AT&T - Actor brings extended life to "True Blood" character
Interesting background story on the actor playing Lafayette Reynolds. Loves me some Lafayette! I'm really enjoying the 3rd season of True Blood and live for Sunday nights on HBO. I've adapted to the many differences from the Charlaine Harris books and trust Alan Ball to make the stories even better.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Visual Narrative Essay
Visual Narrative – BLS 340: Denise Y. Sherron
Photography can be described as painting with light which is what I attempted to do for this visual narrative. I enjoy photography very much – it captures a moment or a memory like no other medium. Night photography is especially interesting; I am fascinated by the images created while playing with light at night. I decided the mystical, other-worldly images I have taken in the dark would be stylistically perfect for this assignment. My visual narrative came together from the pictures I took over three recent evenings. I did not start out with a story and then attempt to chronicle it in photographs. Instead, I took pictures of street lights, headlights, solar-powered yard foot lights, fireworks, and sparklers, at night in my neighborhood. Camera shake - purposeful and incidental, red wine, patient friends, and lots of laughter were used in this creation. A Canon EOS Rebel XTi with a 70 to 300mm telephoto lens, extremely slow shutter speeds, low F-stops, and a trusty tripod, were utilized to create this series of photos.
With the help of two sweet sisters up past their bedtimes, some cheap sparklers, and the good friends who allowed me put the two together, this story unfolded. I began by taking shots of the girls playing with the sparklers at night. I also snapped some shots of the streetlights while I slowly moved the camera using sweeping motions. After uploading and viewing the results on my computer I began to develop a storyline. The next two nights I tried to embellish the story by directing the actions of the girls - the circles of light and the shape of a heart are the products I sought. The random movements I made with the camera aimed at street lights and car taillights created the photos I hope portray the ascension of the victims’ souls to another realm. I was particularly struck by the cross-like shapes attached to the light forms in the fourth photo, the faces I saw in the “lost souls” photo, and the angelic apparition of the “spirit guide” photo. Next I took photos of the drunken driver, his headlights, the hugging girls “coming through for a visit”, and finally the stormy sky to round out the story.
The tale of a drunken driver killing a young family and the subsequent journey their souls embark upon is told in these pictures. In my attempt to label them, a poem formed. I felt the tragic nature of the death of small children, would resonate with most viewers. I wanted my story to represent the ethereal in a non-threatening manner. In putting the photographs in their order and including spirit guides both to “usher them away” and to “take them home” I tried to make the afterlife feel less haunted and more hopeful – more about a journey than an end. I want to leave the viewer wondering if the sisters came back to visit every year. By ending the story with stormy skies I wanted to leave us yearning to know what other secrets the clouds may keep.
Personal note: Many thanks to GG and MRG and their parents; to my most excellent photography assistant Natalie; and to my husband for agreeing to be portrayed in the unflattering light of a drunken driver (when in actuality he was only unshaven and sweaty from mowing our lawn). I hope you enjoy the results of our evenings on Efland Drive. Also, a small confession – the “spirit guide from the other side” photo was taken last year during the Independence Day fireworks display. I have been looking at that photo for almost a year and seeing an angel (or as the girls might see a Tinkerbelle) and knowing that one day I would “do something” with that image. I hope its impact on this story will garner forgiveness for breaking the rule. -- Denise Sherron
Photography can be described as painting with light which is what I attempted to do for this visual narrative. I enjoy photography very much – it captures a moment or a memory like no other medium. Night photography is especially interesting; I am fascinated by the images created while playing with light at night. I decided the mystical, other-worldly images I have taken in the dark would be stylistically perfect for this assignment. My visual narrative came together from the pictures I took over three recent evenings. I did not start out with a story and then attempt to chronicle it in photographs. Instead, I took pictures of street lights, headlights, solar-powered yard foot lights, fireworks, and sparklers, at night in my neighborhood. Camera shake - purposeful and incidental, red wine, patient friends, and lots of laughter were used in this creation. A Canon EOS Rebel XTi with a 70 to 300mm telephoto lens, extremely slow shutter speeds, low F-stops, and a trusty tripod, were utilized to create this series of photos.
