Whoosh.
Summer came, it heated up, served us ice cream and swimming outings, parades and fireworks and rolled into lazy dog days. Now its lazily waning as school supplies and Halloween display in the stores, the early leaves are transitioning and children anticipate school.
This was one of those summers where it went streaking by too quickly.
Mondays at the part time gig of the camera shop, weekdays sewing as a madman for Atomic Collars, every other weekend at the Minneapolis Pet Market hanging out with other awesome pet vendors, every opposite weekend filled with adventure and my two favorite guys. There was a trip to a cabin and a long weekend for my birthday. Then the summer was gone.
Photography has been quiet. The oomph of steam that had the birthday excitement petered out when there was a loss of time (coordinated around the cabin trip, might want to rethink that…) and I lost the organization to pick winners as well as release the contests for all 8 sessions. Part was due to the amplification of Atomic Collars. Sewing = time. With more sewing to do to create stock, it ate into marketing and social media for About A Dog Photography.
Don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere. We made it to 9 years, can’t stop us now!
With back to school happening soon there will be an adjustment made. I’m helping my mom out during the weekdays so Monday-Thursday won’t be available until after 5 pm. Fridays are out as that’s a pizza night and hangout day. This will hold steady until we reach then end of September when our start time is 5:30 pm (we meet up an hour and half before sunset for the best light).
Now if we need to, we can shorten the session to an hour and shoot until we lose light. This would give us weekdays until October 18th with a start time of 5:30, sunset at 6:25 pm. Any weekdays after the 18th of October will be only available as a short session due to the loss of light as the season transitions. This will remain in effect for weekdays until the time change in March.
Select weekends will be available pending events with Atomic Collars. At the moment the weekends of September 18th & 19th, October 3rd, 16th-17th, October 30th and November 13th-14th are available. If you want a session then, call dibs ASAP!
Peak fall leaf color is typically late September to mid October for the middle of the state aka St. Cloud area. The Twin Cities tends to have a later start and later range, with leaves turning in late September and transitioning into late October, while the North Shore is going to peak in September (waterfalls and leaves? yes please! Though water levels are low this year…)
The week of October 11th-18th ought to have a fair display of color for the St. Cloud area, possibly for the Twin Cities (we know there’s tons of variables) and I’ll be doing active weekly reporting of the colors starting in September. If you want a session during that week, email me ASAP! Only 5 weekdays that week are available for full sessions!
The weekend of November 13th-14th is the VERY LAST weekend to book a session to guarantee you receive your prints, albums etc in time for Christmas. Yes we can have sessions in December but you won’t get your prints and products in time for Christmas. Print and product production is 3-4 weeks, especially around the holiday season.
From January to March 12th there will be no weekday sessions and only select weekends available. At the moment January 22nd & 23rd, February 5th & 6th, February 19th & 20th, March 5th & 6th are available.
Starting the week of March 14th we can resume weekday sessions! Start time would be 6 pm and as the spring heads into summer start times will get a bit later. When we hit the end of school in June, weekdays will be fully available for morning and evening sessions, with select weekends available.
Can’t forget about Viewing Sessions! These will only be available in the evenings after 5 pm weekdays and can be done in person or virtually via Skype from the start of the school year until summer break. Summer will give us more flexibility, but Viewing Sessions will always be on a weekday, whether in the morning, afternoon or evening.
Now you’re in the loop! Starting in September there were will be weekly blogs featuring a report on fall leaf colors. I may add some other fun dog things – recipes, dog facts, possibly adorable pictures of pups.
Keep staying safe in this new normal world. Hugs from me and sniffs from Bender. (Kris says hi too!) ♥