Seeing the world is incredibly important to me.  Always has been.  Always will be.  As our lives get busier, it seems that the opportunities to travel become fewer and farther between.  But I will always try my hardest to make it a priority for us!   So, mid-November, I decided that if we’re going to do it, we just have to go do it.  We decided on Italy, and I booked plane tickets for three weeks later.  And It.Was.Awesome.  Amazing. Incredible. Wonderful.  Flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-gloriousness!  I quickly booked hotels in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Parma & Bologna using Venere.  And then, before I knew it, we were on a plane!

I’d spent a few days in Rome when I studied abroad in college, but this trip was so much different.  A bit older, a bit wiser, seeing the city on the arm of my love… I couldn’t have asked for more!

As all of my vacations, I shot only film in Italy.  My Contax is super heavy, and a bit of a pain to lug around, but the images that it produces are just so pretty… it was worth it!

Remember how I said my Contax is super heavy?  I have the best husband ever for carrying my bright orange bag around all day.

A few Rome recommendations:

Hotel – Relais Piazza del Popolo I absolutely adore this hotel!  It’s a teeny bed & breakfast, only seven rooms.  The location was perfect, near the Piazza del Popolo and just about a block from the metro. It’s a little bit odd, on the fourth floor of an office type building.  But, it made it incredibly quiet, so there’s a plus to the oddity!  The woman at the front desk was absolutely wonderful, offered great advice and made a killer breakfast every morning.  The rooms were modern, quiet, clean and nicely decorated.  WiFi was great, free, but only accessible from the lobby and first four to five rooms (we just happened to be the last and couldn’t access it from the room.)

Food – We ate so much food in Rome.  Because there were so many places I wanted to try, sometimes we ate two dinners.  A first dinner at one restaurant to include an antipasti, a primi and a bottle of wine.  Then maybe a little walk.  Then a secondi, dolce and a bottle of wine at a second restaurant, followed by crashing into bed complaining about how full we were, only to do it all over again the next day.  Food in Rome is good.  Delicious.  Heavenly.  And worth every single calorie.

Il Posto Accanto – a teeny trattoria owned and operated by an eighty five year old woman who still visits the restaurant to oversee the kitchen nearly every night.  It’s very traditional and one of the most oddly decorated restaurants I’d ever stepped into.  If it hadn’t come highly recommended online, I probably would have walked out.  I’m so glad we didn’t!  We had an amazing meal, a fantastic wine and spent hours talking with the manager.  He sat with us, shared our wine, brought over more wine, more grappa, dessert and gave us some great advice for our drive up to Florence.

Urbana 47 – I’d read about Urbana in either Food & Wine or Bon Appetit.  It’s the head of the Zero Kilometer movement in Rome, everything is locally sourced, super fresh and absolutely incredible.  The kitchen is dropped a bit below the floor of the restaurant and surrounded by glass so that you can see in.  We requested one of the tables that looks over the kitchen and we were able to watch every dish head out.  The food was wonderful! I can’t remember the name of the neighborhood, but it seems to be one of the newer and up-and-coming in Rome.  I wish we’d had time to walk through during the day, the shopping looked amazing!

Bonci Pizzarium – This was a recommendation from Anthony Bourdains’ Layover and it was so tasty!  It’s near Vatican City, so a great lunch stop after visiting St. Peters and the Vatican Museum.  It’s a tiny hole in the wall, standing room only, with some of the most interesting pizza I’ve ever had.  Amazing combinations and interesting toppings.

Sora Lella – This was another Layover recommendation.  We actually didn’t mean to stop here, but passed it as we were walking and decided to stop for a snack.  It turned into a bottle of wine and a meal!  The meatballs are some of the best I’d ever had… so good that I placed a second order.  The owners, brothers I think, were incredibly sweet!   After telling them we saw the episode of Layover (which actually aired the week prior), they brought over a complimentary order of tripe.  It was delicious!

Hassler – For drinks, you must go to the Hassler.  It’s so old school, so European, just one of those places you must go to enjoy a cocktail.

Seriously, where’d it go?  It seems that we were just clinking our glasses to welcome 2011, and it’s already over.  These years are simply moving too quickly.  I would be eternally grateful if it could slow down just a bit, at least enough to catch my breath and maybe smell a rose or two! But there’s something so wonderful about a new year and I am so happy to welcome another.  January is so fresh.  It’s exciting and full of hope.  We’re ready to change our lives, to make ourselves better and our relationships stronger.  To know what you want, and to feel that anything is within your grasp.  It’s a clean slate.  Something about that is so invigorating!

2011, while trying at times, was one of the best years of my life.  I learned a lot about myself, about my husband, about the absolute strength that we hold inside of us, and how strong we can possibly be.   It was an incredible year and I feel blessed by every opportunity it brought my way.

