Second Life Blog Second Life Spotlight - Panda Banana

Today we're shining a spotlight on Panda Banana, a captivating Second Life photographer whose images beautifully narrate the varied experiences within our virtual world. How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I was on a similar metaverse platform before, and a friend showed me Second Life in 2015 and told me it was better. But I had a very bad PC. So I was always with very low graphics and I couldn't really enjoy all the activities that Second Life had to offer. I left a few months after my arrival. In 2019, lenyal, my best friend, asked me to come back and test Second Life with my new PC. And since then I haven't moved! You are a prolific Second Life photographer and have made a significant mark with your work. How did you get into photography and blogging, and are there specific themes or subjects you're particularly drawn to? Oh, I don't know if my pictures have made a mark on people, but I've been working consistently for five years now. I used to take pictures in another metaverse, and when I returned in 2019, some friends told me about Flickr and blogging. I created my Flickr account and I started to post some pictures. After that, Magnificent's owner explained me how the Blogotex system works and how bloggers can apply to stores. I decided to apply to a few brands, and some of them gave me a chance to start in this amazing blogging world. I'm still working with several of my first sponsors today, and I'm so grateful to them! My friend Elise Mersereau (Rezz Room's manager) supported and helped me a lot in this world. As for the themes I like to work with, I think I'm more of a casual blogger not for LOTD (look of the day) but more for daily single or couple pictures. However, since meeting my lovely Emeline Laks, I've been exploring many different universes: fantasy, dark fantasy, medieval, cyber, steampunk, and... DINKIES, haha! It's really fun to discover new things, and I believe we learn more every day. I also recently started taking black and white pictures and decor shots. I had never tried it before, but now I really enjoy it! The workflow is different, but it's great to switch things up sometimes. Your photography has a dynamic quality that often narrates a tale. Could you shed light on how you weave storytelling into your imagery? Yes, I try to tell a story in my pictures now, but that wasn't always the case. Sometimes, I just make a blog post because I lack inspiration or don't have enough time to create a big composition. I don't know if I can explain how my brain works to organize the items to blog and the story that can match with them. I think there are 2 ways: I start from the items that I have (the first idea could be clothing, backdrop or pose) and I try to combine them all because all of them make sense together. Or, I start from a specific idea and I try to find items in my different brands/events sponsors who fit with the idea. Usually, when I see the new releases from my sponsors, I always make a note of myself somewhere which items could fit with other ones. Then, the theme is gradually taking shape and becoming clearer in my mind. Oh, and I think facial expressions, body poses, lighting, and shadows are really important to make a picture feel dynamic and alive. What are some of your go-to tools and techniques you use to elevate your images? I talked about pose, lights, and shadows in the last question. I do it exclusively on Black Dragon, a third-party viewer. I use the avatar poser on Black Dragon, it's the best way to adjust my pose how I want. For the shadows, I just play with the windlights. I change my windlight for each picture, I don't use one specifically. I like to have dark shadows and with a beautiful aesthetic. Then, I add some prims to make light with the edit mode. I adjust the color of the light according to the color panel of my pictures. I place them where there is supposed to be a source of light and in line with my shadows, of course. The depth of field (DOF) is a really cool tool too, it highlights the main scene in your work. For the composition, I try to get something harmonious, I think it's an important thing to have some basic knowledge of photogaphy (rule of thirds, complementary color, etc...) After that, I edit my picture in Adobe Photoshop. I play a lot with white and black brush (on different layer mode) to add shadows and lights on different parts, with the colour balance to find the good vibe and recalibrate colours, the HDR toning to increase details and I add some overlay sometimes for a specific effect or some filters with an app phone. Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. Oh my, so many talented artists here. I can't quote them all, but when I started to take pictures, I remember that I followed and liked the work of Renan Mckeenan, Edumetal Lavarock, Czarfenris, Roman Godde, Jay Fae - they inspired me a lot! Then, I discovered photographers like Ethan Takeda, Dominic Darkmatter, Danna Boo, Nekotto, Stervaburi, Yoroo, Tab Tatham, Relatively Dismantled, Teal Aurelia, Panica Nova, Untitled and others (sorry if I don't put your name here, but I hope you know that I'm a fan of you all ♥). My wife Emeline Laks helped me a lot to improve my work inworld. She made amazing unedited pictures so she made everything inworld and she gave me some tips for lights and Black Dragon tools. All of them gave me the motivation to try new things or at least the desire to improve (I don't necessarily have their talent haha). But I really love the realism in their work, the lighting is incredible, the power and delicacy at the same time. And I don't want to forget all the incredible designers that inspire all of us to take pictures and who support us in our creativity. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. Flickr Primfeed Facebook Instagram Twitter Thank you, Panda, for sharing your insights and passion for photography with us. Your dedication to the craft truly enriches the Second Life community. Each of our Spotlight interviews offers a unique glimpse into the diverse experiences and vibrant personalities that shape our virtual world. Explore more stories and get inspired by visiting our full collection of Spotlight posts.