Nicole Haley Photography | Ann Arbor wedding photographer, Nicole Haley, brings a fine art style to Michigan wedding photography

Katie & Adam | East Lansing Engagement Session

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:18:03 +0000

Have you seen spring this year? It seems even more wonderful than I remember. And one of the neat things about spring is that if you add even the tiniest amount of rain, the soft colors are teased out of their shells and brought to vivid life. My point is this: Katie and Adam are awesome for being such good sports about the misty weather during their East Lansing engagement session last week. In my humble opinion, it made for an even better backdrop to celebrate that they would be getting married in exactly one year.

I can’t wait for your big day, you guys!

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Featured: The Knot Michigan

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:55:49 +0000

Hello and happy Monday! I just wanted to let you know Monica and Kelsey’s Michigan wedding at The Henry Ford will be featured in The Knot Michigan’s 2013 Fall/Winter issue. Below are a few rough little scans but you can check it out for real when the issue hits stands very soon.

This was one of the most epic weddings I’ve had the pleasure of capturing (they had two ceremonies!) and I absolutely loved working with Monica and Kelsey (want to do it again, guys?) so I am super honored that their photographs have been included in this publication. It’s also quite a privilege to be featured alongside such great talent like Sweet Pea Floral Design, Sweet Heather Anne and the awesome vendors featured in the dozen remaining featured Michigan weddings. If you’re getting married soon, be sure to check this issue out for some great ideas!

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Allison & Ben | Ann Arbor Portraits – Fifth Anniversary Session

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:04:58 +0000

I told Allison and Ben that more people should do this. Have photographs taken in honor of their fifth anniversary, that is. It seems like a perfect moment in life to capture – you’ve been together for a while, you’ve seen some things together, you’ve done some things together and you’re very excited for what is yet to come. Ben and I used to work together in a past life so it was a great opportunity for us to catch up on all that’s happened in the time that’s passed and it was a big honor for me to see him and Allison on their visit to Ann Arbor as well as to capture this moment for them.

Happy anniversary, you guys! It was so great to see you both!

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Thomas | Portraits – One Year

admin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:15:31 +0000

Thomas is one! It’s been a big year for him and he’s met lots of neat people. He told me he’s really looking forward to his second year and that he has big plans to spend lots of time playing at the beach. Thomas is also excited to learn about various bird calls so he can continue trying to replicate them as he learns to walk.

Cheers to Thomas!

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Farm & Food | Honest Eats Farm at Tilian Farm Development Center – Ann Arbor, Michigan

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:11:57 +0000

In my last Farm & Food post, I mentioned part of this project would be to take a look at where real food comes from and how it looks as it grows. Well, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Honest Eats Farm on one of the most springlike days we’ve seen yet in this part of Michigan in order to witness the beginnings of food that will be delivered as part of farm’s CSA program. I am happy to report that spring seems to exist (even if it’s only inside of the hoop houses at the moment)!

Honest Eats Farm is currently housed at Tilian Farm Development Center, a local farm incubator, where its owner, Bill, graciously showed me around and taught me many things as I admired the growing edibles. While I was there, I was able to taste some deliciously sweet spinach as well as some sunflower greens and pea shoots (which quickly became a favorite). I could go on and on but I’ll just leave you with photographs for now of what things look like on a farm as we neared early spring…and a bit of thanks to Bill for hosting me at the farm.

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Six Years Ago I Started Hiking the Appalachian Trail…

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:51:50 +0000

So today I wanted to share a couple of my favorite thoughts that made the trail possible.

“They need acres not medicine.” - Benton MacKaye, An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning

“The camp community is a sanctuary and a refuge from the scramble of every-day worldly commercial life. It is in essence a retreat from profit. Cooperation replaces antagonism, trust replaces suspicion, emulation replaces competition. An Appalachian trail, with its camps, communities, and spheres of influence along the skyline, should, with reasonably good management, accomplish these achievements.” – Benton MacKaye, An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning

To read more from Benton MacKaye’s proposal to create the Appalachian Trail, visit the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s website.

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Farm & Food | Bending Sickle Community Farm – Stockbridge, Michigan

admin — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:51:13 +0000

Last week I started a project that has been stuck inside of my head for a while now. The photographs below are a little different than what you might be used to seeing here but I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy them in your own way. I’m not yet certain the shape this project will take but if I may borrow the thought of a wise friend who recently announced a project of her own, I am sure that as long as I start somewhere, it will happen the way it should.

I have always been interested in food, nutrition and health but in the last few years it’s become quite a large part of where I draw my inspiration. This project is about where real food comes from, how it looks as it grows, the patient and undeterred people who help bring it to us, the beautiful and simple meals real food can create and how much better it can make us feel. This project is about small farms and the welcoming of visitors to these farms. It’s about the meals created to nourish us and the community these meals create. And it’s about hard work, about living and about appreciating it all as one large system.

Although this idea has been propelled by books like Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan’s Food Rules and Omnivore’s Dilemma, my hope is that it is more of a photographic appreciation and those better with words than me will continue their important writing on the subject. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.

…

For today, here are photographs from my first farm visit. I had the honor of roaming Bending Sickle Community Farm with Meghan who you’ll see pictured below. She was a great and entertaining host and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit both with her and the animals. When I arrived, I was greeted by the happiest dog on the planet and I went on to meet so many other happy animals – just the way it should be! If you’re interested, definitely check out their site or their goods at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. And many thanks to Meghan and Ben for allowing me to visit!

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Lily | Portraits – Newborn

admin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:00:27 +0000

Meet Lily. Lily was born earlier this month and already seems to love playing dress-up and hanging out with her good friend from the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory. What a cute little peanut!

Jessica, Dan and Lily: So nice to meet you all and capture this moment in your lives! Wishing you all the best as Lily grows. Cheers,

nicole

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

Isabella – Portraits | First Birthday

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:35:28 +0000

I can’t believe this little girl is already one! We all got together the morning after her first birthday party to document this moment and it was kind of a neat way to do it. I was able to photograph Isabella as she played with her new toys, read the cards given to her the day before and as she poked at the balloons whose helium had escaped enough to be convenient for a toddler who isn’t much higher than the floor. Great fun!

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK

The New Studio (And Some Parenthetical Notes)

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:24:23 +0000

So, friends. I thought it was about time I share some photographs from my new space. The logistical details are that I’m in the Goodyear Building near the corner of Washington and Main in Ann Arbor. From street level, once you see The Gown Shop, you know you’ve arrived. Head on up to the second floor and you’ll find me … waiting to share some of my favorite things.

In setting up the space, it was important to me that I share some of my favorite Michigan treats like Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate, tea selections from Great Lakes Tea & Spice and coffee from Zingerman’s. Well, the last one is sort of a quasi-favorite since I don’t drink much more than one espresso-sized coffee per week (read: coffee gives me sad caffeine migraines). I also wanted to share other things that make me happy like fresh flowers (the ones here are from Holly at Sweet Pea Floral Design) and some homemade baked goods (though our kitchen is currently torn out so the sweets pictured here are courtesy of Sweetwaters).

I wanted the space to feel relaxed. A warm beverage, baked goods and Kinfolk Magazine. That certainly does it for me. Come visit! (The chocolate alone is worth it.)

EMAIL NICOLE | SEE MORE AT WWW.NICOLEHALEY.COM | STAY UPDATED VIA FACEBOOK