To Everything there is a season…

“And suddenly you know…it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”

Many of you in Haralson County and surrounding areas know who Keith Hardin (Hardin Fine Art Photography) is.  Many of you were quite sad to hear that he was closing his studio portrait business last week. For those of you who didn’t know, you do now! Keith has decided to focus all of his time on school and event photography and also reserve more time for traveling and enjoying the freedom of the open road. Keith has become a great friend to Lonnie and I, and had I known years ago just how great and kind of a person he is, I would have made more effort then to strike up a friendship. This year we all went in together to create Timestamp Photography for school and sports team photos. It is an extremely wonderful opportunity for us and we are so thankful to be working alongside someone so talented and genuine. If you know Keith, you know he loves his community and his school and sports! This will be an exciting year for all of us and we hope to service our community schools with great school portraits.

Everyone knows where Hardin Photography is in downtown Buchanan. It’s kind of become a landmark of sorts. For years and years, anyone who is ANYONE, went to Keith Hardin for their senior portraits, family portraits, and Santa visits. Heck, when we needed family portraits for ourselves, we went to no other than the best- Keith Hardin. Our family portrait from him hangs proudly in our home.

Now let’s go back- High school is where my love of photography began. ( you could read about that in another blog! lol). I bring this up again because I would always drool over Keith’s images. I was always amazed at his talent with studio lighting, and how he crafted his fine art. As years went by and I began to start my photography business I would constantly compare my work to his and see the failures and my downfalls. Even Lonnie remembers all the times I was learning and would say, “If I could only get as good as Keith Hardin!!! Ugh- ”  So to say I idolized him would be an accurate statement.

If you had told me then that I would be joining him in a business- I’d have fainted.

But the story doesn’t end there.  Timestamp Photography will service the school and event photography- but we also have a turn of events for Strawberry Hill Photography!

Although we have lived and worked in Bremen for about 10 years, Lonnie and I both were raised in Buchanan. We are both K-12 HCHS graduates,  We both spent one of those cold days in 5th grade singing Christmas Carols on the square in Buchanan. It’s our “stomping grounds”. Buchanan is where we learned that it’s ok to be yourself, how to treat others with respect, how to be an upstanding member of the community. It’s also where Lonnie proposed to me, where I brought my newborn babies home to, where Lonnie and I had our first house, and it is the birthplace of the infamous “Strawberry Hill” that my paw paw loved so much.

I’d like to announce that SHP is going home.

Studio #7….I’m trying to put into words how this feels- but it’s difficult. The Hardin Building will be the new home of Strawberry Hill Photography. (Did i really just say that?? wow) Never did I ever think that life would take me on this path. Never did I think that I would be moving my studio into the location of someone I have admired for so many years. Although like many of you, I AM sad  in ways that Hardin Fine Art is closing- it’s like the end of an era, and also for me, it’s a foreshadowing of what is to come for my own future. However, I am very happy for Keith- we all want to travel and experience life fully “one day”- and I am so happy that he is able to make this decision and have so many new adventures.

We will begin our move in January and will be fully up and operational by February 1st.

Strawberry Hill Photography will now be located right on the courthouse square at 133 Van Wert St, Buchanan, Ga.  This will ALSO be the home base for our school business, Timestamp Photography.

We are SO very excited for what the new year brings for both businesses! We are hard at work on SHP already- building all new packages and pricing for the class of 2020- we have so many new techniques, ideas, and plans for even better service to our clients! This is a big step forward for SHP, and although we have enjoyed our time in Bremen, there’s just no place like home.

We hope to continue to service ALL of our clients in the surrounding areas- as well as help provide timeless portraits to those who have so graciously entrusted their memories to Keith for all these years.

Movin’ on up,

Karen and Lonnie

SHP