Happy Holidays! I will be traveling December 21- January 2. I will sporadically be checking e-mail and will answer voicemails when I return. See you in 2012!!

A teaser photo from Jessica and Jakob’s amazing engagement session in Germany!

I will be traveling to Europe thru October 4 for work/vacation. The best way to reach me is via e-mail: mail@kvphotography.com

I had a few weekends off from weddings this summer so I took the chance to take a summer vacation to Sonoma County, California. I have always loved my short visits to this part of the country so I decided to spend a few weeks really exploring the area. I highly recommend Sonoma as a honeymoon spot. If you need recommendations for dining (including the roadside oyster bar I photographed below), beaches, wineries, spas, and lodging let me know! It was such a pleasure compared to Napa, which has become pretty overrun with tourists. So if you are looking for something a little quieter Sonoma is perfect! Here are a couple shots I took on my iphone while on the trip.

Last Turkey post, I promise! The last region of Turkey I visited was Cappadocia. It was some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. The only thing I have seen that I could compare it with was the rock formations in the Grand Canyon. Murat, who managed Hotel Taka Ev where I was staying took me and other guests through guided walks through the valley in Usichar and Goreme. My rooms was carved out of a cave! I experience was magical. If you go, try for June- I’ve heard all the flowers are blooming then which adds an extra element of beauty. All of these photos were shot with my Iphone 4.

Istanbul was unseasonably cold and rainy for most of the time I was there but it really didn’t influence the experience negatively because there was so much to do and see and because the locals were so warm. I’ve traveled a lot of places and I was shocked by the kindness of complete strangers we experienced on a daily basis. The energy in Istanbul reminded me a lot of New York. I would have to rank Istanbul in my top three big cities of all time- if you haven’t been you should go!!

While visiting Turkey is was important to me to visit at least one of it’s many beach towns! I love the beach and I especially love beaches where the surrounding landscape is mountainous like in Croatia, Montenegro, and parts of Greece. Antalya was much like that and it was warm enough to get some sun while we were there as well. All of these photos were shot with my Iphone, for real.

Before this busy wedding season started I wanted to take advantage of my time off to travel. I visited Turkey and spent two weeks in a few different regions of the country. I can’t wait to go back! The first leg of the trip I was in the small town of Selcuk which tourists visit because of it’s proximity to the Greek ruins at Ephesus. After visiting the ruins I traveled around the countryside to some other small towns before heading to Istanbul. Here are some photos I shot along the way. All my trip photos were shot on my Iphone, yes: I’m completely serious.  Isn’t technology grand??

A few weeks ago I shot Tania and Justin’s wedding on Fisher Island in Miami and when they returned home from their honeymoon in the Maldives we scheduled an after wedding portrait shoot. I love getting the chance to do shoots like this because the couple is so much more relaxed after the wedding and I had two hours just to photograph the two of them. That never happens the day of the wedding! The session turned out beautifully. I encourage more couples to do after wedding shoots!

I’m excited to be photographing Jennifer and Stephen’s wedding in Vermont in May but before the wedding I traveled to California for their engagement shoot. We started at their farm in Palo Alto and finished the evening at Half Moon Bay with one of the most dramatic sunsets I have ever seen. It was truly magical.

I’m in California for a few shoots and this was the magical sunset that Jen, Stephen, and I watched at Half Moon Bay last night. More pictures to come!

Over the years I’ve shot a number of weddings in Mexico. All of them very memorable! I realized in the past 9 years I’ve only been to Mexico to shoot never just for a vacation! So I decided to travel around Mexico for the holidays. It has been an enlightening and very relaxing trip. Mexico has been getting a lot of negative press which is really hurting the travel industry here. The upshot of that is that the deals are incredible. With concern to safety I haven’t had any issues here whatsoever. The violence that is being reported on is fairly specific to areas of the country that I avoided. The beaches here are breathtaking and the people I encountered were very sweet. I even enjoyed some cooking lessons (the three cornerstones of my life are photography, travel, and food!) at The Little Mexican Cooking School. I revisited four amazing resorts that I shot weddings at over the years: Grand Velas, Ceiba del Mar, Ana y Jose, and Hotel Azul. Mexico is a great choice for vacation or for a destination wedding. Below are a few travel photos from the last few weeks here.  I’ll be back in New York Friday (I hope!).

Happy Holidays! I will be traveling December 16- January 13.  I will be turning my phone off so please feel free to contact me by e-mail at mail@kvphotography.com

I spent a week in Colombia in October and it was magical! I love traveling so much because it’s like being in your own “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. You never know what crazy thing is going to happen to you next!  From running into the President of Honduras, getting pooped on (twice) by birds, to somehow ending up at an “erotic” themed Halloween party at Andres Carne de Res, a restaurant you must try in Chia (30 minutes outside Bogota) . We had so much amazing food! Behind travel and photography food is my third love. I love trying new things and sampling the food (and drinks!) of the different countries I travel to. If you have a chance to drink Kola Roman, you must. It’s the most delicious soda I’ve ever tasted. I had one with my full fish lunch, served with coconut rice and plantains for a grand total of $5.55.

I loved this lady. She was selling fruit in Cartagena. A few I tried were zapote, guamas, lulo, and guava apples.

Another fruit vendor. The green mango with salt was delicious!

Cocktails at Cafe del Mar watching the sunset. That evening I would have my first taste of Aguardiente: a popular alcohol in Colombia. It tastes somewhat like ouzo, so if you don’t like licorice stay away from Aguardiente. I brought home a bottle! After drinks we were, of course, hungry. So we stopped for street arepas filled with cheese which cost us under a dollar. I could move to Cartagena and eat arepas every single day!

This is me at Cafe del Mar. I have so few photos of myself  so I thought I would post a rare one. Even more rare is that I actually like it!

This is little Miguel. I saw him while walking through the Old Town in Cartagena. We stayed at the Sofitel in old town. Normally I’m not a fan of huge chains but the Sofitel was a stunning, well located property and worth every penny.

Plaza de Coches, Cartagena.

Hat vendor in Cartagena.

My $5.55 lunch in Cartagena.

Cartagena sunset.

Bogota. If you go check out Luna in the Zona T. It’s great for drinks! I had my first lulo martini there. Even though I’m not a huge Botero fan I did enjoy the Botero Museum. Plus at the museum next door there was a huge traveling Man Ray exhibit which was *amazing*. We ate obleas on the street near the Plaza de Simon Bolivar. Obleas are like thin wafers with a filling of your choice inside. I had a traditional Colombian sweet: arequipe which has a caramel flavor.

Ville de Leyva.

Catedral de Sal (Cathedral of Salt) in Zipaquira. This is a photo inside an actual Roman Catholic church built underground in a salt mine. Along with being a tourist attraction people actually worship here.