Earlier this year, Gift Hughes contacted me to photograph her at a live TV studio. On this occasion, she was going to present on a segment during Let’s Talk Live about the upcoming Miss Cosmos USA pageant. Since we first met at an earlier fashion shoot, I have seen Gift at many events in the area. Not only does she do a lot of modeling, but she is a busy realtor in a very busy market around DC.
For the most part, this TV studio was a very quiet work area. Since they have a lot of shooting areas and an open office area, it was important to not make too much noise. However, since there were a lot of sets with lighting already set for video segments, there were plenty of opportunities for photos. Gift was there to promote the upcoming Miss Cosmos USA pageant. She was dressed in her 2018 crown and a beautiful purple gown. We took the opportunity to get photos in all the branded spaces before leaving after the show.
The form of the “messenger” is ever changing especially in the information age. Although it is usually not a person that you meet face to face, it is usually a screen. For a long time now, our messenger has been behemoth of screen not in terms of size, but in weight and girth – an old Sony XBR CRT TV. This thing was state of the art in Y2K! It had a “flat” screen not that it’s enclosure was small, but that the glass screen in front was no longer bulbous. Thus, giving the picture a much truer perspective for viewers.
Sony CRT XBR TV
This was our first major purchase after we moved into our new house. Emphatically, it became a focal point for our living room. We painted the room a dark red color, we installed black-out shades. Its 4:3 aspect ratio picture was BEAUTIFUL! We paired it with speakers to fill the room with all the chirps, beeps, and booms from the best DVDs. We hosted movie nights, and enjoyed using the technology to bring friends together. Moreover we see films more closely as they were intended by creators.
Original Setting
Home Theater
From other broadcast programming, we were able to witness many important events – presidential elections, inspiring musical performances, 9/11/2001, amazing athletic wins by our college football team, crushing losses by our professional team, and even some of our own creations – old home movies updated to be shared before they are lost.
Sony CRT XBR TV
But technology marches on, and it is finally time to upgrade. The front of the TV has many scars from the few times we have moved it – only once did we change its room, and that was only when the house was changed too. The power button barely has any coating left from all of its use! We were going to wait until the TV would no longer work. All the new movies and TV shows were wide screen, and all the new connections for streaming content from the internet could not be connected due to technical reasons. But we held on to it for almost 15 years. We only hope the new messenger does the job half as well as its predecessor.
