Love...just in time!

I recently had the honor of shooting an emergency homecoming session for one of our servicemen, Patrick. He was released from his deployment and brought home early, courtesy of the Red Cross' assistance, to be with his family during a very difficult time! His 10-month old daughter, Adalyn, was just diagnosed with a heart condition that will require surgery soon. He also has a beautiful wife, Kim, and a 4-yr old daughter named Sophia that has been holding down the fort while he was away. It was a last minute session that not only kept the family and myself on-call for weeks, but also another OpLove photographer to fill-in just in case I couldn't attend. Long story short of lots of dates & time changes, Patrick made it home safely to reunite with his loving family! The Patriot Riders were there as well as a few Tulsa news crews. It was so great to be there for this family & capture their photos.

Here is a news link from Fox in Tulsa with the wife interview before the homecoming: http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3340838
And the footage during the homecoming: http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3340915

Session Giveaways

Yes it happens very rarely, but I am giving away 8-Mini Sessions for FREE to be held on April 21, 2012. Spread the word to all your friends and family for this very limited time offer.

Details:
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Times: 9:30am to 7:00pm (see registration form for specific time slots)
Location: any public location in Edmond, OK
Includes: a FREE Mini Session, online private gallery for 30 days, a $30 print credit, and up to 5 images to be posted on my Facebook biz page for you to "tag" yourself. There is no obligation or pressure to purchase anything additional.
The Catch: you must complete the Model Release form allowing me full use of your photos for my portfolio and advertising. Also, a portion of your session will be focused on certain new session ideas (see Registration From for more details).
Registration Link: www.angela-wilkes.com/machform/view.php?id=12

Now for the "Why" behind this full day of Free Sessions that I am offering. Several of my colleagues, family, and friends are questioning that very thing. Well to the you the truth, there are a couple of reasons. One is that I have been soooo swamped with bookings lately that I haven't had the chance to consider or try the many new creative ideas that keep me up at night. Another reason is that I work so much with our military (OpLove) clients that it has seemingly taken over my creative processes. Which leads to a third reason...being stuck in a rut! It happens quite often with us creative mind people. Even with different people in different locations, it's still just the same thing...point, focus, click, & repeat. I can get the "popular poses" in the "popular locations" without a single thought. It has become automatic, which is why I closed my studio in the first place. It happened when I did mostly weddings, corporate, and now mostly military (OpLove) sessions. I am very busy, and for that I am truly grateful. However, my creativeness seems to be hiding lately. I have tons of fabulous ideas but no chance to test them. So here we are...8 Free Session Giveaways on a single day. You will be my test models, and I will provide incentives for allowing me to use you as such.

New Info, My Lacking, & Other Updates...

Yes, my wonderful followers...I have been MIA lately (and yes again). I have had some major health issues that have limited my ability to accept sessions & have caused a delay in processing pics. Add to that some recent issues with my pro lab about their large prints, and it's a whirlwind of "YUCK" lately!!

OpLove has recently teamed up with the Long Road Home Project in support of 3 vets riding bicycles from Seattle, WA to Washington D.C. The journey will start in July 2012 and end on about Vet's Day (Nov 2012). They will stop at every major city and base/post to interview military members and vets asking one major question..."What can we do as a nation to help our troops as they come home?" This is such a wonderful and inspiring idea!! They are still looking for vets, of any age, to apply for the journey. If you are interested or know someone who might be, the application is available on their website. Food, lodging, bicycles and all expenses related to the ride will be covered by the Long Road Home Project. They will have a film crew following them throughout the journey. It will be a webcast available weekly online, as well as turned into a full documentary. Many of our OpLove photographers will be attending their stops to grab some photos along their journey. If you know of any vet that may be interested or of any OpLove photographer that may be willing to volunteer, please let me know or send them to the Long Road Home Project's website. Here is a map of the tentative area they will be traveling through...

Another OpLove update, on a personal/business note. Because of the many of units returning home in the next 6 months or so, I am having to limit my homecoming sessions. Existing and/or previous OpLove clients coming home will take priority of scheduling a homecoming session. I will accept a new client's homecoming session as long as it does not interfere or overlap with a current client's homecoming. With that said and if I am not available, I will refer you to a couple other OpLove photographers that may be available to take your session. In addition, OpLove has recently re-defined the regions covered as a "deployment" based on the guidelines provided to the org. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am currently working on building a FAQ page for my OpLove clients about the new regs.

