Inspiring photo of the week, Week Five

This week's shot is from Ryan Estes, one of the photographers behind the Philadelphia Wedding Project. This is, without a doubt, the best wedding gown shot I have ever seen. It's one of those shots that is pretty standard for wedding photos, but Ryan outdid himself here.



Obviously it's a gorgeous gown in a very pretty spot, but the reflection (on what I assume is a table) really makes it for me. Awesome shot.

My thoughts on office birthday parties

My birthday is on Sunday, which is extremely exciting because I love birthdays. So, today was the day for the celebration of June birthdays at my office. We used to have individual celebrations, but then it got to the point where we were gathering every other day, so now we consolidate. It was very nice - we got the good cupcakes, everyone signed a card...and they sang.

Have you ever heard people sing Happy Birthday to multiple people at the same time? "Happy Birthday, dear JessicaTheresaJoeNicole.....Happy Birthday to you!" just doesn't come out so smoothly. And then we birthday people are sitting there wondering whether we're supposed to sing for the other birthday people, or just sit there smiling stupidly while we're serenaded (consensus seems to be the latter). However, despite the awkward singing, it's not too terribly painful.

And then there is the office next to ours.

I share a wall with the conference room of this other company we share offices with. Which means that I hear their arguments, their laughter, their throat clearing and sneezing, and the SURPRISE!!!!!! that comes along with every birthday celebration.

Yes, every single birthday is a "surprise" party next door.

1. It's not a surprise when you do it for every birthday.

2. You are all over the age of 16, and thus surprise parties should be saved for significant birthdays that end in a "5" or "0" and even then, sparingly.

3. SHUT THE HELL UP I'M TRYING TO WORK OVER HERE.

Moral of the story: Cupcakes and cards are nice. Fake surprises when your walls are thin, not so much.

It's wedding season!

Geoff and I spent the past weekend doing a TON of driving for a friend's wedding in the Hamptons. If you've never driven out there on a summer weekend, I would not recommend it. Of course, it didn't help that the US Open was out on Long Island this weekend as well.

Anyway, aside from the driving and traffic, it was a good weekend. The wedding was really nice and the bride was beautiful.


The newly married couple


Geoff and me at the reception


This is the mansion where lunch was hosted the day after the wedding. Pretty incredible.


The view from the back yard


Their private beach


I need to make some rich friends so I can spend more time in the Hamptons. But next time, I'm taking a helicopter to get there.

Inspiring photo of the week, Week Four

Okay, I'm back on track with my weekly photo, on time this week.

This one comes from an engagement session shot by Sarah Schulte. If you're from the Philly area, this was shot at the Norristown Farm Park, which is a cool little park if you're looking for an alternative to Valley Forge.



The close up ring shot with a faded background is one of my favorites. Now if only I could figure out how to take them myself!

I wish I was this funny

I think I've got a good sense of humor, and from time to time I blurt out something really funny. Or at least my husband tells me I'm funny. Which could have something to do with the fact that he figures it's best for his sex life to laugh at my jokes. Regardless of this fact, there are some people who make me feel extremely dry in comparison to their quick wit.

In addition to all of the photography blogs I read, I have a blog roll of about 100 blogs I read on a regular basis (some for work, some for fun). I may be biased because I know both of them in real life, but two of my favorites are Yellaphant and 20 Nothings.

Bridget, the face behind Yellaphant, talks about the most ridiculous things, like her inner Latina and getting VD from a dumpster. But she makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis.

And Jessie, who writes 20 Nothings (and went to high school with me), is so spot on about what it's like to be a 20 something, particularly if you're single. If you and your friends send around recent posts on TextsFromLastNight and wonder if you know the person who submitted the text, you will love this blog.

No ulterior motive here, just wanted to share some love for some very funny ladies whose blogs are definitely worth checking out. You'll thank me later; your productivity level may not.

The Philadelphia Wedding Project

This. Is. Awesome.



Six of the Philadelphia area's top wedding photographers have teamed up to create Philadelphia Wedding Project. They're going to be selecting one lucky couple to have all six photographers shoot their wedding FOR FREE.

According to the PWP web site, the winners will get:

* Engagement Session
* Boudoir Session
* All Day Wedding Day Coverage
* Custom Designed Album
* Two Parent Albums
* Online Proofing Gallery

The photographers involved are Jenn Childress, Pete Malone, Joy Moody, Ryan Estes, Geoff Horowitz and Sofia Negron.

