Jennifer Blackledge: Veteran, Mother, Business Woman

Date:

[dropcap]“E[/dropcap]verything that I experienced, everything that I got to witness, it changed me. Forever. It was seeing through the lens a whole other world in a lot of different ways,” said Jennifer Blackledge, veteran, wife, mother, and owner of local photography company Blackledge & Co. Studio.

Air Force

In 2003, Blackledge joined the Air Force.

“I joined the Air Force when I was 19,” Blackledge recalled. “I was looking for an adventure, and nothing of the sort was here.”

When she joined, Blackledge said, she did not know what she wanted to do with her life other than a vague thought of going into dentistry, and when she signed up, she took a test that told her she would be best placed as a combat photographer. She trained in photography at a Department of Defense school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Combat Photography

[pullquote]“I loved photography. I developed a passion for it. I developed an addiction to adrenaline. Photography was just a vehicle. I didn’t develop a love for the art until I got out.”[/pullquote]

For the next three years, Blackledge documented history by taking pictures of anything the DOD needed documented. She captured countries at war, forensics for child abuse on an army base, a missile launch, Russians inspecting American facilities, and more.

“It wasn’t how I photographed or what I photographed,” Blackledge said, “it was the experience that I was getting to have through the lens. And when I was in combat it was seeing a war through the lens and seeing a third world country.”

Blackledge confessed she did not shoot a third world country anyone would normally see, but rather one torn apart by war. She was “impacted emotionally on every level with enlightenment, fear, sadness, happiness, the whole spectrum.”

Honesty, Integrity, Service Before Self

Blackledge said she definitely misses being in the Air Force. She said she misses the adrenaline and the feeling of being young, but what she misses the most is the unity of being in the military.

“When a person joins the military, they become a part of something so much bigger than themselves,” Blackledge said. “When I was a part of the Air Force it was all about values. Honesty, integrity, and service before self were drilled into me, and that mattered above all else. It didn’t matter if you and I had a different religion, a different skin color, a different agenda, we shared the same values. And that’s what made us move forward.”

Blackledge said people in the military train for war so hard that it becomes embedded in their brain, but they were trained to do it selflessly.

“We weren’t running toward bullets because we were crazy,” Blackledge said, “we were doing it because we were selfless.”

Blackledge & Co. Studio

After seven and a half years in the military, Blackledge worked in the oil and gas industry, finished a bachelor’s of applied arts and sciences from Stephen F. Austin State University, and started a family and a professional photography studio.

[pullquote]“I shoot seniors now, and it’s my favorite thing to shoot. It’s adrenaline rushing, too, because seniors will do anything. They don’t just pose, they want to jump out of trees and things.”[/pullquote]

Blackledge said she had to save for a long time to accrue the money it would take to start a full time photography studio. She said the military provided her with top of the line equipment, and that equipment was expensive.

“It took me years to find out what my niche was,” she said. “But now I know that my niche is high school senior photography. I enjoy working with teenagers, and I enjoy doing things on the dramatic side.”

Blackledge said she loves doing high school senior photography because they are willing to do anything to get the shot.

Family

Jennifer Blackledge is married to Justin Blackledge, and together they have a four-year-old daughter, Journey, and a new daughter on the way.

Her full-time photography work turned into part time when she accepted a position as the technology director and teacher at St. Cyprians in Lufkin because of the expected arrival of her new daughter.

Running a photography business while being a full time teacher, a wife, a mother, and pregnant is taxing, according to Blackledge, but she is learning every day how to juggle it all.

“If anything, I’m just a really positive person,” Blackledge said, “and my faith is a big part of my life. I’m a Christian, and my personal relationship with God just keeps me going and gives me direction.”

Grace Baldwin
(Bethany) Grace Baldwin has an Associate Degree in Journalism from Angelina College and is working on a double major of English and Journalism at Stephen F. Austin State University. She thoroughly enjoys reading, writing, and has an indelible passion for words.

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Texas A&M School of Nursing Wins Collaborative $2.28 Million Grant Addressing Maternal Mortality, Morbidity

CHAMPions will support new mothers in underserved areas with...

Minor Sting Operation

In an effort to decrease the dangers and consequences...

Angelina College Athletics Weekly Update

This week in AC Athletics featured plenty of action...

A Permanent Seat to the Game

Roadrunner Baseball Pays Tribute to Former Manager RayburnA Permanent...