Friday Favorites

Hmm... I'm beginning to realize that posting favorites every Friday may be a bit ambitious.  Live and learn, right bloggers?  I set a goal for myself, though, and I'm going to hold true.  This week, allow me to present:

Favorite photographers!  ...Mostly of the wedding variety.

{Okaaaaaay... I took this one.  Shameless plug.}

I love photography.  I've loved it ever since I can remember---even as a kid, I remember trying to catch the best light coming in from the living room window as I attempted to capture my snoring Boston Terrier, Otis, in the foggy lens of a disposable camera.  I got my first digital camera before I left home for college in 2003, and since then I've been a collector of digital moments, filling my computer's hard drive to the brim with memories.  In 2007, I discovered the magical world of photography blogs, and I haven't turned back.

{the mister and me, by Anika London}

We were one of those crazy lucky couples who were able to find photographers for our wedding who were very up-and-coming, and they have since become incredibly successful.  Josh and Ariel at Anika London are not only fantastically cool people, they take rad pictures.  Their talent has always been superb, but it's also been so fun to see their style morph and grow over the years.

 

{I love photographers like Amelia Lyon who think outside the box!}

Always original, and always a stunning use of light (both natural and camera flash): that's what I've come to expect from Amelia Lyon every time I visit her blog.  It's my dream to someday attend one of the Lyons' famous Lyon Shops... I know I would learn so much, and she and her husband seem like such interesting people!

{Caroline's ability to catch the baby's tongue AND the motionless dog at once amazes me}

Caroline Tran has some of the cleanest looking photos I've ever seen.  The colors are always so crisp, the white balance perfection.  Her way of really capturing the emotion behind a moment is so skillful, and I absolutely love her newborn photography.  She does it all---weddings, engagements, family portraits---but her work with fresh little 'uns is my favorite.

Anyway, that should get your started on exploring eye-candy for the next couple hours at least.  I'd just like to put this disclaimer out there: none of these photographers asked me to feature them, I just figure I owe it to them after drooling over their pictures for years.  Enjoy!

Celebrate!

Is there a Dr. D in the house?

Why yes, yes there is.  And let me tell you, J-dog and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Dr. D and I have spent the past few days happily re-acclimating to togetherness, and basking in the glory that is partnership: living and goofing off with your best friend.  It's like the whole paper towel incident never even happened.

We rushed back from the airport Saturday and started off our reunion right with some sweaty, confetti-fied fun at a Girl Talk concert {pictured above}.  It was a different concert experience than I'm used to, since we typically go see full-on bands of the rock or indie variety, but I loved how everyone danced with wild abandon---much different than the more demure head-nodding and slight toe-tapping crowds we've frequented, or even the pseudo-violent mosh pits and crowd surfing of our yesteryear.

Having my husband back home has made me want to celebrate non-stop.  If it weren't for work and classes, I'd be demanding to go on adventures and out to fancy dinners with Dr. D every day!  Unfortunately, this celebratory feeling is currently being put on the back burner until I can wrap up some big papers and work projects.  Boo.

BUT.

I have two other things to celebrate as well.  The first is that I've been promoted at work (doesn't include a pay raise and we'll have to move to a different building this summer, but I'll still take it because it makes me feel appreciated), and the second is that Dr. D brought me home a MacBook Pro that he refurbished while he was in CA.

So, I guess my iPhone + MacBook officially makes me a Mac person now.  I must admit that I'm a little nervous about the learning curve of the new operating system, but I know I'll discover a lot of awesome possibilities with this fun new toy! 

Any pointers for a Mac noob?