But, I truly believe, to move forward it’s so important to remember the past.  So, while I’m making resolutions and looking forward to an amazing new year, I always like to take a moment and look back.  I like to remember what the year was, where I came from and cherish the memories.  So, a little bit of a glance back at some of my favorite photography moments of 2011.

Happy New Year!   I wish you all the absolutely best!

When I was a kid, my mother always told me that the older you get, the faster time goes.  But as each school day seems to go on and on  and summer vacation can’t come soon enough, I never really believed her.  And then I got older.  And each time I wake up I literally feel like it’s a new week.  It’s always Monday, how can it always be Monday!?

Anyway, I’m feeling a little bit like that with the Buccola family.  Mia is growing up so quickly I can’t even believe it.  She’s got this amazing personality, she’s silly and funny and absolutely lovable.  And now she’s got a little brother!  Max is just a few weeks old, and has absolutely stolen my heart.  He’s so calm, will sleep through nearly anything and with a little bit of coaxing, will give you the most heart melting teeny little smile.

Kelly, Craig, Mia & Max – I adore your little family!  It’s so amazing for me to watch you all grow and change.  Documenting you all through the years is such a blessing for me, and I’m so happy to know you!

Ruthie & Daniel were one of the very first couples to invite me to document their wedding day.  They allowed me to spread my wings and jump head first into this career.  I will eternally be grateful to them for trusting me that day, for becoming such a big part of my little business.

So, you can imagine my absolute joy when I got an email from Ruthie telling me they were pregnant!  Their little boy is set to arrive mid-December and I couldn’t be more excited for the two of them!  They have such a strong and solid relationship, I know they will be the most amazing parents. I was so happy to photograph this new stage in their lives.  This next step is such a big one, and deserves to have it’s own documentation.

Ruthie & Daniel – I am so happy to have followed your journey… It’s such a beautiful story! So many congratulations!

My business really just boils down to me.  Hazelnut Photography, in its simplest form, is me and my camera.  So, I’ve always felt it was incredibly important that every aspect of my brand represented me.  I spent months working out the brand I wanted years ago for my first website.  And for the last few years, it’s served me so well.  But, since the launch of Hazelnut Photography, I’ve changed.  I’ve celebrated birthdays and anniversaries.  We bought a house and we’ve renovated that house.  We adopted a dog.  I’ve built strong relationships and I’ve experienced loss.  My life has given me the opportunity to grow and add layers.  Thus, my approach to photography has changed, my eye has developed and yet, my branding hadn’t moved.  It hadn’t evolved.  It was the same, even though I felt so different.

For the past year I’ve been consumed with this rebranding process.  I wanted every single aspect to represent the future of Hazelnut Photography.  I felt that it needed to grow, and it needed to add layers.  When I look at the new branding, it seems so simple.  A font, a color, a pretty pattern… but it’s so much deeper than that.  I seriously considered how to best represent myself every bit, down to the font choices.  (A FONT!  How do you represent yourself with a font!?)  But, with the help of Mintwich Design, the thoughts I had bouncing around in my head, the sketches I’d made, the pins I’d pinned, the simple idea of what I wanted to represent me has become a reality.  And I couldn’t be more excited!

So, after a full year of thinking, learning and building, it’s here!  The brand new Hazelnut Photography   I hope that this website will constantly evolve, change and grow along with me.  In fact, before it’s even launched there are already plans for the next phase!  So, head over and take a look!

One of my absolute favorite things to do is travel.  It was instilled in me from a very early age that it was important to know about the world, to see it with your own eyes.  I traveled a lot with my grandmother: The Caribbean, London, Paris, Alaska.  She gave me the opportunity to see things that everyone I knew had only read about.  I studied abroad in Greece and traveled through Europe every single opportunity I had.  One of my biggest disappointments is arriving at the Sistine Chapel only to find that it had been closed early that day, and knowing I was boarding a plane early the next morning.  (An Italy trip is in the works as we speak to remedy that situation!)  So, when Chris & I get a string of days when neither of us are working, my first thought is to board a plane.  Unfortunately, those strings are rare and with the purchase of our home three years ago, any time we had went into the house.  We’ve worked incredibly hard for three years and the house is finally at a state of done.  We’ll start again soon, but I am cherishing this time with not a speck of saw dust on a single surface!

Now, I never really understood why people went to sit on a beach until now.  I can sit at home, if I’m going to travel, I generally feel that I should see something, I should experience something.  It’s why we went to Thailand for our honeymoon (and I slept through most of that because I was exhausted!)  I began to understand Hawaii, and perhaps why one would sit on a beach for six days in a row.  And I realized that I needed it.  We needed it.  To just stop, to sit, to spend an entire day without a single plan or agenda.

