Wheelerwood Oppewall

This week we have a gentleman in The Spotlight that sports a cool sense of humor, an artistic eye, a genuine humbleness, a flair to take his work seriously, and a desire to help others along the way.  Meet Wheelerwood Oppewall! 

First of all, thank you Wheeler for taking time to talk with us and participate in The Spotlight. So, tell us a little about who Wheeler is ... 
Well Wheeler is someone who doesn't take himself very serious. I try to keep out of the drama and the "Digital Junior High Mayhem" that runs very thick in here.  Yet the work I do in Second Life and in the real one I take very serious. I strongly believe that the work I do, I have an obligation to the models as well as the individuals who view the work. After all they are giving me one of life’s most important and irreplaceable commodities... They are giving me their time.


How did you get your start in SL photography, Wheeler?
I have been in Second Life in with this Avi for six years now.. I mostly shot pics just to take into Photoshop and edit them, but I really didn't do anything with them. In June of 2012 I returned to Second Life after a 15 month break and in the first week I was back I landed on Bianca Xavorin.  We struck up a conversation, she took me on a field trip to where she had some of her work up and that lit the fuse.

Tutorials - Opening and Fixing Body Lines

You have done some video tutorials for photography, is this something that you do often?
I think paying it forward is important so I started to do video tutorials because I was getting asked the same questions and it was turning into a ton of typing in world. Those who have had the experience of being in IM with me know, typing isn't my strong point. So I took the questions and made tuts on them. Video tuts, if they are made well allows the person seeking information to see how it works on the software interface and unlike a Second Life notecard, video can go pretty much anywhere now.  Currently I am in the middle of recording the video for the latest Real Life piece that I recently posted on Facebook. The tutorial will cover the entire process from the first opening to right up to posting it. It will have both video and written text with screen shots that will go along with it. After that I plan to do some tuts that are more focused on Second Life photography issues.


Are your tutorials geared towards the beginner or someone with more advanced skills?
They should have a basic understanding of layers, masking and selection tools. I try to keep them a clear as possible so new users can get information out of it and keep hair pulling out of it as much as possible.


Do you have an online gallery where we can see your work, Wheeler?

• Flicker - http://www.flickr.com/photos/84562328@N02/
• Koinup - http://www.koinup.com/wheelerwood/
• Website - http://sloppewall.wix.com/wheelerwoodoppewall
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wheelerwood.oppewall

LA Woman

"LA Woman" is a pretty cool scene featuring an attractive lady in a cocktail dress by a police car. Is there a story behind this project, Wheeler?
I was on the morning train in RL smart phoning Koinup and looking at Meryll Panthar’s (the model in the piece) recent piece while The Doors was in the ear buds. "L.A. Woman" came on and that got the gears spinning . I IM’d Meryll and we talked about about the idea of doing the piece. Meryll who is a very, very good friend, an amazing artist in her own right, a huge influence and an absolute dream to work with. Any project we have done she leaves no stoned unturned and all I really have to do is push the button, She pulled the LM out of her grab bag and brought perfect styling to the shoot. Without her the shot would have not happened, in fact without her many of the other pieces I have done would have never happened. On the day of the shoot Second Life was being a total pain and it was a crash festival. This test is the only shot that I managed to get before Second Life became  completely un-shootable for me and the image did required some major pixel surgery to get it to the finished piece .




What about a gallery inworld? Is there a location that SL citizens can visit your work? 
I have permanent exhibits at Artist for SL and  ImagineNations Gallery.

Only in This Moment

One of your photos, titled "Only in This Moment — with Meegan Danitz", what can you tell us about this artwork?
I met Meegan, a few weeks before I and was “ I have to snap this person” I shot her a IM and after she figured out, well at least I hope she figured out that I’m not full boat nut job and she agreed to shoot. Meegan owns the music venue Rhi’s Poem, so getting our times to line up took a bit. I have a personal rule, first shoot nothing crazy and the model picks out what she wants to wear. Second Life was behaving that day and we spent a few hours, snapping, talking about life and exchanging tales from Second Life. Out of all the photos of her that I have shot this is one of my personal favorites as well. It captured a moment when a friendship was starting.

