Lanikaverse has become the place where everything I enjoy in Second Life comes together.
It didn’t begin that way. Back in 2021 I was running a modelling agency on IMVU called RADIANT BELLES. When I eventually moved to Second Life, I assumed I could simply continue what I had already built. It didn’t take long to realise that the two worlds are very different, and the agency slowly came to an end.
One thing remained, though: an Instagram account with more than four thousand posts that I wasn’t ready to let disappear. Instead of closing it, I gave it a new purpose. It became a featuring page, and almost without noticing, Lanikaverse began to take shape.
As time went on, it naturally grew beyond Instagram. A Discord server followed, bringing together my own fashion work, Cats Hollow and the people I had met along the way. More than anything else, it became a place where conversations happen naturally, ideas are shared and people help each other without needing an excuse to start talking.
Photography contests have always been part of the agency, so it felt only natural to continue them here. The only real difference is that they are now open across multiple platforms instead of living in just one place.
That’s why you’ll now find a dedicated Contests page on the website, where the current challenge will always be announced. I’d like to organise a new contest roughly once a month, although I’d rather not promise a fixed schedule. Like everyone else, I only have twenty-four hours in a day, and real life quite rightly insists on claiming its share.
Submitting an entry is deliberately simple. Enter your avatar name, upload your image (up to 8 MB) and, if you like, add a short description of your work. Confirm the CAPTCHA—yes, I know, they’re never anyone’s favourite part, but they keep the spam bots away—and press Submit. That’s all there is to it.
For this contest, older photographs are welcome as well, as long as they fit the theme. I want the first step to be easy. There will be plenty of opportunities to raise the bar in future editions.
Every participant will receive an exclusive gift created especially for this contest. In addition, three L$500 gift cards will be drawn by lottery among all participants, and every accepted photograph will become part of a dedicated in-world exhibition. The prizes are lovely, but they aren’t really the point.
What interests me far more is seeing how different people interpret the same idea. Give twenty photographers the same theme and you’ll end up with twenty completely different stories. That’s the part I’m looking forward to most.
I hope you’ll enjoy taking part.