Toys for Tots...thank you for your support!

December 8th and 9th saw some of Second Life's best known musical talents come together with artists and fashion designers for an incredibly successful fundraising event in support of Toys for Tots. All told, approximately $450,000L was raised for this very worthwhile charity.

I was honoured to have been asked to participate and took the opportunity to get creative and shoot some images specifically for the event. They had been looking for very specific themes in the art to be sold...and I just didn't feel I had any existing images to contribute. I am actually glad that I didn't...I had alot of fun setting up a bit of a studio shoot...including the one posted here.

Paula and I went to see the our first SL fashion show...the culmination of the two day event. OMG! The bidding was fast and furious...perhaps a little insane at times...but all for a good cause. By the time I worked out wanting the bid on something...the darn thing already had bids up over $1,000! It was quite something to see...congratulations to all involved.

Ultimately I ended up selling 9 works and purchased one from another artist.

East meets west at Landon Arts

East met west at Landon Arts tonight as my Japanese friend and fellow photographer Sakura and I had an exhibit opening at Louis Landon's fabulous Landon Arts sim. I enjoyed writing up the group notices and getting them distributed to all and sundry. I assured Montana, who is Louis' manager, that I was certainly not trying to steal her job...she laughed and told me to be careful what I wish for. ;-)

The night was a great success, with about 40 to 50 people dropping by to hear our good friend Louis Volare (RL jazz pianist and singer/songwriter Louis Landon) play an impromptu. I encourage you to join Louis' Peace Revolution group in SL so that you can find out where he is playing. You don't want to miss one of SL's premier musical performers. Visit his web site at http://www.louislandon.com to find out more about his music, listen to samples of his songs, or order his cds online.

I met some wonderful new people that evening, while reconnecting with some old friends.

Overall the night was fabulous, between Louis' fabulous playing, Paula's cloned hair and HatHead rocking the umbrella...alot of fun was had by all.

PJ Trenton on until January 1st, 2008 @ A.R.T. Galerie

I am extremely delighted to be joining 3 fabulous artists until January 1st at A.R.T. Galerie...Teofila Matova's wonderful gallery in New Boston Art Colony (http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Boston%20Station/37/32/22).

I met Teo by chance during a flurry of gallery visits where I was looking for new opportunities to showcase my work. Luckily for me, one of the artists that she had invited to A.R.T. Galerie was unavailable and so the space was available to me.

I am excited to join Gracie Kendal, GM Nikolaidis and Autopilotpatty Poppy in this wonderful exhibit space. I am featuring black & white images from my portfolio for this particular exhibition.

A.R.T. Galerie hosts regular music events with live musicians or dj's. For more information about A.R.T. Galerie and some of their upcoming events, visit their web site at http://www.calicoinfo.net/artgalerie/.

PJ gets blogged...again!

Special thanks to Gilhooley Gibbs who dropped by Exposure for the official opening on Saturday, October 27th. Gil and I had a great talk about photography and Second Life.

After touring the gallery, Gil was kind enough to write up Exposure and Urban Squall on his blog. You can read this entry and the rest of Gil's blog Choice Photography: a personal selection and commentary by the Gib at http://choicephotography.geekmix.com/.

Thanks Gil!

Hello world...welcome to Exposure!

So after many months of procrastination, planning, and tinkering...Exposure Fine Art Photography held its official opening on Saturday, October 27, 2007 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm SLT. Over 40 people visited the gallery on opening day...a great success in my humble (and slightly biased) opinion. A special thanks to all of my Second Life friends who helped make my evening very special...taking time from busy schedules and competing events to come by and support PJ Trenton in his artistic endeavours. I am grateful to each of you for your support and thank you for making the effort to be there on my special day.

The special exhibit space on the main floor was decked out with some great props along the themes explored in Urban Squall. The grimy looking yellow cab was certainly a conversation piece as well as an interesting stand for the fabulous champagne fountain!

I must admit that I was somewhat surprised by how well received Urban Squall was by those who attended. I can't help but feel that it was a bold choice for an opening exhibit...but hope that it positions me as something a little different in the Second Life arts community.

Thanks to Kay for taking time to review my invitation and promotional materials...both stronger and much more professional as a result of your suggestions and recommendations.

Extra special thanks to Paula for her support, assistance and input over many months of working and developing the gallery and jazz space. You are always excited and appreciative of my work and have contributed so much towards making Exposure one of my absolute favourite places in Second Life....for this I am extremely grateful!

PJ at Opera Populaire

Easily one of the most beautiful places in Second Life is the Opera Populaire (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Intempesta%20Nox/203/86/77/) created by Sue Stonebender. I recently learned of its existence from a recently acquired friend and fellow photographer. The design and layout of the Opera Populaire is truly amazing. I can't begin to imagine the amount of time it must have taken to conceive and build it. It is certainly a beautiful venue in which to shoot photographs, particularly portraits.

Paula and I visited there this evening, where I took a few shots of her in a couple of her beautiful evening gowns. There is a fabulous grand piano on the stage which you can sit at and play.