I am very jealous. I loved my pictures so much, but I can only imagine having six different viewpoints and artistic styles to choose from. Sigh.

Inspiring photo of the week, Week Three

Well, it's only week three and I'm already delinquent on my Friday photo of the week. Way to be a good blogger, Jessica. Anyway, instead of skipping last week, I'm just posting late.

Without further adieu...



© oliver weber | 2004-2009

I absolutely love shots like this of elderly people. It's almost like you can see the years of experience in every wrinkle on their skin. I imagine that this man tells great jokes and stories about growing up in the 30s. This shot is courtesy of Oliver Weber, who I recently discovered. His blog is definitely worth checking out - he takes consistently incredible pictures of really interesting subjects.

NO H8

Excuse me for a minute while I get on my soapbox.

I am passionately in favor of legalizing gay marriage. My reasons are numerous, but what it comes down to for me is this:

Prior to the Supreme Court's ruling in 1967, it was illegal in many states for a black man and a white woman to marry. Today, a vast majority of Americans acknowledge that this was grossly unfair, and a blemish on the history of our country.

Yet today, we are yet again persecuting a group of people by telling them who they can and cannot marry. We were very wrong prior to 1967, so what makes people so sure that they can't be wrong again? Arrogance, that's what.

And if you tell me that race is not chosen but homosexuality is, I will point you to the copious research, including that done on identical twins separated at birth, which suggests otherwise.

And if you tell me that gay marriage will destroy the state of marriage, I will point you to the current divorce rate. I think that we straight people are doing a pretty damn good job of ruining marriages ourselves. Show me how two men or two women being wed will make things worse.

Okay, that's enough preaching for today, but the real reason for this post is that I wanted to point out this awesome campaign called NO H8, which is using the powerful pull of celebrities to protest the passing of Proposition 8 in California. Hopefully, the more voices that are out there talking about this issue, the sooner Americans will come to realize that we are making a mistake that has to be rectified.

Stepping off of my soapbox now, thanks for bearing with me. Back to my regular fluffy posts tomorrow.

Saying goodbye

Last week, I lost my grandmother. She was an amazing, one of a kind woman, and she will be missed by many people. Geoff and I spent the weekend at my parents' house in New Jersey helping to to prepare for services on Sunday. If there is a silver lining in the cloud, few things get more people together than weddings and funerals. It was amazing to see how many people came out to say goodbye to her, and it is always wonderful to have family together, even on occasions like this.

Here are a few pictures taken over the weekend.







And one of Nana at our wedding. I'm so grateful that she was able to be there.

Inspiring photo of the week, Week Two

As I mentioned last week, I follow a lot of photographers. But one in particular is especially near and dear to my heart, as she shot my wedding. Sarah's work is always beautiful, but this shot in particular stands out to me.



It looks like a picture you'd find flipping through old photo albums; I love whatever effects she used. And the reflection in the water is amazing.

And....I'll throw in a shot from our wedding that Sarah took, while I'm at it :)



Not bad, huh?

I'm all fancy now

I decided if I'm going to have this blog, I might as well do it right. So, through Etsy, I discovered Emily of Polka Dot Pixels, who agreed to do some design work for my little blog.


Considering that I'm completely clueless when it comes to design and HTML and all of that other good stuff, Emily was great with giving me suggestions and explaining how to actually install the design. I'm really happy with how everything turned out!

Art Star Craft Bazaar

As promised, here are a few pictures from the Art Star Craft Bazaar that I took over the weekend.


Penn's Landing.


The USS New Jersey (I think).


One of the many displays of handmade jewelry.


Fun t-shirts.


Part of the fountains at Penn's Landing.


Live entertainment.

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays....

Me. After a ridiculously beautiful weekend (high 70s, sunny, breezy), I am beyond depressed to be sitting at my desk with my only view of the outdoors across the room and through the door of another office.

My weekend of solitude was extremely relaxing. I slept late, lounged around, and did whatever I felt like doing, whenever I felt like doing it. I did make it into Philadelphia on Saturday to check out the Art Star Craft Bazaar, which was fun. I'll try to post some pictures tonight that I took there, although I definitely didn't do it justice. The concrete behemoth that is Penn's Landing isn't the most beautiful structure out there, but the view of the water on a nice day makes up for it.

Other than the craft show, I stayed local, did some shopping and spring cleaning, and hung out with Chasey. But I was very happy for Geoff to get home last night from Montreal in one piece. All in all, a good weekend.

And now, it's back to the real world. Is it Friday yet??