New Website

Please take a look at my new website:  www.sheryllongphotography.com.  I still have content to add or modify, but I’m so exicited to have the website online.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.  I’m struggling to think of a name for that third category in my gallery, so I welcome your suggestions.

 

Southport

I absolultely love Southport!  The downtown waterfront area is one of the more peaceful places I know, and I sincerely  hope Southport succeeds in keeping its small-town charm.  When I visited last week, I had planned to photograph the waterfront park, but those shots didn’t hold my attention quite the way this abandoned building did.

Oak Island Lighthouse

While in Brunswick County on Thursday, I had a little extra time and decided to take a side trip to Oak Island and Southport.  I’ll confess that I chose Oak Island simply because I wanted to get a good lighthouse shot. 

Cape Fear Tug

Over the weekend, I spent some time looking at photographs I had taken this winter.  One of my favorites was this shot of a tugboat on the Cape Fear River. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My original intent was for this blog to be devoted to my photography, but I’ve decided it’s also a nice outlet for sharing other interests.  Thus I’m adding a category for talking about books.  Please feel welcome to comment on the books I share or to suggest other great books.

 Last summer a friend told me about a wonderful book called The Book Thief.  It has taken me months to get around to reading this book, and I quickly discovered that calling this book wonderful is very much an understatement.   It is marketed as a young adult novel, but I urge adults not to overlook The Book Thief. 

What amazes me about this novel is how beautifully it balances the complex and the simple.  Set during World War II, the novel focuses on the experiences of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who arrives in her new foster home clutching a book she cannot read.  While Liesel’s story of love — love for her new family, for her friends, and for the words — is captivating, the novel’s narration almost eclipses its plot.  The narrative style is fascinating as is our narrator, an ever-present shadow in the lives of all of the characters.  He finds Liesel to be a “perpetual survivor” and tells her story to illustrate how the human race “could be so ugly and glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”

Las Vegas

School demands much of my time, and too often pushes my photography interests into the background.  But this past week, school allowed me my first visit to Las Vegas as I attended the SITE conference.  Las Vegas lived up to all of my expectations, and I’m afraid my photographs don’t do it justice.  Vegas is one of those places you have to see to believe.