The purpose of this event is to celebrate the bond between soldiers and their companions. And in order to advertise for this event, I figured that I need to start with a sample photo of a military person and his/her pet. My first thought, of course, was my husband and one of our many animals. Gary served in the US Army as a tank gunner. At the tender age of 19, he was shipped to the Gulf where he sat on a tank, named Budweiser, for 3 months. And for the 4 days of Operation Desert Storm, he didn't sleep. I don't think his mother slept either. Fortunately, he made it home safely.
Gary does not like to be photographed. And when he is photographed, he usually makes stupid faces which ruin the photo. Given his initial response to my idea ("don't do it, it will be too sad"), I figured there was no way that he would volunteer. So I didn't give him the chance to say no. When Gary came home from work, I asked him to put on his favorite Army hat, grab our cat Mop and meet me outside in front of the American flag (which he hung for September 11th). Much to my surprise, Gary and Mop were fairly cooperative. And I got a few shots that I just love. Mostly because my rough-and-tumble husband adores his one-eyed Persian cat and is not afraid to show it. And amazingly enough, Gary loves these shots, too. When I expressed my surprise, he said "why wouldn't I like them? It's me and Mop!". Mission accomplished.
Here are the 2 shots that I am contemplating using for the flyer for the event. I would love your opinion as I cannot be objective (it's my husband and our cat... what's not to love?). Please feel free to comment either here, on Facebook or email me with your opinions and/or suggestions. All thoughts are totally appreciated.
Shot #1
and shot #2
What do you think? Are either of these photos that would encourage a service person to come out to the shelter on a holiday and have his/her picture taken? And perhaps with a less-than-jubilant pet?
I'll keep you posted. Over and out.
