Being an Orange County hotel photographer has its perks... like great views of the ocean, balconies overlooking the pool, and steaming mugs of black coffee enjoyed for hours in downstairs lobby nooks. Someone at Pasea Hotel & Spa had their thinking cap on during COVID, because they came out with the best idea of the summer: rooftop concerts, exclusively for the enjoyment of hotel guests on their balconies. All you need is a room service dessert and a glass of champagne and you have the best box seat in town for LA's up and coming talent. 

Pasea Hotel is a resort and spa located in Orange County's Huntington Beach, California. Their commercial photography needs included social media content, high-resolution images for use in web banners, digital campaigns, emails, and print pieces.

These photos were captured by me and my husband (assistant photographer for these purposes) during a one-night stay. The purpose of the shoot was to document setting and detail images from the perspective of the hotel's clientele. To that end we enjoyed all the amenities the hotel had to offer, from the restaurant to the pool to the many lounges and cafe spaces, as well as a suite. 

"Santa Monica Proper introduces a looser kind of luxury to Santa Monica. Here, along sun-drenched Wilshire Boulevard, within walking distance to the beach, each of the 271 rooms, suites and spaces successfully optimize the city’s abundant ocean breezes and natural light, while the interior design finds inspiration in the organic tones and textures of the local coastline. Santa Monica Proper beckons guests with the only rooftop pool deck on the Westside, a one-of-a-kind setting that includes a Balearic restaurant, bar, and cabanas, where guests are front-row for sunsets over the Pacific; meanwhile, the landmark restaurant, Onda, marks an iconic collaboration between James Beard award-winning chefs Jessica Koslow and Gabriela Cámara." Read more about the incredible details of Santa Monica Proper on their website (and check out more photos below! 

Back in September, I did a six-day mountaineering course on Mount Baker, a 10,781 foot active volcano in Washington's northern Cascades. This might very well have been the coolest thing I did all year. In one week's time, I learned how to strap crampons onto my double-walled mountaineering boots (and walk on a glacier in them), set up a tent on a glacier using snow anchors, tie an alpine butterfly knot, self-arrest with an ice axe, and pee in a Nalgene water bottle. 

Thanks to David and Ari of Alpine Ascents, for taking good care of our crew, making sure we didn't die, and leading us across countless crevasses, to the summit of Mount Baker. 

Staying in a French chateau such as the elegant and historic Château de Marçay is a once in a lifetime experience. With history as a fortress dating back to the eleventh century, the chateau is filled with stone-hewn spiraling staircases and circular rooms built into its fortified walls. But the individually decorated and themed rooms boast inviting furnishings, marshmallow-soft beds, and plush robes. We had a delightful stay at the chateau, enjoying a memorable dinner and a delightful morning at the chateau before continuing on to Paris. 

Qasr Al Sarab by Anantara, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

THE DWARIKA’S HOTEL  |  KATHMANDU, NEPAL  |  APRIL 22-23, 2019 

The Dwarika’s Hotel is a 5-star destination resort in Kathmandu, Nepal. Walk around the Old Baneshwor neighborhood and you would never know such an oasis of culture and beauty exists, but one step inside the sculpted brick walls and you are transported away from the noise and pollution of the streets into a secret garden of tranquility.

The hotel, conceived and founded by Dwarika Das Shrestha in the early 1950s, fulfills a profound dual-purpose: to preserve and celebrate Nepal’s rich cultural and architectural heritage through the vehicle of a world-class hotel experience. In this way, the hotel is a living museum. Each architectural detail is a work of art. 

Lemongrass and flowering wisteria waft on the breeze. Babbling fountains attract sparrows and doves that flap heavenward to roost in the tiled rooftops. Whole flowers float in water-filled cisterns and vines clamber up palm trees. The hotel is constructed around a central pool that is reminiscent of 12th century Malla Dynasty baths, and several buildings arranged around interconnecting courtyards evoke a palatial feel. One might get lost exploring the narrow alleyways and vine-shaded brick pathways and discovering new delights around every corner. Shrines dot the property, bedecked in smoking incense and colorful red and yellow ritual powders. The secret oasis feeling is enhanced by countless private nooks where one might while away the afternoon hours with a cappuccino and a travel companion. And when the afternoon thunderstorm arrives to clear the air and refresh the many flowering vines, the covered veranda and indoor fireplaces offer cozy and dry places to curl up with a book and cashmere blanket. 

Each luxuriously heeled suite includes such amenities that might make your stay more comfortable: a lounge area, soaking tub, coffee and tea bar, desk (complete with pressed paper house stationery for dropping a note in the mail), two sinks, a basket bursting with every necessity a weary traveller might need or have forgotten (toothbrushes, razors, lotions, soaps, slippers, bathrobes, bottled water, and the like), and of course a dreamy four-poster bed bursting with pillows. 

The staff offer world class, personalized hospitality at a moment’s notice. With room service, pool-side delivery, a cozy bar and fine dining options, the hungry guest can certainly find anything to satisfy their hunger. True to the resort tradition, The Dwarika’s Hotel offers a sumptuous breakfast buffet feast. 

The highlight, for me, was the daily 7am yoga practice, offered by the house yoga teacher and Sanskrit master. Situated in a sunny glassed-in studio on the roof, the traditional postural practice was energizing, aligning, and educational to this Western yogi.
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After yoga, then breakfast, we spent most of the morning intermittently splashing in the pool then drying off in the sun before checking out and continuing our journey westward via the Kathmandu airport (a 5-minute taxi ride away).  

In summer 2018, I had the privilege of working for Pepperdine as the assistant director for an international program in which 25 students spent a month living and serving with the Mission at Natuvu Creek in Fiji. If you scroll through the photos below, if it looks like we played a lot of volleyball, it's because we did. If it looks like everywhere you looked was an idyllic island scene, that's because it was. But you'll also see images of work, human connection, learning, studying, worship, beauty, laughter, and helping out any way we could. Check out Pepperdine's international program website for more information about Pepperdine's summer international programs, including Fiji >> 

I love staycations as much as the next girl, so when the stunningly beautiful luxury beach front hotel, Malibu Beach Inn, reached out for photography in exchange for a free stay on a weeknight, it took me about 0.3 seconds to say heck yeah and offer a date. ​