Yippity!

It's DONE! My new photography blog went live this week :-)

It was such a long process, starting with who I wanted to be. Really putting down into words and images the photographer that I want to become. Then making that look fantastic (Thanks Anne!) and then making it visible to the rest of the world (Thanks Sarah!)

I am BEYOND thrilled with it all.

www.hazelnutphotography.com/blog

... now, on to the next project!

Decor: Photo Wall in the Pool Room

Remember the smurf blue living room? Well, it has been renamed the pool room and Chris wants to hang chlorine tablets from the ceiling. The color and the rounded walls into the ceiling do feel pretty much like an upside down pool. Kind of like floating at the top and looking down at the bottom. Perhaps we will repaint at some point in the future, but I'm tired of painting. And I don't want to. Chris' father suggested hanging 3ft, 6ft, 12ft signs on the walls. I suggested hanging them upside down. It's kind of funny :-)

(the green in the dining room was not my choice. It will be changed as

soon as I drum up the energy to put my painting clothes on again.)

But we're here for the photo wall! I'm so freakin' excited about this wall. I've wanted a giant wall that I can with as I please FOREVER. But I've just never had the space. Now I have more walls than I know what to do with and I knew exactly what it would be. An entire wall of black and whites. It's absolutely heavenly and I adore it. I think it needs a bit of rearranging and a few more photos, but it's almost there!

eekkkkk! A Photography Feature!

Over at Elizabeth Anne Designs! Go check it out.

You're probably going to be sooo over me blabbering on and on about how amazingly blessed I feel these days. This little thing I started is growing and becoming so big! I am overwhelmed with how supportive every single person in my life has been. Beyond amazing.

Polaroid Camera

How freakin' cool are polaroid cameras!?

My Photography Blog Moved!

Don't worry! It's still there... it's just here now instead :-)

Update your readers!

And because I hate posts without photos... and little snapshot of the beautiful sky last night on my way home from the gym. I kind of miss the clouds and rain and thunderstorms back on the east coast. Only kind of though. When I remember the many afternoons trekking home in the pouring rain, I remember how fantastic seasonless weather can be. Then I remember those cute galoshes I have sitting in the back of my closet getting no play for the last three years... ahhh... memories.

Anyway, sunset. With clouds. Stunning, yes?

(Thank You iPhone!)

Appreciation All Around

Darci and I "met" when I stumbled across her blog and realized that we were using the same damask pattern for our weddings. And I am all about the damask. I was kind of a freak about how they all needed to match and I had stamps custom made so that the invitation would match the runners on the table. Perfectionist freak. But Darci not only understood, she appreciated it!

When I posted about my new photography venture, she was as super excited as I was! (I love that!) So I sent some stuff over and she blogged about lil' ole me!

I'm a Sales Manager. In sales it's all about next month. Doesn't matter what you did this month, or the month before. If you surpassed a goal by 20%, well, that's nice... but what's happening tomorrow. No appreciation here.

It's so amazing to have someone else out there appreciate what you are doing! Thank You Darci! I appreciate you for appreciating me!

Go check her out here!

Photography: The Park

This Sunday was perfection. A little "Lost" in the morning, mimosas and chit chat in the afternoon and a walk through the park as the sun was preparing to rest. Sometimes these days make me feel unproductive. As if I was a lazy bum. What I need to remember is that these are the days to recharge. To relax. To slow down.

MP had inspired me to talk a walk when I got home. I so rarely just got walking through the neighborhood anymore. I decided to grab my camera before sunset and stroll through the park. It's nice to remember nature on such a beautiful day.

Happy Easter!

Photography: It's here!

The flash is here! 2 days early! Chris has extended his work trip for some pleasure, so I'm super excited to have a fabulous new toy to play with until he heads back to the west coast!

Here, the flash still in the box. Using the built in flash...


And now with my beloved on the camera...


Holy. Freakin. Crap.

I knew there would be a difference. But, Holy.Freakin.Crap. Worth every single penny!

And then, a little photo shoot with the boys. These were all taken after midnight, with most of the lights out in the living room.



And then one last shot to play with details.

Organized: Accessories

I wanted to accessorize more. Before the Project I wore my engagement ring and, when I remembered to adorn my neck, my grandmothers' pearls. Sometimes I would switch it up with another necklace or one of my grandmothers' cocktail rings. Gaga had some kick ass jewelry. And she rocked it.

But I wanted to utilize more. A little funky here. A little cleaner here. A little, well, different. I wanted more.

So I started buying stuff. All kinds of stuff.

The problem here lies in the fact that I had no where to put it. I was throwing it in a little pouch on the counter in the bathroom. Too much clutter.


Soooo, I had to go shopping!

I had seen a tree type contraption at Urban Outfitters a few weeks ago. I thought I was just drawn to it because it would have been PERFECT wedding decoration. Perfect! But alas, the wedding was over and I had no need for bronze mini trees.

Until my jewelry disaster area.


Works nicely, no?

And because I'm now obsessed with my buttons, I played.

George Hurrell

Our wedding was very 1940's Hollywood Glam. During the planning/research I fell in love with the work of George Hurrell. He pioneered Hollywood Glam in the 30's and 40's working very closely with the movie studios to create massive starlets. His work is stunning.




The California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica has an exhibit through June of his work. Taking advantage of the city is a big part of my project and we so rarely make it to the westside, this seemed like the perfect excuse to jump on the 405. The exhibit is perfection! I am amazed that we rely so much on technology now to make what this man was able to create with light. I would highly recommend heading down there, strolling the street and stopping by the museum. They force a little tour of the house on you, but the exhibit upstairs is worth it.

I so loved the photographs when I first saw them on the site that I sent Hurrell's work to our photographer Rob Holley, whom I adore! We're currently going through the pile o'photos to make an album now, and I was amazed to think some of our photos could have been up there next to Mr. George's.

Hobby: Photography

Finding, and mastering, a hobby is part of the Jordana Project. I want to have a skill just for fun. Something that is useful. I've always loved photography, but I was a point & shoot kind of girl. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too difficult.

Last year, Chris convinced me that we needed the Nikon D50 and it's been one of the best things to ever happen to me. Our everyday pictures are so much better.

But then there was the engagement shoot. And the boudoir shoot. And the wedding shoot. And suddenly my good pictures look blah.

I want to be better. I've got the eye, but I want to know what all of those buttons on the body of my beautiful camera can actually do. So, I'm going to buy a book and I'm going to get better.

Although, sometimes, I just hit it.

I love this shot. Played with the color a bit in Photoshop, but I adore the juxtaposition of a person standing in traffic. This was one of our first shots in Bangkok, driving from the airport into the city. The traffic there is like nothing I've ever seen before. And I though LA was bad.