With the help of two sweet sisters up past their bedtimes, some cheap sparklers, and the good friends who allowed me put the two together, this story unfolded. I began by taking shots of the girls playing with the sparklers at night. I also snapped some shots of the streetlights while I slowly moved the camera using sweeping motions. After uploading and viewing the results on my computer I began to develop a storyline. The next two nights I tried to embellish the story by directing the actions of the girls - the circles of light and the shape of a heart are the products I sought. The random movements I made with the camera aimed at street lights and car taillights created the photos I hope portray the ascension of the victims’ souls to another realm. I was particularly struck by the cross-like shapes attached to the light forms in the fourth photo, the faces I saw in the “lost souls” photo, and the angelic apparition of the “spirit guide” photo. Next I took photos of the drunken driver, his headlights, the hugging girls “coming through for a visit”, and finally the stormy sky to round out the story.
The tale of a drunken driver killing a young family and the subsequent journey their souls embark upon is told in these pictures. In my attempt to label them, a poem formed. I felt the tragic nature of the death of small children, would resonate with most viewers. I wanted my story to represent the ethereal in a non-threatening manner. In putting the photographs in their order and including spirit guides both to “usher them away” and to “take them home” I tried to make the afterlife feel less haunted and more hopeful – more about a journey than an end. I want to leave the viewer wondering if the sisters came back to visit every year. By ending the story with stormy skies I wanted to leave us yearning to know what other secrets the clouds may keep.
Personal note: Many thanks to GG and MRG and their parents; to my most excellent photography assistant Natalie; and to my husband for agreeing to be portrayed in the unflattering light of a drunken driver (when in actuality he was only unshaven and sweaty from mowing our lawn). I hope you enjoy the results of our evenings on Efland Drive. Also, a small confession – the “spirit guide from the other side” photo was taken last year during the Independence Day fireworks display. I have been looking at that photo for almost a year and seeing an angel (or as the girls might see a Tinkerbelle) and knowing that one day I would “do something” with that image. I hope its impact on this story will garner forgiveness for breaking the rule. -- Denise Sherron
Gone, but never forgotten…
The moon was high and so was he
He got behind the wheel
He swerved to miss their SUV
He never meant to kill
But it was not to be
Too soon came a family’s end
The lost souls arose
To usher them away.
Later, one year to the day
Breaking through, with something to say
But how to communicate?
They had the power to illuminate…
The notion came to write with light
To family and friends
A message of love they sent
Afterwards, their energy was spent,
So their spirit guide from the other side
She came to take them home
Again they were gone,
But never forgotten...
He got behind the wheel
He swerved to miss their SUV
He never meant to kill
But it was not to be
Too soon came a family’s end
The lost souls arose
To usher them away.
Later, one year to the day
Breaking through, with something to say
But how to communicate?
They had the power to illuminate…
The notion came to write with light
To family and friends
A message of love they sent
Afterwards, their energy was spent,
So their spirit guide from the other side
She came to take them home
Again they were gone,
But never forgotten...
Friday, June 11, 2010
Gone, but never forgotten...
The moon was high and so was he
He got behind the wheel
He got behind the wheel
He swerved to miss their SUV
He never meant to kill...
But it was not to be
Too soon came a family's end
Too soon came a family's end
The lost souls arose
To usher them away
Later, one year to the day
Breaking through with something to say
But how to communicate?
They had the power to illuminate...
The notion came to write with light
To family and friends
A message of love they sent
A message of love they sent
Afterwards, their energy was spent
So their spirit guide from the other side
She came to take them home
Again they were gone,
But never forgotten...
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Introductory personal statement:
My name is Denise Sherron and I am a “non-traditional” undergraduate student at UNCG and a life-long native of Greensboro. I am happily married to a wonderful man and we are child-free by choice. As an only child with no close family, my friends and my pets are very important to me. My profile on this blog offers a bit more about me personally. Since I absolutely love to laugh, one of my favorite websites is: http://icanhascheezburger.com/ check the other hilarious "cheezburger network" websites too.
