It's always bittersweet to move away from a beautiful place... especially when it involves leaving behind the ocean. But, I am thankful the Brown family chose me to spend some time with them at one of their favorite beaches -- Plum Island -- just a couple of weeks before they packed up to head out. Even if it did mean doing a couple of u-turns and a little bit of pleading for a parking space! Best of luck to this sweet family on their next adventure!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love it when a plan comes together... When the Community Health Foundation at Anna Jaques Hospital had a vision for its ad campaign to raise money for the renovation of all 12 patient rooms in the birth center, they called me to help make that vision come to fruition. (To say I was honored is an understatement!) Trouble is, I was leaving for vacation four days after the phone call and they needed the finished product before I left. Yikes!

But, somehow, I knew I could make it happen. Thanks to the ever-informative, always-comes-through-for-me online forum of the Greater Newburyport Mothers and Families Club, I was able to locate a pregnant couple within hours, schedule a shoot the next evening and edit and hand over my images before embarking on my 24-hour road trip to Florida. (That's a plan that didn't come together quite as nicely, but we'll talk about that another time!)

I absolutely love the finished product and am thrilled to play an ever-so-slight role in helping this tremendous community hospital meet its goal of providing new, more comfortable and aesthestically-pleasing rooms for new mamas and their little ones. While I haven't personally given birth at Anna Jaques (I had my boys in FL before we moved), I have held the tiny hands of many of my friends' newborns during their first hours of life sitting in that hospital and I know it holds a special place in the hearts of many of my clients and friends. 

                This is a photo of the postcard that the Community Health Foundation mailed out featuring my image.

Lucky for me, I also met a fantastic couple that evening. They brought a huge smile to my face when they told me they had planned their evening around meeting up with me, grabbed an early dinner in downtown Newburyport (ahhh, life before kids!) and were so excited for just a "couple" of photos after we finished up the ad shoot.

The couple quickly learned that I don't really have the ability to take a "couple" photos.  Especially when we had such a gorgeous evening. I literally think they wanted me to stop... Oops! 

Thanks you two for helping my plan come together! And thank you to the foundation for trusting me with your project!

It goes without saying that the two boys to the left are my world -- they are the reasons for pretty much everything I do. Thankfully, they have been very understanding (as much as a four- and six-year-old can be) this year as I made a leap back into doing something for me. I officially started Harmon Weston Photography in 2011 after getting settled in Massachusetts, but it really wasn't until 2013 that I had a grasp on what it meant to run a business and help support my family. It has been the hardest and best thing I have ever done and completely humbling to be let into the lives and families of so many of you!

So, in honor of that, I decided to do a run-through of some of my favorite images from this year. I shot more than 100 sessions in 2013, from families to newborns to maternity to high school seniors to corporate and events. My motto has always been -- "I will try anything once," and that applies to my photography as well. I remain quite sure that I am content not shooting weddings, but who knows, that could change in 2014. I love smaller events and have even found -- through working with several local businesses -- a special place for marketing/promotional photography. 

I am so excited to see where the next year will take me and HWP. I have grand plans to attend at least two intensive workshops, continue to add to my gear and stalk as many photography blogs, tutorials, forums, etc. as humanly possible. There are so many talented photographers I have come in contact with in 2013 and I can only hope to continue to learn from and grow with in the coming year! 

Please accept my sincere thanks for trusting HWP this year. I am so thankful for returning clients and can't wait to meet so many of you in the future! 

{DISCLOSURE: these photos are by no means the "best" or most technically sound images I've taken this year, but rather just some of the ones that have grabbed my attention in one way or another -- everyone has their favorites, right?!} Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Ahhh... Florida. St. Petersburg, to be exact. I think it's where I will always feel the most comfortable. While our family of four has now lived in beautiful West Newbury, Mass., for the past three years, Florida will always have my heart. It's where I met my husband, it's where we bought our first house and it's where I gave birth to our two boys. It's where the roads are labeled in a grid pattern rather than where the horses used to roam. (Three years later and I still use my GPS to go almost anywhere!) It's where my parents, as well as some of my best (and lifelong) friends still live. For lack of a better word -- it's home!

In the three years we've been away, we have traveled back home at least twice per year. I feel so fortunate to get to visit my friends and family this often, but it always feels like such a quick trip. We're typically running around trying to make sure we see each and every person, visit our (still) home church at least once and work in some time on the beach. It often leaves us feeling exhausted. This time, however, was a bit different. Rather than run myself ragged, the boys and I (D had to stay behind to work, but joined us on the last few days) bunked with my parents, enjoyed the beach, our friends' pools and boats and just soaked up the sun! Oh, and I worked -- a LOT!

Because our trips had always been on the shorter side, I felt like I was slighting my own family if I stole away to shoot sessions with my friends' families. But this time, I made it a priority. And I enjoyed every minute of it. 

I started with the Pincus family on Saturday morning. I have known Loren (dad) since middle school and we have remained the greatest of friends since. It also helps that he married an amazing girl who I love just as much. Ali has definitely played a part in helping me get acclimated to New England, as she lived in CT and Boston before moving to FL. 

Billy (dad -- again) is my husband's very best friend. To put the two side-by-side, you would never think they're a match. Billy is a practical-thinking engineer, where my husband is a never-stops-talking mutual fund salesman. But they both love music and love to laugh (and have beautiful brunette wives - hehe!). For the five years post-marriage and pre-move to Mass., we lived on the same street as the Tinleys, shared a church family and supported each other through the breaking up of a band (yep, that was me), the births of our children and eventually a very tough good-bye. 

Alison (mom) is one of my very best girlfriends. There are five of us who have known each other since we were about 10 and stayed best friends ever since. The awkwardness of middle school, the awesomeness of high school, the challenges of college, finding jobs and husbands and the sheer joy of becoming moms. We've been through it all and I know I speak for all of us when I say how blessed we feel to have each other in our lives 20+ years later. So, needless to say, I was so happy to finally get to photograph Alison's family. I have known her husband  -- who built that wacky crooked house in their backyard -- since high school too!  

Another one of the Fabulous Five, Sara (mom) is another one of my very best friends. She and Alison are lucky enough to live five minutes down the road from each other... Maybe one of these days, the five of us will take up an entire cul-de-sac with our families! Probably not going to happen, but a girl can dream, right?! I love this girl to pieces, along with her wonderful (very-similar-to-mine) husband and their two super-cute kiddos!

Until next time, St. Petersburg... (Go Rays!!)