Okay, that will go on record as my most pretentious and reaching title ever! Regardless, this isn't about two ravens, but rather the fact that Corbis, the famed professional stock photography company, has opened up a gallery in SL, and for once, it's not commerce-based!

Corbis' VP of Technology, Corbis Kamachi, says that the gallery is a way for Corbis to interact with the community and develop a place for discussions on art and photography. No plans yet for selling images through SL. You can visit the Corbis Gallery here. Welcome, ravens!

(Via adoimagazine)

With over 500 contacts on Flickr and some 3,000 photos, CodeBastard Redgrave has created her own following and social network on the 2D web. She meets most people based on common interests through flickr, twitter or her blog, and then uses SL as a means to share experiences/connect further with her on-line friends. This is an amazing new approach that has gained her more popularity than she ever imagined.

CodeBastard, or Codie to her friends, has a vibrant personality that is reflected in her redheaded avatars and her artsy SL photos. Looking up to other artists, such as Vint Falken, Hiro Eldeman, SalemNyx Lisle, and Stephen Venkman, Codie is now in a league of her own. She has also recently expanded her reach into SL with a virtual gallery and DJ music events. Her words of wisdom for newbie artists: use all the mediums at your disposal, in particular flickr and blogging, in order to make yourselves known in the community, and do NOT get discouraged! :)

Tom Boellstorff (better known in Second Life as Tom Bukowski - pictured right) is holding a contest for the image on the cover of his upcoming book, Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human to be published in April 2008 by Princeton University Press.

Entries for this competition close at 5pm SLT (US Pacific) on 7 August. The contest terms and conditions are reproduced below the fold. Happy snapping!

Mera Pixel, host of Building Shelter and a close personal friend of mine (though she'll deny it vehemently if pressed), has created a studio to display some of her wonderful portraiture. I should mention here that her photographs are mostly of her own avatar, and that her studio was created mostly to display her work for her own purposes, not to be advertising for any sort of professional photography work.

Her studio is a fine example of what galleries should be: well-lit, clean lines, interesting use of walking space to encourage wandering. If you like what you see, perhaps you can convince her to start up a photography business -- she does good work!

(Thanks, Mera!)