Operation Love, Reunited

We do OpLove sessions. My wife tells it better than I do. Here is an article she submitted to the local community newspaper.

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Rarely does something life-changing attach itself to something we normally call “work”. But in this case, two worlds have collided, and the end result is an unexpected calling on our lives.

Last year, my husband Bill started a photography business. He began shooting mostly high school sports, and became pretty proficient at getting pictures that most parents just couldn’t get with their small digital cameras.

One night, Bill remarked to me that in this military town, he wished we could think of a way to give something back to our military families, using his photographic talents. I told him, “Well, you’re the web guru—go surfing!”
Less than 24 hours later, he sent me the link to Operation Love ReUnited. I read about their organization, and my response was, “We need to do this”.

Operation Love ReUnited was founded by a young military wife whose husband had been stationed in Qatar. When he came home, she didn’t have any pictures of the joyful reunion, and the happy looks on her childrens’ faces, so she started this organization. Photographers like us sign up and agree to take pictures of a soldier and family before deployment, and agree to send the deployed loved one a free 4X6 album to their address overseas. Then there is usually another session upon the service member’s return. There is no charge for either session or the album sent overseas, and the family is not required to purchase any additional pictures unless they’d like to.

We have photographed families before the soldier deployed, but have also sent some photos of families to service members already overseas. One session we did was of a soldier’s wife and their two big dogs, which made for a fun photography shoot. We have met some amazing families, and have been able to put smiles on the faces of some of our hard-working military members in far away lands.

Every time I put an album into the mail for an overseas soldier, I believe that it’s one of the best things we do, and certainly one of the most rewarding.

If you would like more information about Operation Love ReUnited, or if you have a family member deploying overseas soon and would like to have pictures taken, here are the websites.

http://www.oplove.org

http://coloradosprings​.smugmug.com