I Am 54 And I Think I'm A Hobbit
Before you tell me to lay on the psychiatrist's couch, let me say that I am in my right mind. My life as a hobbit is actually part in an online game, Lord of The Rings Online. See, I'm in my right mind. Right?
The question of my sanity is asked on occasion as people discover my second identity. I recently had people over to work on a photography book project, and they noticed my computer desktop photo with a little hobbit riding a pony - they loved it! But when I told them it was a picture of me, they looked at each other as if to say: "This guy is completely nuts!"
This is the usual reaction when I tell people the hobbit on a pony is a picture of me. So how does a 54-year old journalist/photographer with two children, explain pictures of him as a hobbit? Taking them to the online game certainly helps. They were amazed with the thousands of pictures I've taken during my travels in the virtual universe built around the fantasy of Tolkien. However, they could not believe I use my time like that!
I took my passion for photography in virtual worlds (like I did in Second Life) and in LOTRO since the beta in 2007 (which I play with my two children) and have gathered a huge collection of photographs.
Shooting in virtual worlds is no different from shooting in the real world. A brief look at Flickr, and you will see many people put side-by-side vacation photos from real life with their pics from games or virtual worlds. In some of these games we also have to follow the rules to get the best light and it is with pleasure one looks back to a certain image and remembers waiting for the decisive moment to get the best record.
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