Black Friday Updates

Two Reminder Announcements for Black Friday Weekend

First is the Today Show segment, that I was honored to be a part of, about Operation: Love Reunited (OpLove) finally aired this morning. It was a really great story, and I am extremely happy with how well they put it together. The link to the story is here:

I absolutely love how they ended the piece with Denny throwing Dawson into the air on video and then stopping it with a snapshot of Dawson grinning ear-to-ear. I thought that I would be okay watching it but as soon as Denny started talking in the beginning, I started tearing up.  :)

And the second reminder is about my Black Friday Specials available only this weekend until Sunday night at 11:59pm. Most of the discounts are for 50% off sessions and/or prints! Visit my "Gifts" page at the top to purchase these limited time deals.

News 9 Story

Last Friday, I was featured on News 9 (CBS in OKC) for their 5pm newscast. The story was about a recent military scam, and my thoughts on the scam as an OpLove photographer. Surprisingly enough given my lack of prep time, I wasn't too bad! Click here for the link to the story: News 9 Story

The reporter, Lisa, called me about 1pm earlier that day asking about including me in the story. Of course, I jumped at the chance! The catch??? We had to film it in one hour, and it was a 20+ minute drive to the location. LOL...and to make matters worse: I was sitting on the couch, in comfy clothes, unshowered, processing session pics when she called. "Ummm, okay, sure, I can do that" was my verbal response. My mental response was more along the lines of, "Holy crap!! I'm gonna be on the news...again! I have less than 30 mins to shower, get dressed, pack my camera, get gas, and head out!"

We filmed the interview outside of the 45th Inf Museum in OKC. Lisa and the cameraman were both very nice and patient with me. I have to admit that it was a bit nerve-wracking to do such an opinionated piece about the military scam, plus OpLove, with such short notice. Luckily, they were kind enough to edit out my response regarding my thoughts on the people doing the scam as well as what should happen to them. LOL, I didn't say anything bad, just that I had no comment which could be shown on tv. :)

Oh, and we set a date/time for the Today Show interview. The story will air on Vet's Day, Nov 11th. Toe, the OpLove founder and my good friend, is flying into OKC to be a part of the interview and events. I cannot wait...I am soooo excited and nervous! Stay tuned for more specs on it!!!

Personal Venting for a Minute

You know, I don't get too personal or opinionated on many "public" issues. However, I just can't keep this one to myself! As an avid supporter of our military men & women, especially those who are deployed, I have a right to voice my opinion. Personally, I was not allowed to join the services because of my own health reasons, but if I could have I would have. However, I believe to my inner-most core that America's Commander-in-Chief should have served in one branch or another prior to being elected! How can you be the Commander-in-Chief if you have no experience from which to draw from? Advisers...they just advise and recommend based on the current standings of things but you still have nothing to base your opinion/decision upon. And if you don't like what someone says about your decisions, tough. Their opinions are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. It's not like the soon-to-be-released article actually has any direct quotes defaming the President! He's just pissed because a high-ranking officer who is serving in a war-zone does not publicly approve of every decision his office has made. So what does he do, fire him. Um hello...if I could "fire" everyone that I disagreed with, there would be a lot more unemployed people in the US! And in his speech, he states, "it undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system". He further says, "it erodes the trust that is necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives". So with that being said, how exactly does refusing to salute the American Flag come into play? Doesn't that undermine the core of our democratic system and erode the trust for "our team"...the Commander-in-Chief refusing to acknowledge the American flag.

Again, I'm not trying to create controversy here or force my opinions upon anyone else. I don't care if you believe in the war or the politics behind it; however, I do believe that you should support the men and women (and their families) fighting it! This recent firestorm of rash decisions based on someone's comments of disapproval are totally beyond being unnecessary. It is disgusting!

Army Wife Magazine Article

I mentioned several weeks ago that I was interviewed by Brandi, the Editor-in-Chief of Army Wife Magazine about my participation in Operation: Love Reunited (OpLove). The online article was released in June's issue. Here's a link to the article. The article link is about 1/3 of the way down on the left side of the page of the home page.  Thanks, Brandi, for the publicity and help in getting the word out about our organization!!!

Also this last Saturday, I had a session with Brandi and her family in Medicine Park, OK. I'm still processing their photos, but be sure to check back later this week to see some of their pics!

Army Wife Magazine Interview

I was recently contact by the Editor-in-Chief of Army Wife Magazine, Brandy. She was interested in writing an article about me and my participation in Operation: Love Reunited. We had the interview 2 days ago, on Tuesday, via Skype (we both had bad hair days, so no video was recorded).  :)  Anyway, the June issue of the magazine is about Art Appreciation, so the article should fit in nicely with the theme! Upon her request, I sent her a handful of photos I had taken at OpLove sessions. Once I find out which ones made the cut, I will notify those clients that their photos were selected! Brandy said she would let me know when the issue is released and the link to see it online. I'll be sure to pass it along to you as well as post it on my website.  :)


Click here to see the general link for Army Wife Magazine.

BTW...thanks Brandy for the opportunity to spread the word about OpLove. We love the increased exposure to better serve our beloved military! You rock!!!  ;)

Interesting Article...

As a wedding photographer, I try to read articles that relate to marriage and weddings to keep abreast of current trends and whatnot. Well, I recently read this article that blew my mind!! I have got to share it with you, my wedding clients. It's about women who get married and change their last name to their husband's name. According to a recent survey, "women who change their name at marriage make nearly $400,000 less over their lifetimes than women who do not". It further adds that these women are viewed as "older, less educated, and unmotivated" compared to their counterparts.

What?!? Can you believe that? Just because I take my husband's last name, I am now going to be viewed as an uneducated and lazy old woman? And, I am suddenly going to make almost half a million dollars less in my lifetime? Why would society place such pressures on women to marry and assume a "traditional" role if they are just going to look down their noses at the women that do? Neither the people that view women in that way nor the bosses that will pay less because of a woman that changes her last name upon marriage are the kind of people that I prefer to associate with. I'll just stick with my circle of family and friends that love me for me rather than what my last name is! Ugh...
- ang

(The article was originally printed in the New York Times, but click here for the link to where I read it.)