Kayla Capture: Stories Through Photography
Seneca, Kansas (pop. 1,991) is our featured rural community this week! Their thriving main street, rich history, and community events are just a few of the many great things to love about Seneca. We'll be sharing stories throughout the week from local leaders and business owners who are making an impact here. Today's guest blog post is from photographer Kayla Hulsing of Capture Photography and The Picture Park.
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I am Kayla Capture, though just “Kayla” was given at birth. The second part of that name came about 10 years ago. Always with a love for photography, I was the friend who never left home without her camera. While I was away at college working on a Communication Sciences and Disorders degree to be a speech pathologist, I took a course where a classmate offered his DSLR camera, nicer than any I had, for me to play around with one weekend. That weekend in October 2010 I shot portraits for close family and friends and that’s where Capture really began. I shared my photographs on Facebook and the ball got rolling. At that time, showcasing a hobby/trade on social media was very new and I never realized that I could start a business in this manner but all of a sudden it was happening and the degree I had been working on at Kansas State faded in priority to my true love that would be my career, photography. I did graduate though, with my first studio waiting on Main Street for me at home.
It’s hard to recall exactly what I did for those first few years but I know I shot. A LOT. I saw babies, growing children, seniors, engaged couples, families, and more weddings than I can even count anymore. I moved through a few Main Street buildings and lofts before settling into what I believe will be Capture’s forever home. My biggest dream of my career.
I am proud to now have a bit of an untraditional studio on Main Street Seneca. A 16x24 “shottage” (shed/cottage) that sits behind a green space/garden. I purchased the lot where “The Picture Park” now sits back at that time of my college graduation in May 2012, but due to issues underground unbeknownst to me at time of purchase, the park wasn’t a reality until Summer 2017.
There is nowhere else in the world I would want that little spot. Seneca has made me who I am. I would spend the freedom of my childhood on my bike venturing the blocks of Main Street. Now I walk those same blocks with my clients with a camera around my neck. I feel as if I know every little nook and cranny like the back of my hand. Seneca is my home. Seneca is Capture’s home. No matter where I travel to for work, my launching pad is the most important to me. I believe when you grow up in a small town you are hardwired to find a friend in everyone you meet. The Seneca community genuinely cares for one another and it is my mission to show that love to those in front of my camera.
I am blessed to do what I love every single day, that my favorite hobby is also what helps provide for my little family. The moments I have witnessed behind the lens over the last 10 years have given me some of the highest highs I have ever felt...that’s how I know I am doing what I was born to do.
Capture Photography by Kayla Hulsing:
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The Picture Park:
Find out more about the rural revival happening in Seneca, Kansas here:
EPISODE 88 // LIZ FELDKAMP OF LIZ'S BRIDAL & FORMAL WEAR