HP | Blog

Calico Ghost Town

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:41:00 +0000

Yesterday I met up with Becker, Joe Photo and a couple other SoCal photographers from the [b] school and headed out to Calico Ghost Town to do some shooting.

Here are a couple of the shots I got.

Joe Photo himself

Cool old barber's pole

Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:56:00 +0000

Have a fun and safe Halloween. Here's my little butterfly.

Liv practicing her new scowl.

Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Last weekend J and I took Liv to the Pumpkin Patch. I tried to get some good pictures of Liv, but she was being a little bit of a brat and she wouldn't look at me. I don't blame her though, she has a molar coming. Ouch, I would be grumpy too!

Natalie and Craig Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:29:00 +0000

Sunday J and I shot a wedding in Huntington Beach. Natalie and Craig are such a cool couple and it was so nice to spend the day with them.

Two of my past clients were at this wedding, I love running into previous clients at me weddings.

J caught a great detail shot of Natalie's shoes

The boys at Huntington Beach High School

I shot Mindy & Nick's wedding in July 2006

I shot Lauren and Brian's wedding back in October 2007

J got some killer ring images

Craig's brother lighting up

San Diego Airshow

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:28:00 +0000

I spent the day down in San Diego at the Miramar Airshow with my good friend Mike and his son Harrison. It was a beautiful morning and then got way too hot for me in the afternoon when all the clouds burned off.

I grew up going to airshows but it had been a long time since I had been to one. I had as much fun as I did as a kid. This confirms something very unfortunate - I am still a nerd.

An absolutely beautiful morning

One of the Blue Angels getting ready for a morning fly

P-51 Mustang - WWII fighter

F-18 demonstration flight - he is flying just under the speed of sound

F-22 is the brand new stealth fighter for the Air Force

Mike and Harrison

The Blue Angels put on a great show

Jenn and Zack Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:51:00 +0000

Yesterday was a beautiful day to get married. I went down to Huntington Beach to the Sea Cliff Country Club where Jenn and Zack got married.

They are such a fun and cool couple, I really enjoyed spending the day with them.

The guys....

Zack

Jenn

The girls....

Jenn and Zack opted for a custom guestbook

Liv is 1!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:22:00 +0000

Liv is 1 today! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. She seems so big and so old to me already. Today is going to be a fun day.

Happy Birthday baby girl.

The day Liv was born

Liv somehow knew that today is her day

Julie and Tom Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Saturday I went up to Venice and met up with Julie and Tom. I had such a good time hanging out with these two. They are CRAZY, both of them. Which is why they are so great together.

Check it out:

After a couple of pictures - we finally got kicked out of the sunglass booth

Jennifer & Zack Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Saturday I cruised up to Pasadena and met up with Jennifer & Zack at the Huntington Library. What a cool place! I'd never been there and it was so much bigger than I had imagined.

These guys are so much fun and I had such a great time hanging out with them. They're getting married in September in Huntington Beach - I can't wait.

Teresa & Ray Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:51:00 +0000

I had such a great day yesterday shooting Teresa and Ray's wedding. They are such fun and genuine people and it was such a joy to be part of their day.

Penny of Pennyrella Weddings did an incredible job coordinating the day.

I had Dacia Lamb and Emily Engle come shoot with me - thanks for your help ladies!

One of my favorite moments of the day - Teresa couldn't wait for her bridesmaids to arrive and help her get the dress on.

The ceremony was at St. Mathews Church

The reception was at the brand new Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach

The Rings

A guestbook of images from the engagement session is a great to have your guests tell you how much they love you.

Coldplay Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:35:00 +0000

Last night J and I ventured to the Forum for the Coldplay concert. It's been a long time since I've been there, and I was not impressed. All I have to say is the Forum is nasty. The parking was chaotic, and it took forever to get there once we got off the freeway.

Ok - rant over.

Coldplay was incredible. Those just guys always know how to put on a good show. We saw them at the Bowl a couple of years ago and love the show. This concert was even better.

Towards the end of the concert the band starting running though the crowd and up into the stands. They ended up playing an acoustic version of 'Yellow' about 8 rows in front of us.

Dinner at Chaparosa

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Last night I met up with Dan Dunn for dinner at Chaparosa at The District. Dan is a super cool guy working to take his photography business to the next level and it was nice to talk shop with him for a bit. It’s pretty clear how eager he is to become a better shooter and to understand the photography business a little better. I was reminded of what it was like when I first started.

Thanks for a great dinner Dan!

For those of you that are looking for a little help with your photography business, I would love to have you take me to my (or your) favorite restaurant for a little brain-picking.

The food at Chaparosa was really good, but the experience was strange. When I arrived at the restaurant I was greeted by a very grumpy guy in a chef's outfit. He showed me to my table and then paced back and forth with this angry look on his face. When I finally put the menu down I realized that he was on the front. There were also several paintings of him around the room.

