Second Life Hobby Becomes First Life Hobby
Possible in Real LIfe
Often people (particularly people with little or no virtual world experience) talk about virtual worlds as things that take away from real life, but I’ve found at least one real world hobby thanks to a hobby I picked up in Second Life.
This is a picture that I took with my digital camera from my parking lot, a captured moment that I owe at least in part to Second Life. When I was much younger, I took photos with a borrowed SLR camera for a time, but it was a hobby that I quickly moved on from.
X years later (where X is some number that I refuse to admit to) I discovered the joy of virtual worlds, the thrill of creating and enjoying other people’s creations. One thing I discovered very quickly is that builds in virtual worlds are ephemeral… “Here today, gone tomorrow” writ large. To preserve the memories of the niftier places that I found I got into Screen Caps. Because I was particularly interested in builds, seascapes and landscapes, my inworld hobby really took off when WindLight was introduced. At the same time that my collection of virtual photos started to build (it continues to build as I have stuck with my virtual hobby), I started thinking about getting a digital camera. I had recently started going on urban walkabouts to get some much needed exercise, and having the camera might give me an additional excuse to make those walks. I got myself a decent digital camera, and the plan has worked. I’ve been getting more exercise and taking lots of pictures. Hard as it may be to believe, I’m actually getting out more and getting more exercise thanks in part to Second Life.
