying stuff for a picnic lunch and then heading over to the Offentlig Eng, the public meadow, which is in about the same place and about as big as most New York’s Central Parks.

So we had a wonderful day, one of those days that gets stuck in your memory and won’t go away. He’s not contacted me since, but you know. Time works differently in different realms. Maybe it’s only been a day in Nu Jyorck.

Style Cards:

Group Shots:
Gwyneth:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa
Skin: Lumae, Adore Tulips
Ears: Lumae, Leevi Long Ears
Dress: PurpleMoon, Elwing Gown in Pearl
Shoes: Aisling, Enchanted Rose Heels
Wings and Crown: Muse, Miss TWA Wings and Crown in Gold, Warm (NEW at the Muse Main Store!)

Arahaelon:
Jacket: ::: B@R::: White Norblood Top & White tie
Pants & Boots: TURB – The Rogue – Assassin boots & pants (available in mainstore gacha)
Hair: NO.MATCH – NO HUNT (blacks and whites)
Headdress: .aisling. Savage Winter Horns {Snow}
Skin: -NIVARO- Ichero Skin – Ghost Tone
Eyes: IKON Sovereight Eyes – Ghost
Ears: [MANDALA] Steking ears (Season 5)
Body: SLink Physique Male Mesh Body

Eriksson Pier Shots:

Gwyneth:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa
Skin: Lumae, Adore Tulips
Hair: Olive the Sharni Hair
Ears: Lumae, Leevi Long Ears
Dress: Zenith, Autumn Long Dress, Blue
Bag: Zenith, Debris Bag, Blue (Available at Shiny Shabby!)
Shoes: Ingenue, Pandora Sandals (Available at Shiny Shabby!)
Necklace: Empyrean Forge, The Dreamer, Barn

Arahaelon:
Jeans: Slink Physique mens Stovepipe Jeans (black)
Jacket: GizzA – Moto Jacket [Black]
Hair: Tableau Vivant Summer wind Hair – Gents
Shoes: REDGRAVE – Benito Sneaker – Black
Skin: -NIVARO- Ichero Skin – Ghost Tone
Eyes: IKON Sovereight Eyes – Ghost
Ears: [MANDALA] Steking ears (Season 5)
Body: SLink Physique Male Mesh Body

Many thanks to Moxy Macbeth, PrinceEilian, and Dyisi Oppewall for lending their avatars to be extras in the group shots! Also thanks to Moxy for finding the right skybox to take the after-party shots in.

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never leave home without it!