Just a little FYI to business owners....you might want to look like you’re enjoying what you’re doing for a living!

Hanging around the house

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Last week we had painters come to paint the inside of our house. It's so difficult to relax with plastic everywhere and nowhere to sit. So this weekend we just chilled around the house. Liv was happy to be able to roam around again and discovered her new toy box.

Snack time - Liv loves cheese sticks

Liv likes to share her cheese

Liv loves cheese on her face too!

....and in her hair

Liv's new toy box

I love her little bum & pudgy legs

Happy Birthday, America!

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Happy 4th everybody! I hope everyone had a relaxing and safe holiday.
It was so much fun introducing Liv to fireworks. We went to a parking lot in Santa Ana where fireworks are legal, but left early when a couple of guys tried setting off professional fireworks and had them explode on the ground.

Liv sporting her patriotic colors

J and Liv watching the fireworks - Liv loved them!

Craig and Natalie Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Last night Craig and Natalie came over to my neighborhood in Orange. I had such a great time with them. Too great in fact, because we almost got arrested. We were fortunate that the sheriff let us off with just a warning.

You can tell they are totally into each other. I'm really looking forward to the wedding!

You can see the sheriff's car pulling up on the left

Angela and Alejandro Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:58:00 +0000

Last night I went up to Hollywood to shoot Angela and Alejandro's wedding at the Roosevelt Hotel. They are such a cool couple and we were able to get some great shots in some unique locations.

New York vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Last month we went on vacation to New York. My grandmother turned 90, so we flew out early to spend some time in Manhattan and then headed Upstate to spend some time celebrating my grandma's birthday with the rest of my family.

Here are a couple of pictures from New York City.

Liv hanging out in Central Park

The fashion district in SOHO

Brooklyn

Lower Manhattan from the ferry to Ellis Island

Liv helping J figure out what stop to get off the subway

I loved introducing Liv to my grandma. We chose to have Liv's middle name to be after my grandma, and it fits. They are both such warm, loving and stubborn people.

Liv loved playing with her hands

Eleanor Bly

My grandma goofing off for the camera

Dwell on Design Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Today J, Liv and I went to the Dwell on Design Conference at the LA Convention Center. We are huge fans of good modern design and are avid readers of Dwell Magazine. So it was a cool experience to be in a room full of companies that we have been watching grow the last couple of years.

Dwell and a lot of the companies at the conference are very dedicated to green living. It has been a passion of ours for a while now to be responsible participants of the planet and I was so excited to see all these companies coming up with creative ways to leave the earth a greener place.

Teresa & Ray Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:19:00 +0000

Yesterday I spent some time in Long Beach with a super cool couple shooting an engagement session. We started out at the Japanese Gardens at Cal State Long Beach and then headed to downtown.

I am really looking forward to their wedding in July.

Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. J and I celebrated the day by laying low, taking a couple naps and recuperating from 2 weddings this weekend.

Last night on our way to our favorite restaurant, Gabbi's, we stopped in the Orange Circle to take advantage of the beautiful light.

Meghan and Ricky Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:47:00 +0000

Today I shot the second amazing wedding of the weekend. Meghan and Ricky are such an incredible couple and so much fun to be around. There are so many details and images I can't wait to post, but here are a couple shots from today and I will post more up soon....

I love this little spot at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.

I had to pull them away from the reception to take advantage of the perfect light.

I am shooting Jenn and Zack's wedding in September.

Here's Jenn having fun in front of the camera - I can't wait for their engagement session!

Cat & Dan Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:33:00 +0000

Today was a great day. I haven't shot a wedding since January and it feels so good to be back shooting again. I have another wedding again tomorrow.

Cat and Dan's wedding was a simple affair, but so cool. Thanks for letting me be part of your day guys!

Check back for more images from the wedding this week.

Meghan & Rick Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:11:00 +0000

I spent the day yesterday with Meghan and Rick in Frazier Park at the top of the Grapevine. Rick's aunt and uncle were so gracious to let us shoot in and around their house.

What a beautiful and cold day. So much fun!

Their long driveway had so much snow, Rick's uncle needed to give us a lift

Meghan wanted the feel of a J.Crew catalog shoot

The last stop on the way home we went in this huge open field, and then got kicked out. We got some great shots so it was worth it!

The first rule of Fight Club is.....

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:32:00 +0000

Salton Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Kurt Hilmerson) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:40:00 +0000

I met up with a group of photographers from OSP yesterday to do some shooting at the Salton Sea. We started out in the small town of Mecca. I think the town was a little overwhelmed by the 40 of us showing up. We might have almost doubled the population.

These images are from the old North Shore Yacht Club. It was so much fun to step out of the box and do some more fine art photography.

Enjoy.....