Victor Sizemore's Blog

The first shoot in Chicago went great! This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Brett and Steve. Their wonderful planner hired me (Brett’s Mom), through the recommendation of Jaime Snyder at the Montage. The wedding should be awesome so check back for those in November! Anyway, we started the day with lunch at the yacht club off of Monroe and Lake Shore Drive. Steve sails almost every weekend and competes in Regatta races throughout the summer. For this particular engagement shoot we tried to avoid some of the major photo locations like Millennium Park and the Observatory skyline view. Their personality called for a little more urban atmosphere. We hit the Fulton meat packing district, Bucktown, and an “L” stop. Check it out…

I couldn’t resist shooting this after the guys shouted from down the street, “I’m here, I’m here…” He’s there, there he is!

I have to admit I was a little worried when I woke up Saturday morning to the pouring rain. We were scheduled at the Hyatt on the Light House Lawn. As most know, Huntington Beach can be tough sometimes with weather conditions; hazing, foggy, or just plain dirty! But by the time I got to the hotel the rain had broke and the sun was shinny brightly! You could even see Catalina Island. The day after a good rain is the best time to shooting in Southern California. The sky is clean and there are great big clouds. Check out some of the great shots at sunset, enjoy…

Notice the subtle reflection in the door, I like that one…

I’m headed to Chicago early on Tuesday morning for three days and three shoots; two engagement and one bridal. So check out some of the posts later this week. Then next week it’s back to the album grind! I’ll be like an album designing machine the first three weeks of October. I might take one day off for my Birthday on the 10th.

I took this photo on my last trip, after my sister’s wedding in Madison, it was also the evening Apple released the iPhone.

I love Hawaii weather! It is different on every side of each island and it can change very quickly. There a bunch of micro climates in Hawaii that make it great for shooting and dramatic lighting! We took off on the Pali Hwy to the Kailua side. Going through the mountains the vegetation changed just above Honolulu. We didn’t have much time so we only made two stops in the mountains and two on the beach before circling back around through Diamond Head. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Here’s an album I designed a little bit ago and the wedding was last November. Check out the link by clicking on the image.

Our time in Hawaii is quickly coming to an end! Sunday’s wedding was a blast, we shot in almost every lighting situation possible, even the rain. We were slightly pushed for time but made some up with the ceremony being half as long as planned. The bride and groom are super chill, after all it’s Hawaii! I shot Christy’s sister’s wedding (Cari) last October. Since, her and Morgan have moved to South Africa for missions, I can’t wait to visit and do a bit of Safari shooting. ***My friends Alex and Julie from Elysium were also on the destination scene filming a secret project!

As promised….

We had a great day yesterday experiencing the famous North Shore of Oahu. First we headed straight for the tasty “Shrimp Shacks” for lunch. I was really craving an Acai Bowl after Stefan (This weekends groom) turned me on to them this week. On to get off subject be an Acai bowl is the new health treat in Hawaii. The Acai [asaˈi] berry bares from the Acai Palm found in South American flood plains. The dish is prepared by blending apple juice, Acai berries, maybe yogurt(?), then mixed with granola, finally topped with fresh chunks of strawberries and bananas, WOW! So yummy! I’ll promise to blog a photo of an Acai bowl this week.

Back to the North Shore… After the Shrimp Shack we went to “Sharks Cove”, proper name: Pupukea Beach Park. This place was great for the kids, it had giant tide pools about 1-2 feet deep for them to snorkel. They saw all kinds of marine life, Elijah even caught a crab. Evie found some nice sea glass too. Mikey and I when snorkeling in the main cove which was really great.

Next we went to Matsumoto’s Grocery for “Shave Ice” (See Previous Post about Shave Ice) Then we backtracked slightly to a beach trying to catch a glimpse of a sea turtle for the kids. We sure lucked out! Stay tuned for photos from Sunday’s wedding.

Sunday before we left for Hawaii my buddy Jonathan Michael and I shot James and Dunia’s “Day After” session downtown. We didn’t have much time due to a late start, traffic from Malibu, and half the streets blocked for the marathon; however, I still think we managed to get some great shots! These guys just had killer style! Dunia’s dress was amazing, she even made custom alterations for the vintage style she wanted and then wore her great Auntie’s shoes to complete look. James bought an authentic Japanese Kimono that he gave to Dunia on the wedding day. Below are some of my favorites and then you can LINK HERE to view more random photos from the session.

Probably my favorite from the shoot, what do you think? I love the composition with the bed and the chase lounge and the look on James’ face is great!

After a crazy summer the family and I decided to take a small vacation mixed with a little business of course. We spent our first evening in Oahu at our condo’s pool. This place is sweet! The condo is in Ko Olina and I can give anyone the ladies information if they ever want to rental a nice place for vacation. We have a wedding on Sunday and I have had a creative burst since being on the island. I have designed two albums and on my way to the third! Below is a shot of a few of the kids in the pool and hot tub! Stay tuned all week with a post everyday and then a killer “Day After” session from Sunday!