The Rose Theatre

I heard through the grapevine that The Rose Theatre Gallery will host your first show soon. Tell us about that ...
Yes that will be in September and I am very grateful to be asked to show my work there. The show will be set up in two galleries. Right now I am going in the process of selecting what will be in the show. Having my first at The Rose Theatre Gallery is not only an a wonder full opportunity , but in a way for me kind of a homecoming . The Rose Theatre has served as a backdrop for many pieces. My first formal shoot was with Bianca Xavorin in early October of 2012. During that shoot the image “Stillness” was captured and that piece was personal milestone for me. Kaylie Sabra has made this process smooth and treats you with complete kindness and respect. I am very much looking forward to the opening.

Ravens

Let's talk about another work of yours, named "Ravens". What was your inspiration for this?
This was a test shot. The day before a shoot with Cricket Palianta for the piece “Anguish” I went to the location to do lights. I pre-light everything.  Time is Money in RL . Time is lag in SL. Nothing I hate more then having a model stand around and not getting shot. I love crows and they where my “grips” on this shoot. The shot was done in flat light and most of the shadows where painted in editing.


I saw that you are a member of Artists for SL (inworld location). Tell us a little about the group.
Well I was lucky to be able to hang out and work there. Jim and Jewell are off the chart. Both of them have done so much for the art world in here, they are just great people and they make it about the artist, not them. I won the very first contest I entered there in June with the piece “Accession”.

Lexie McMasters

There's a photo that you took of the beautiful Lexie McMasters that features a powerful beach scene. Tell us a little about this photo.
Lexie showed me a photo of something she wanted done. I knew the final image was going to be done as a composite so where we shot it wasn’t an issue but I wanted to have most of the world look as flat and bleak as I could to make masking Lexi easier.  So we went to a digital desert.  Lexie popped the pose and I snapped the a few angles. In editing I masked Lexi
out with a combination of calculations, vector mask, pixel mask and alpha channel.  Now with her on a clean background plate I added a stock photo of a beach and painted the sky, the planets, did all the necessary level adjustments.

Do you use any special equipment when photographing inworld? 
I use a Lumi Pro 3 for pose control and base lighting. I also take color readings and gray scale of the scene for setting the white balance and other adjustments in Camera Raw. For this process I also open up a texture of a color chart that has RGB,CMKY, white, black and 10 - 90% grayscale the place it with in the scene and take a screen capture as well as taking
a readings with a Digital Color meter that is part of the Mac OS X to check the values of the "Highlights"," Mids" and "Shadows" of the scene prior to shooting the the master shot. That way I have a correct color reference if needed. This might come across as over kill, but spending years working as a cinematographer and a film editor in RL its just part of my normal workflow.

Kari's Spring

Kari's Spring" is very colorful and was taken with the lovely Kari Velvetleaf.  Do you and Kari work together often?
I was looking for a flower sim and I IM'd Kari. "Well I'm standing in one right now". Kari TP'd me in. I told her to hold still and got the shot.  The time zone thing and me not being in world recently has put a buzz kill on us working together. Shooting with Kari has always been a good time.  I look forward to when the planets do line up and we can shoot again.


What do you use for post-processing your photos? 
Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop CS6, Corel Painter, and Crazy Bump 3D Texture Generator.

Inferno

"Inferno" is an interesting and intriguing compilation. What was your inspiration for this project? 
I was sim hopping. Landed... AH! frame, shot, log, Photoshop.












How would someone that wants to do a shoot get in contact with you?

Notecard or IM inworld, Website, Koinup, Flicker, or Facebook.

Wheelerwood Oppewall

What else do you like to do in SL when not taking photos, Wheeler? 
Chat with friends, explore, attend live shows, sip lag at Franks once and a while,  and wonder when Linden Labs will get their shit together.



Thank you very much for your time today, it's been a pleasure to get to know you better! 
Thank you very much Michael.