APA CO photo shoot {Mid Michigan Photographer}

Last May I had the pleasure of working with the Company Dancers from Academy of Performing Arts here in Downtown Alma. Part of this years recital theme was West Side Story so we thought it would be fun to do something downtown for that theme. These are just 2 of the company groups (1&2). We had a lot of fun taking over the streets of Downtown Alma!!

Wish I could use the music from WSS for the slide show... but the video is still pretty cool :)
Enjoy!! Remember to turn MAIN BLOG MUSIC OFF before playing video :)



till next time...
Hayley

Happy New Year~{Mid Michigan Newborn Photographer}

So here we are, the last post of 2010!! I can't believe we are already saying goodbye to another year, it sure went fast, but it was a year of blessings and I am thankful for them all!! So, as we enter a fresh new year I can't think of anything better to post about than a newborn baby :) Ella was one of my last sessions of 2010 and she couldn't be more perfect to share in this New Year's post. But before we get onto the little sneak peek I do want to say another thank you for blessing my life and my business in 2010. 2010 was a wonderful year for Hayley Hamlin Photography and I look forward to what 2011 brings. I have set many goals for the next 2 years of my business and I am excited to see what 2011 has in store for me. Many of you may not know this but 2011 is also a huge milestone for my business as it marks 5 years of being in business. Who would have known that a little over 7 years ago when I was expecting my first child and my husband came home with a little Sony point and shoot for me so I would have something to take pictures with I would end up here? I immediately fell in love with photography and a few years (and cameras~ha ha) later, well....the rest is history. I truly am blessed to do what I love!!
And as for new year's resolutions, well, I am not much about making them, but I do know one thing about the next year I will be much better at and that is blogging!! I promise :) I think I only blogged about a quarter of the sessions I did in 2010 but I will continue to feature those sessions through the winter months to try to catch up. Again, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me capture your heart and soul moments!! I wish you all a very Happy New Year and I look forward to making new memories in 2011 and continuing in the memories of the many clients I've met since beginning this journey. God Bless!!

And now, the beautiful and sweet, Miss Ella :)

In this first photo Ella is wearing a beautiful Tutu and headband from Stone Soup Gifts & Home Accessories, located in Downtown Mt. Pleasant.

Love it when they smile, even better when you are lucky enough to catch it :)


This antique scale was a find at "Treasures" located in Downtown Alma :)

Till next time....

Featured Senior~Jordan~Alma High School {Mid Michigan Senior Photographer}

I met up with Jordan for her senior session back in July. Jordan dances for The Academy of Performing Arts located in Downtown Alma so I was very excited to do her session. I shoot the recitals for APA but I have wanted to do some photos of a dancer at the loft location I use, and Jordan's senior session was the perfect time to do so!! I put together a DVD feature of the dance portion of her senior session. Jordan is such a beautiful dancer and I loved capturing the art of dance through my camera lens. Can't wait to photograph her Senior Solo at next year's recital :)

Remember to turn off MAIN BLOG MUSIC (located at bottom of blog) before viewing video.



Till next time...

Featured Senior~Katie~St.Louis High School {Mid Michigan Senior Photographer}

First off I want to thank everyone who played in our Senior Comment Game!! It was a huge success and lots of fun!! The winners were announced yesterday and I thought this was an appropriate time to feature Katie since she was our big winner :) You can check the fan page for all the awesome seniors who walked away with some cool prizes!!

Katie's session was my last session before having my surgery. I was pretty sick at this time, but thank goodness for adrenaline rushes, because I knew as soon as that camera hit my hands, I'd be good to go and I was!! Even though it was back in September it happened to be the coldest senior session I have had this year, but Katie was a trooper!!. Katie is gorgeous, I could have photographed her all day :)

Thank you for letting me be apart of your senior year Katie, I am so glad I got to meet you. I love meeting all these awesome seniors because although many times we meet for the first time as strangers, I walk away calling all of them friends.

I adore this first one. These true honest moments are the best!!

Congrats again Katie on winning the Senior Comment Game!!

Melissa & Alan ~ Engagement Sneak Peek {Mid Michigan Wedding Photographer}

I recently met up with Melissa and Alan for their engagement session. They wanted to get in a little fall color for their session and thankfully the color held on and we were able to find lots of leaves to play in :) We started out in Downtown Alma and then hit a few other locations. We had lots of fun just hanging out, they are such a sweet couple and I look forward to photographing their Fall 2011 wedding. They will be getting married in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, which also excites me because Mt. Pleasant is another area I love shooting in :)

These first 2 I absolutely LOVE!! They are definitely my faves ;)

This one is so cute :)

I can't tell you how happy it made me to get to this alleyway after the recent events in our downtown. I am SO thankful this building is still standing!!

Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek :) Thank you for letting me apart of this very special time in your lives!!

Till next time...

Historic Downtown Alma ~ Fire 10-14-10

What a sad day for Downtown Alma. There really are no words to describe the feeling of witnessing everything yesterday. Anyone who was there, can tell you it was just a sick feeling. My heart ached as I watched part of our historic downtown be taken by fire. My continued thoughts and prayers go out to all the business owners who lost their businesses! I had a chance to talk with many of them yesterday and shed tears with some too. Although I do not own a storefront in the downtown, my business home is in Alma, and this downtown has been part of many of my photographs. Our community has been through so much lately, but one thing that always gives me hope, is in the face of hard times, it's a community that always pulls together. A huge thank you to all the Firefighters and Officers who worked on site. Please continue to pray for their safety. According to the Gratiot County Herald there were Fire Departments from Alma, Ithaca, Breckenridge, St. Louis and Mt. Pleasant on site helping. It was amazing to see the teamwork as they all pulled together. It was also such a blessing to see all the area downtown businesses doing everything they could rather bringing, drinks, food, etc. Like I said we may be a small town but we are one that pulls together. God Bless you all!!

I couldn't bring myself to pick up my camera too many times. I don't know, I guess I don't have it in me to take pictures in moments like this. But I did take some photos because this downtown means so much to me and my business and this was my way of "feeling" what was happening. I did share these yesterday on facebook and have had many people ask to share them on their personal facebook pages so I thought I'd put them in a more public place where people could access them or look at them.

Please feel free to pass this link on to anyone or you can access the album link from my facebook page.

till next time...