Boudoir updates: My www.Desired Assets.com page has not been updated since Dec of last year, when I first launched the site. Per some client requests, I have removed numerous images from the password protected gallery. The site is still up and active, but the gallery of sample images has been modified greatly. It's a privacy issue that I totally understand, so I hope you do too.  :)

Believe it or not...I had a couple other things to post about, but I cannot remember them all right now. So this is it for now. More updates and pics (I promise to get caught up) soon!!!
- Ang

Christmas, News, & Updates

There are many things that I haven't blogged about yet, but it's the holidays so I've been a bit preoccupied. Here is the run-down version of what's been going on...

UPDATE: I am in the process of completely rebuilding my main website. I will no longer be using a "photographers template", but instead it will be built from scratch. I was originally going to launch it on Jan 1st, but alas I need it to be done sooner than that.  :(   With some new publicity (TV & newspaper) coming over the Christmas holidays in the OKC area, I want a fresh new look when potential clients stop by to visit.
UPDATE: In addition to a new main website, prices for certain sessions and products will be changing. Some higher, some lower, and some entirely new items. Print & product prices are only changing because of my lab updating their prices.
UPDATE: My Desired Assets boudoir website will likely launch over the next week, within days after Christmas. I am still building the gallery, but I hope for it to be 90% done when it goes public. The website link will be here: www.DesiredAssets.com
NEWS: Today, I interviewed with Bryan Dean of The Oklahoman newspaper. She is working on a story about my participation with OpLove. After the interview, she mentioned that she was hoping to have it run this weekend...on Sunday, Christmas Day, on the COVER of the Metro Family section. She's not sure if that will happen with it being such an important weekend, but she is hopeful. I am too, but I am truly grateful for any publicity about this wonderful org!
NEWS: I set up the interview & filming schedule for Freedom 43 (tv news in OKC). They will be filming interviews & part of my client session on Tuesday, Dec 27th at a local park. It is still unsure when it will actually air on tv, but myself and my clients are very excited.
CHRISTMAS: Just in case you hadn't noticed...Christmas is this weekend! I was so busy getting last minute client orders to the various labs that I totally spaced out on ordering my own business Christmas Cards. Once I sent in my own order, the lab politely responded that they won't be ready until AFTER Christmas. Grrrrrr on me! So for all intended good thoughts and holiday wishes, here is the design of the card that all my clients would have received.   :)

Check back soon for more updates and posts! Meanwhile, I personally want to wish all my clients, fans, and colleagues a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Stay safe in your travels, and I look forward to seeing you next year!!!

Winter Market

I just finished the "Fancy! and Friends Winter Market" at the Edmond Museum. It was the first year for the show, but I thought that it seemed to go smoothly! I met several great vendors, potential clients, and got to reunite with some old neighbors that I grew up with. :) I also got to brag about OpLove and all our recent publicity! I made several new contacts in that regards. And a big CONGRATULATIONS to Joy Murphy for winning my free family photo session during the event drawing! I look forward to hearing from you about our 2012 session!!!

Note to Miss Shandee: I received TONS of compliments on your photo! Numerous people said that it was such a great photo. Then they said, "She is just beautiful." Of course, I was very proud at that point because 1) it is a great photo, even if I do say so myself,  and 2) you are beautiful (which I already knew, but am so happy that I got to show others too). Then a few people commented on what I took as the Pièce de résistance...they asked, "Is that your daughter?" Really, OMG & LOL! I was very proud that it was my photo and very proud that I displayed your beauty in its truest form, but then to be complimented enough that they also thought I was your mom...WOW, that must mean that they think I'm pretty "easy on the eyes" too! I was on cloud nine for a few mins.  :)  Your parents must be sooo proud to have raised such a beautiful daughter - on the outside, but more importantly on the inside!

