With the benefit of knowing that Hurricane Irene was less devastating than was forecasted and that we are fortunate just to have some brush and limbs in our yard, it was really kind of nice to have a day inside with nowhere to be and nothing that really had to get done. And with electricity, which we luckily kept with just some flickering.

There are things that I love about every season, but fall is my favorite, and even though this week is supposed to be hot (again/still), it is starting to seem like fall to me. It might be my amazing success buying fall clothes for D at Buttons and Bows, or it might be that I just added Sweet Potato Day at the State Farmers’ Market to my list of things I’m looking forward to in the next few months. The list already included The State Fair, wearing sweaters, chilly air, *some* football games, the start of ACC basketball season (!), leaves-turning-colors, trips to the mountains, and David’s birthday. And of course the height of portrait season.

AEWP Fall Portrait Schedule:

I’m taking a cue from a photographer friend who has simplified radically (she gave up Facebook!) as we head into the “busy season” for portraits so that I can savor photographing every session while also being more intentional about enjoying time with my family (some of whom have accused me of running upstairs to work before the last supper crumb has hit the floor ~ and been right).

So, in order to tame the chaos that seems to overtake me annually around Thanksgiving, I’ve decided that this is the year that I’m really going to set a schedule for myself and stick to it. And so (drumroll please):

I have one session left in September and a handful of dates each in October and November. Please shoot me an email to beth@aewileyphotography.com or call the studio at 919.624.1633 to schedule your 2011 session. If you are expecting, we will put your due date on the calendar and adjust based on your baby’s birthday choice : )

52 Project ~ The Letter K

It ain’t a good blog post without some images, so here are a few from what I mistakenly thought would be the toughest letter yet. Amazing what you see when you’re looking for it. These are all from the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, scene of the Wedding Photographic Society convention earlier this month.

Contest Update

I think that my love-hate relationship with Facebook might show : ) We are inching closer to the 400 mark, and I’ll give away a session to a contest blog post commenter chosen at random when we get there. I have also figured out a simpler, Facebook-approved way to host future contests where you can vote on submitted images directly on my FB page, without multiple steps, etc. and also without being spammed by a third party. Thank you so much for suggesting my page to your family and friends, and especially for recommending me personally. I know that I consider carefully the businesses that I recommend, and there is no higher compliment to give or get in my opinion. I am looking forward to sending my son off to “school” in about a week (one morning a week, anyway), I still find it a little bittersweet not to be headed off to a classroom myself, and I’ll really enjoy giving away that session when we hit 400.

August and the start of a new school year always feel like the real “new year’s” to me. It’s the time of year that I reflect, assess, make plans, and begin things anew. 2011 has been a big year of transition, personally and professionally. I’m so grateful for the clients who have become friends, for the friends who have become clients, and for everyone who has trusted me to photograph a moment that is important.

Last August, my personal life centered around my son, who was crab-crawling through the house and was still 100% my baby; professionally, I felt like a schoolteacher with no classroom to go to, no students to teach ~ frankly a little unmoored. This year, my son (though he will always be my baby) is a boy who runs everywhere and has just this week started using “I” to refer to himself as the independent little guy he is becoming; he heads to one-day-a-week preschool after Labor Day; and I am starting to feel like a photographer who truly loved teaching high school.

In the past month, I have photographed two precious newborns; I have heard my son say, “I play ball” and “I shoot basket” for the first time; I have lost a cousin who functioned like an aunt and lived like a feisty Southern woman; I have talked with a PhotoLegend about losing it all, making it big, and having a vision for one’s work and life; and I have photographed my mother being a grandmother.

So it seemed like it was only appropriate to do something kind of big for this year’s contest, because it has been a big year.

Those of you who know me well know that I love Facebook but am nearly confounded by its rules for contests. I think I’ve managed to stay on the right side of the rules again this year, with almost no administrivia for you and for me ~ except maybe cutting up the names to go into a drawing, and I secretly love stuff like that.

{The Contest}

Please “like” A. E. Wiley Photography on Facebook, ask your friends and family to “like” the FB page as well (to increase the value of the prize), and then comment on this blog post to be entered into the drawing (prizes outlined below).

The # of AEWP Facebook fans by 7:25 AM on August 25th (LRHS start time on the first day of school) will determine which of these prizes I give away. The winner will be selected randomly from comments on this blog (not from Facebook wall comments, though I love those).

400 Fans ~ Complimentary Session + 8×10 Signature Print
500 Fans ~ Complimentary Session + 11×14 Signature Print
And because I’m feeling crazy…
600 Fans ~ Complimentary Session + 5×7 Session Album
800 Fans ~ Complimentary Session + 16×20 Gallery Wrap
1000 Fans (!) ~ Complimentary session + 16×20 Gallery Wrap + 5×7 Session Album

{The Image ~ Because a blog post isn’t fun without one }

Fine Print: The complimentary session is subject to availability (I have just a few weekend sessions left in time for Christmas). You may schedule your complimentary session to take place any time between now and December 2012, subject to my availability. Your complimentary session may be done anywhere within 30 miles of Downtown Raleigh (unless you want to fly me somewhere, which is cool, too). If you are not in NC, you may give your session to someone who is local to Raleigh, or schedule it when you are visiting (again subject to availability). The complimentary session is for one nuclear family. No cash value for any of the prizes. Expires December 2012. Just to be super super clear, I will give away ONE of the prizes ~ the one that corresponds with the # of Facebook fans shown.

I’m amazing at all of the great images that you submitted to celebrate the end of summer and the start of fall.  Thanks so much for kicking off the contest with such a great number and variety of shots from your travels, vacations, and time with your children.  I have enjoyed looking at all of the places you’ve been and things you’ve done, and I know that the blogosphere will, too.

So, without further ado…

1.  Become a “fan” of the A. E. Wiley Photography Facebook page (link in the blog menu above or click here).

and

2.  Vote by making a comment under your favorite photograph.  One comment/vote per “fan.”  You do have to be a “fan” to vote.

3.  I moderate the comments on the blog, so it may take up to 24 hours to see a comment.  I’ll make a special effort to keep the comments up-to-date on the last day of the contest.

4.  Voting ends at midnight on Tuesday, September 21st.  Winner will be announced on Wednesday!

The full fine print is in the blog post immediately following entry #15.  Feel free to email me with any questions.