10 years ago, Sasha Matthews was pregnant and felt so alone.
Matthews was pregnant and had little support. She spent most of her pregnancy talking to other pregnant women online. In fact, Matthews only has one or two pictures of herself from those 40 weeks. One doesn't even have her face in it.
"My whole life dynamic changed," she says. "I felt very shamed and hidden away and didn't feel very important."
So when she transitioned from her career in mental and behavioral health to photography, she knew she wanted to support and empower women, especially women of color.
Today, Matthews, founder of Green Tangerine Photography, takes absolutely stunning photos that showcase women of color during the seasons of their lives.
All photos by Sasha Matthews/Green Tangerine Photography, used with permission.
She's best known for her maternity photographs. With stunning gowns, compelling poses, and happy, confident mamas, Matthews' beautiful work celebrates black motherhood the way it deserves to be celebrated.
"I knew — particularly with women of color who are often shamed for the number of kids they have or how they have their children or how their motherhood is constantly in question — that I wanted to show the side of 'Look at these gorgeous mamas!'" she says.
Matthews encourages her clients to rock fabulous dresses, makeup, or anything else that makes them feel beautiful.
A firm believer that you can never be overdressed for a portrait, Matthews even keeps racks of gowns in multiple sizes in her studio for women who can't afford to spend the money on something new to wear.
She also researches poses and styling to make sure women of every size feel elegant and powerful in their photographs.
"Taking pictures is hard for me even," she says. "If you look better, then you'll feel more confident."
She's had the privilege of watching families bloom and grow seemingly right in front of her eyes.
From engagement photos and maternity photos to newborn and family photos, Matthews' work is never done. And that's exactly how she likes it.
Many clients even become friends. Matthews babysits, attends birthday parties, and sends flowers if a relative passes. It's much more than a business transaction; it's community-building.
"It's really that personal for me," she says. "I am documenting monumental parts of people's lives."
Since telling her story and sharing her work, Matthews discovered the unique power of the words, "me too."
Though Matthew's son is now 10, many people are hearing her story for the first time. Some reached out to share similar feelings of shame or loneliness during pregnancy. For them, her story is hopeful: If she can get through it, they can too.
"I think people want to know they're not the only person who's being shamed. They're not the only person who's not being supported," Matthews says. "And I tell people all the time, there's so much power in the words, 'me too.'"



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
Gif of baby being baptized
Woman gives toddler a bath Canva


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.