Luckily, my dad came to see me today, the 2nd day of the show, and helped me put my banner up. (It was too tall for the table and there was nothing to rope it to around the sides.) So, lots of scotch tape to the rescue!!!! My booth looked 100 times better with it up, but alas it fell about 10 minutes after daddy left. I tried everything to put it back in place but no luck!   :(

I do want to thank Kristin and Angel for inviting me to the market. It's been a few years since I agreed to do a show, but I was happy to be a part of this one! And to anyone that is in the market for an Event & Party Planner...check out their website here: Fancy Like That!. I also met a local lady that does some fabulous crochet (I got an awesome headband/ear cover thing), so I can hook you up if you are in the market!!!

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL

Black Friday Specials for 3 days
Friday, November 25th at 12:01am until Sunday, November 27th at 11:59pm

Special A - Family Session + $50 Print Credit for $75 (more than 50% off)

Special B - Boudoir Session + Free Pin-Up Calendar for $75

Special C - BOGO (buy one get one) Prints Only for $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations

Don't delay...these HUGE discounts are only available for 3 days! Go to the "Gifts" page (link at the top) to secure your Black Friday Special.

Getting Caught Up

In the process of my attempting to get caught up, I will post 2-3 sessions pics at a time on here. The first pics below are from Crystal, James, Macy & Callie. The girls were dressed up soooo absolutely adorable in their matching red & white dresses with blue belts. They were a blast to get pics of during the session. Macy would showing off, so Callie would play shy. Then they would switch and Callie was being the camera hog while Macy was being shy. They were definitely fun! Crystal and James were also awesome! They were up for anything, so we got some great pics. Such a loving and adorable family!!! Here are a few of my favs...

And the next session is with some of my fav repeat clients: Shannon, Denny, & Dawson. They were all part of the Today Show filming & interviews (be sure to watch them on Vet's Day, Nov 11th on NBC). Even though Dawson isn't even 3-yrs old yet, he was an absolute angel during all the happenings. And Shannon was just glowingly-pregnant gorgeous with a beautiful baby bump! Denny, well what's to say...he is definitely a proud daddy & hubby, and soon to be daddy two-times over. Even though there was a camera guy following us around during the session, we still managed to get some awesome pics! Here's a few of my favs:

Last Chance for Christmas Mini Sessions

The Today Show filming

Yesterday, I spent about 6 hours with the Today Show people, Tonee (the OpLove founder), and one of my client families. The TS people and Tonee came to OKC to film a segment on Operation: Love Reunited. We did all of the filming and my client session at the Rose Gardens in Will Rogers Park. It was an absolutely awesome day that was full of emotions! We laughed, cried, and played in the park. I got some fabulous pics of my clients, which I will post a few once they are all processed. We had another OpLove photographer, Amanda Lloyd, that came up from Ft Hood, TX to get some PR pics for our org to use. She'll be sending me her pics, so I will post a few of those when I get them. Meanwhile, here are a couple of cell phone pics we took of the interviews:

 Tonee Lawrence, the OpLove founder, being interviewed (above).

Me being interviewed (above).

My clients, Shannon & Denny, being interviewed (above).

Be sure to watch NBC's The Today Show on Veteran's Day, Nov 11th. I'll make another post a couple days before it airs to remind everyone to set their DVRs. I am soooo excited and can't wait to see it!   :)

Boudoir at a B&B

At the beginning of this month, I met Lady G (a pseudonym for Lady Gorgeous) at a local bed & breakfast for a boudoir session. I was running a few minutes late, but she was fashionably worth it!  :)  She was absolutely beautiful, especially with her hair & make-up done all fancy-like!! Her initial nervousness at the time of our consult was definitely resolved by the time I arrived and started snapping pics. We talked, laughed, and had a blast. (Hello, Mr Bubbles...LOL!) Our session will result in some smokin' sexy gifts to her betrothed, either for Christmas and/or as a wedding gift. Because I totally respect her privacy and the fact that it'll be a surprise gift, I'm only going to post one pic from our session. She has this awesome Audrey Hepburn kind of classy-look to her, which looks fabulous in B&W!.

