WOW!

2022 was an incredible year!! There’s a lot to celebrate this year, both professionally and personally.

With Heather Palecek Photography, I collaborated with so many of my past clients to create memorable family portraits and met & photographed a bunch of new families too! I loved getting to know my new 2022 families and it feels great to see some of the same faces year after year! We went hiking together, visited college campuses, played in the rain, celebrated milestones, and laughed the whole way through! Some of my favorite locations were in backyards all over the state, and a few of my favorite local parks!

The fine arts side of my photography endeavors thrived in 2022 with a solo exhibition in Vermont and a multitude of exhibitions worldwide. I taught a pinhole photography workshop through the Experimental Photo Festival in Barcelona, Spain, was a featured presenter at Unique Photo’s Camera Show this December and held workshops and demonstrations at The Halide Project in Philadelphia.

My boyfriend and I traveled to Maine this summer on a 9 day road trip to visit Gulf Hagas, Moosehead Lake, Portland (to see Leon Bridges in concert), and Northern Maine to visit family. One of our highlights was sleeping under the milkyway on a blueberry farm near the ocean.

Cabin update… I know you all love hearing about what goes on up there and all my renovations with my dad. In 2022 I drilled a well and have running water! Although the cabin will remain off the grid, having a hand-pump well is an amazing amenity! I’m unsure how I did the last 7 years without it!

I ended the year with BIG NEWS for Heather Palecek Photography – something that will surely take me on new adventures in 2023…

…I moved to Doylestown, PA!! Although my business address will remain based in NJ, spreading out into Central Bucks County will present me with a multitude of new clients and adventures, seeking new locations and experiences. Heather Palecek Photography is about to GROW!

Although all of these things are great – I’m mostly just happy to have you all here, continuing to trust me to create family heirlooms for you. Your support of my business means so incredibly much to me. I’m sincerely thankful for each and every one of you for my continued growth and establishment as a local family & celebration photographer. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing every day if it wasn’t for each of you. Thank You!

Here’s a grouping of the Best of 2022! With a blooper reel at the end! Enjoy!

{Best Memories of 2022}

In 2022 the Hatches celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was an incredible honor to collaborate with them to recreate some of their wedding photos in the exact locations they used in 1972 – Spring Lake, NJ.

Reconnecting with this family after about 6 years and getting to make a truly FUN photograph like this one…. priceless memory!

Any time I receive an email in my inbox with a request for an “Earth Mother” style photo shoot…. you know it’s right up my alley and going to be a great experience! It was nothing less.

This photograph is memorable for me because of the effort and care it took to foster an atmosphere that made these girls comfortable enough in front of my camera to create such a beautiful portrait of them. Some children are quite hesitant of a new person with a camera and take a while to warm up. Making photographs like this is what it’s all about!

In 2022 I became a mom to 10 chickens. It was a resounding YES when this family asked me to get some portraits with their daughter and her backyard chickens. I am becoming a chicken person and feel such a bond with all other chicken people!

This portrait session is one I’ll remember forever because… well… it downpoured! What I love most about my families is how adventurous they are! We knew going into the session that it was going to rain, so they suited up and we made the best of it! Photos came out fantastic – full of puddles and umbrellas.

{Best Photos of 2022}

…and now for the best part!

{THE 2022 BLOOPER REEL}

Thank you all for sharing so many laughs with me this year and for being so comfortable in front of my camera that we got to make some silly photos like these together. Love you all!