Professionally, after twenty years as an IT Recruiter, I was burned out by a fast-paced, lucrative career. After the “tech bubble” burst in 2001, I began looking for employment that was more altruistic. In 2003 I became a UNCG employee. Now working with students, faculty, and fellow staffers I am much more fulfilled and gratified by my job. I began taking classes using the tuition waiver benefit for professional development (mostly ISOM courses) and soon realized my love of learning was burning bright. In the past I studied business, real-estate, and landscape architecture, which is a nice way to say that I’ve dropped out of college three times. By taking classes on a part-time basis I hope to graduate with my BLS degree in 2-3 years and to then pursue a MALS degree. At this point in my life, I decided to pursue an education that stimulates me intellectually, not in preparation for a specific career. "Magic, Media and Popular Imagination" is my first BLS class since finally declaring my major this month. I am very excited by the subject matter of this course and look forward to thought-provoking discourse and a deeper exploration of one of my favorite topics.
An area of concern for me in the realm of media:
The consolidated ownership of media outlets over the last twenty years is particularly troubling to me. With fewer sources of information the diversity and the quality of messages to the masses suffer. About ten conglomerates own the overwhelming majority of television networks, movie studios, newspapers, and satellite, cable, and internet service providers. We are shown what is acceptable to the media moguls who are beholden to corporations for advertising revenue. This lack of journalistic freedom leads to an under-informed public who may only take in what they are receiving from these big media outlets. Political figures control and bias the messages too. George W. Bush disallowed the broadcast of flag-draped caskets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as if that could hide the death toll of his “war on terrorism”. That much power and control over the media cannot be good for our democracy. One has to hope that we will value freedom of the press and that as free-thinking individuals we will seek out information from a variety of sources (including the “blogosphere” that I have now joined), we will question authority, we will ask “who benefits?” and then exercise our free will when the corporate and political messages bombard us.
My name is Denise Sherron and I am a “non-traditional” undergraduate student at UNCG and a life-long native of Greensboro. I am happily married to a wonderful man and we are child-free by choice. As an only child with no close family, my friends and my pets are very important to me. My profile on this blog offers a bit more about me personally. Since I absolutely love to laugh, one of my favorite websites is: http://icanhascheezburger.com/ check the other hilarious "cheezburger network" websites too.
Professionally, after twenty years as an IT Recruiter, I was burned out by a fast-paced, lucrative career. After the “tech bubble” burst in 2001, I began looking for employment that was more altruistic. In 2003 I became a UNCG employee. Now working with students, faculty, and fellow staffers I am much more fulfilled and gratified by my job. I began taking classes using the tuition waiver benefit for professional development (mostly ISOM courses) and soon realized my love of learning was burning bright. In the past I studied business, real-estate, and landscape architecture, which is a nice way to say that I’ve dropped out of college three times. By taking classes on a part-time basis I hope to graduate with my BLS degree in 2-3 years and to then pursue a MALS degree. At this point in my life, I decided to pursue an education that stimulates me intellectually, not in preparation for a specific career. "Magic, Media and Popular Imagination" is my first BLS class since finally declaring my major this month. I am very excited by the subject matter of this course and look forward to thought-provoking discourse and a deeper exploration of one of my favorite topics.
An area of concern for me in the realm of media:
The consolidated ownership of media outlets over the last twenty years is particularly troubling to me. With fewer sources of information the diversity and the quality of messages to the masses suffer. About ten conglomerates own the overwhelming majority of television networks, movie studios, newspapers, and satellite, cable, and internet service providers. We are shown what is acceptable to the media moguls who are beholden to corporations for advertising revenue. This lack of journalistic freedom leads to an under-informed public who may only take in what they are receiving from these big media outlets. Political figures control and bias the messages too. George W. Bush disallowed the broadcast of flag-draped caskets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as if that could hide the death toll of his “war on terrorism”. That much power and control over the media cannot be good for our democracy. One has to hope that we will value freedom of the press and that as free-thinking individuals we will seek out information from a variety of sources (including the “blogosphere” that I have now joined), we will question authority, we will ask “who benefits?” and then exercise our free will when the corporate and political messages bombard us.
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