Family Time with Daddy

Courtney, Jonathan, Kain (2 yrs), and Kason (2 months) met me at the Rose Gardens for a pre-deploy OpLove session last weekend. It was supposed to be a beautiful day with 0% chance of rain (ha haa). It was cloudy & overcast when we got there. So we start taking pics around the site, even though a wedding was starting in the main garden area. Both boys had just awoke from a nap, and they were not too excited about being in pics. Kain was absolutely adorable! He was more interested in watching the other park visitors, especially the Red Hat Ladies that were at the park getting their pics taken by another photographer. Although he tried to avoid smiling or looking at me, I managed to get some good ones! :) Kason was also too cute for words! Some of his expressions reminded me of my niece, Makayla, when she was a baby. I couldn't help but just "ooh and ahhh" over him. And it was very apparent that Kain was a very proud older brother! Courtney & Jonathan were awesome! They were happy and smiley despite having to take Kason's stroller 4-wheeling on the gravel. Just as we decided that the kiddos were done with pics and it was time to wrap up the session...the sprinkles started. By the time we made it back to the cars and started loading up, it was pouring! (LOL. In all honesty, it was kinda funny to watch the wedding party and guests run to the party bus in the rain!) Thank goodness, we had just finished the session pics! Here's some of my favs...

Skye & "Pawsitive Pets"

One of my recent posts was about a previous wedding client (from over 4 yrs ago) that had her dog in the wedding party. Well, I got to meet up with Brandi again and their dog, Skye, at Lake Hefner on Monday morning. Brandi owns a business called "Pawsitive Pet Services" that does pet sitting, dog walking, and training. She was needing some pics of her and a 4-legged critter for her website. Yayyy, she contacted me!! She brought her hubby's dog, Skye, which is an absolutely beautiful canine! She received numerous compliments from random strangers that passed by within our 45-min session. I'm a big dog-lover, so me & Skye hit it off immediately! And I learned a tip from Brandi...string cheese does wonders for getting a dog to pay attention!   :)  Here's a few pics from our session...

For more information about Brandi's services, please visit: www.PawsitivePetsOKC.com or email her at: pawsitivepetservices@cox.net! She is awesome and certified, registered, bonded, insured...and I'm pretty sure she's had all her shots too.  ;)

Pics for Daddy

Last week, I met Abbie and her 18-month old son, Garritt at a local Edmond Park. Abbie brought her father along to help with Garritt because she also has a "baby-on-board". Her husband, Eli, is currently deployed overseas, so we did the OpLove session as a gift for him. Little Garritt was such a cutie! He didn't want to smile or talk or even look at me during the first part of the session. A few small American flags, some little army guys, and funny glasses in my backpack helped break the ice though.  :)   It also turns out that Garritt is ticklish and likes to play in the water, which helped get some smiles from him. And Abbie was just...glowing and beautiful, despite the hot, muggy morning. These two were so adorable together; I can't wait to see the entire family together at Eli's homecoming! And maybe, I'll have the chance to photograph her with a big belly and/or a newborn session.  :)

Two Homecomings & Tons of Smiles

In the process of my getting caught up, I am posting two of my recent homecoming sessions. The first was for Sandy, Johnathan, and the kiddos. I met Sandy and her kids, Ally & Matthew, at the airport for the long-waited arrival of daddy. Everyone waited in anticipation, including myself. As soon as Johnathan walked thru the gate, everyone started crying including the waiting passengers! This loving family immediately clutched each other in a huge embrace and fell to the the ground. Tears, smiles, words, kisses, and hugs all came flooding out. Even as we were leaving, no one wanted to let go of their beloved hero. It was a true privilege to meet this wonderful family and to capture such a special day for them.

The second homecoming was for Michael. His wife, Michelle, contacted me just 24 hours before his return. Luckily, I was able to reschedule a dentist appointment and meet them at the airport despite the last minute notice. Michelle, their kids (Beau, Jack, & Julie), and I were able to get to the actual gate for his arrival. The family anxiously awaited for his arrival and planned their "attack" as they saw the plane approaching. Michael barely made thru the door before he was swarmed by his loving family. After they all got their immediate needs of hugs & kisses filled, we walked to the security checkpoint. Once there, Michael's mom as well as other friends & family were waiting to welcome him home. It was a great homecoming reunion, and I was so grateful that I was able to attend!