St. Michael's Cornerstone Building Adds Some Flash

The Cornerstone retail and office facility has added some flash as of late … with that flash coming in the form of two photographers, snapping away in their new shared studio. Heather Barta of Heather Barta Photography and Angela Healy of Linabell Photography recently converted an office suite into a natural light studio, and they hosted a grand opening last weekend at their new space, which they officially opened in December. A steady stream of visitors came to check out the studio, get their faces painted, decorate Valentine’s Day cookies and sign up for a chance to win photography-related prizes.

 Barta and Healy have a lot in common: they each have two young sons and both began their photography businesses out of their homes in the summer of 2009. They met through a photography web site and hit it off even before realizing they both hailed not only from the same state, but the same small town. Barta and Healy were each dying to move beyond their home studios, Healy said, as it was difficult to do their work with young boys in their homes. Their new studio is set up to accommodate newborns, children and families, whom you are likely to see parading in and out of the building, dressed and accessorized to the nines.

 “Our goal is to capture images that our clients will proudly display as art in their home and not just a photo in a frame that gets replaced by a new one each year,” Barta said.

 The Cornerstone Building is located on the southwest corner of Highway 19 and County Road 35 in downtown St. Michael.