Ten days before we left, I booked plane tickets and a hotel room in Puerto Vallarta.  I was astonished how easy it was, when the time was right, to leave my house, board a plane and walk off in paradise.  It was absolute perfection.  We sat for two days before we even considered leaving the hotel.  We rode ATVs for a morning, and then spent another two days before we mustered up the strength to see the city.  And then we sat for some more time.   Glorious.

So, these are a few frames from our time at Casa Velas.  I shoot all of my vacations on film, these are from a Contax 645 and a medium format Holga.

We sat a lot.  But mostly we sat at this bar.

I opened the curtains in our room one morning to find this guy staring at me from our backyard.

This was my first time using a Holga. I am not very good at it yet.

To say that I adore Jenn & Mike is an understatement.  They must be two of the sweetest, kindest, creative, adorable & exciting people I’ve ever met.  I could gush all day, but suffice it to say, they are the kinds of people that you want to have as close friends, they kind of people that you strive to emulate, the kind of people that you wish you could shrink and keep in your pocket for always.  They are adorable.

Their engagement session is still one of my favorites, and I knew Jenn would bring the same creativity and spirit to their wedding.  I knew it would be fun and easy and fresh.  I was right.  It was absolutely gorgeous and I am so happy to have played even the smallest of roles!

Jenn & Mike were married at Maravilla Gardens, a perfect nature-y spot for two people that planned their wedding to fall on the weekend of their annual camping trip.  Every touch had a bit of their own personalities: donations to Los Angeles Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firemans’ Fund in lieu of favors, because Mike is a firefighter; red apples in the centerpieces because Jenn is a teacher; and my absolute favorite, Mikes’ grandfathers’ 1952 Chevy that he, his brother and his father meticulously restored.  The truck was the perfect prop for their engagement photos, and definitely made for some of my favorite wedding photos this year.

Jenn & Mike – your wedding was incredible!   That day makes me so happy to be a wedding photographer, to have the opportunity to peak into a couples’ life on such a big day.  You two are so wonderful and I am brimming with happiness for your life together.  I am so thrilled for you both, congratulations!

The wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty this week, one of my favorites!  See the feature here.

It always amazes me how much Southern California has to offer.  After six years year, I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that we have beaches, mountains, fields, oceans, rivers… all of it really, and we have it all within driving distance of my house.  As a photographer, I feel so lucky to have this all at my fingertips! Jana & Jeff were able to introduce me to new places, new settings and a completely new environment that I didn’t really know exists just a bit down the freeway.

Jana & Jeff are definitely outdoorsy.  OK, extremely outdoorsy!   She rides her horse every day.  And they hunt.  And they boat.  And they remind me so much of the people I grew up with!  Jana choose a beautiful location, a place where she rides with her horse, and it couldn’t have been more perfect for their engagement session.  It was a cloudy day, a perfect overcast sky, and we took a long walk through a beautiful field.  We talked and we laughed and I somehow ended up covered in nasty pineconey stickers even though they’d warned me to avoid them at all costs… you’d think I’d never been in a field before!  But we were able to take advantage of some incredible scenery and it was worth every nasty pineconey sticker I wrestled out of my sweater!

Jana & Jeff – It’s so lovely getting to know you!  I am crazy excited for the wedding, just around the corner!  See you soon!

I always encourage couples to choose engagement session locations that represent them.  Places that they like to go, places that play an important part in their relationship, places where they are comfortable.  I think it makes the shoot more unique, more personal and a lot more fun for me!  It always gives me a bit of insight into my couples, really helps me learn about them on another level.

So, when Gabrielle told me they like to eat food, drink wine and spend their days together at the beach, I knew they would be a perfect match for me.  We met up at The Lobster, chatted, laughed, and somewhere in between, we shot their engagement session.  It’s easily ranking up there among some of my favorite engagement sessions because it is so simple, but so full of excitement, love and happiness.  Gabrielle & Eric are beyond adorable together.  And, just by being themselves, made my job so incredibly easy.

Gabrielle & Eric – Thank you for being so great!  Your session was so much fun for me, and I couldn’t be more excited for your wedding.  See you soon!

Holly & Mike are full of adventure.  Last year, for six months, they just traveled.  Like, just left everything and went to see the world.  I could not possibly be more jealous.  And when they’re not running all over the world, they’re making the most of their own backyard: surfing, camping, all the good adventure stuff that most of us mean to do, but end up sitting in front of a computer instead.

They see their marriage as an adventure, always striving to challenge each other to new and exciting adventures.  I think they’ll always keep one another on their toes, always excited, always fresh.  The wedding was just the beginning.  A perfect day to make two families become one.  The weather was incredible, the details meaningful and the laughter bountiful.  The best way I could ever imagine to close out this wedding season for me!

Holly & Mike – Your love of life is absolutely infectious.  I am so happy to have documented this first adventure of your married life, and I can’t wait to see where it takes you.  Congratulations!