Meet Betty Wiley | Professional landscape and lifestyle photographer and licensed drone pilot

We had the good fortune of connecting with Betty Wiley and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Betty, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
So many of my childhood memories were with a camera in my hand. My mother and uncle were both accomplished photographers so I was surrounded by photography at a young age. My uncle was semi professional and i remember seeing his images on post cards and on calendars and I was always inspired by his work. My mother, a homemaker, was skilled as well and I remember her using her Pentax SLR on trips in the US and abroad. Honestly, I feel like it’s in my DNA and I always had this creative side in my life when I was either photographing, painting or drawing. I had aspirations of becoming either a professional photographer or a commercial artist but my mother urged me to seek a career that would guarantee a good income so I ended up majoring in science in college and spent 30 years in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. While I loved science and the stimulating environment of being on the cutting edge of technology, I always felt more fulfilled when I was feeding my creative side while I was out photographing. When I retired, I jumped back into photography, more or less full time and was lucky enough to live on Cape Cod where I developed strong working relationships with various publications. I feel as though I was born to be a photographer and I can’t imagine life without a camera.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I spent most of my early professional life in the pharmaceutical/biotech sector I knew that, when I retired, that I would pursue photography full time or as much as time would allow while juggling family life with building a new career. We bought a home on beautiful Cape Cod and in 2006 and luckily, I was able to develop close working relationships with a number of local publications before photography became as popular as it is today. I worked very hard to develop this niche and networked with other creatives and I always went the extra mile to deliver a quality product. Today, I photograph for guidebooks, various Chambers of Commerce ad campaigns and major magazines based here on Cape Cod. Because of my love of landscape photography I also specialize in photographing gardens of some of most beautiful homes on Cape Cod and New England which are featured in many publications. Something that I believe sets me apart is my skill in the digital dark room. When my husband gave me my first digital camera in 1996 when digital photography was new, emerging technology, I knew where things were headed and I spent countless hours learning editing software such as Photoshop and later lightroom. I really believe that skillful editing is as important as taking a good photograph. While, it seems, almost everyone owns a camera, many photographers don’t take the time to really learn post-processing and the difference that it can make with a photo.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ahhhh…this is easy! I live on Cape Cod and since it’s a major tourist destination, we’d spend a week on Cape Cod exploring the best that this region has to offer. We’d definitely go on a Whale Watch excursion in the waters off-Cape Cod. Seeing this magnificent creatures feeding, breaching and slapping their flukes in the water is an experience not to be missed. Of course, we’d eat seafood and there are so many places on Cape Cod that serve fresh, delicious seafood. We’d visit the working fish pier in Chatham where fisherman pull up and off-load their catch which gets shipped to places all over the world. It’s also fun watching the seals follow the boats into the harbor and when docked, the seals are begging for food and often fishermen oblige by throwing them a fish or two. Of course, we’d also take in a beautiful sunrise and sunset…there is nothing quite like a sunset over the water here on the Cape. When people visit, they always want to visit a lighthouse or two and we have plenty of those. No visit to the Cape is complete without visiting the Cape Cod Potato Chip lighthouse, as people refer to it, which is Nauset Lighthouse located in Eastham….it’s such an icon but have lots of other lighthouses to visit and some are even open for tours. One of my favorites is Nobska Lighthouse located in Falmouth because of it’s beautiful setting.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many people have had an influence in my life. First and foremost I want to give credit to my husband has supported and encouraged me throughout my life. He has always believed in me and has championed my success and is the one to cheer me on whenever I get discouraged. He works tirelessly behind the scenes on the business side of things and sells my work in the summer months in downtown Hyannis. Professionally, I’ve always admired photographer Michael Blanchette and it was Mike who really inspired my love for night photography. Knowledgeable and so talented he’s always been someone who I can rely upon to answer questions and provide me with an honest answers about my work. Many others have inspired me….and I owe a big shout out to Tony Sweet who I think has one of the best “eyes” in the business. His knowledge is astounding and I have always marveled at how he assessed and captures a scene….he has taught me a lot.
Website: Www.bettywileyphotography.com
Instagram: Bettywileyphoto
Facebook: Betty Wiley Photography
Other: My email address is betty@bettywileyphotography and this is my professional email address which I use for my photography business.