The Golden Gate Bridge is such an icon that it’s hard to believe it’s only 75 years old.  My grandparents were alive and living here well into their 20s before it was constructed.  We’ll be cheering the bridge celebratory folks on from afar this weekend as we’re shooting Mike & Taures’ wedding, which we’re so excited for.  In case you’re hanging around looking for some reads on the internet, here’s what caught my attention this week:

*Pretty mixture of cafe lights and streamers on Sacramento Street (I just adore cafe lights and this such a pretty version).
* An interesting discussion of the “and guest” dilemma  on A Practical Wedding (for what it’s worth, I think guests have more fun with a date, especially if most everyone attending is coupled up, but I totally get budgets and number issues & can see how this is a tough call).
* Don’t think it’s a good idea to not clue your photographer into what you want them to shoot for you . . . just saying . . .
* Sooo excited there’s a new James Bond movie due out this October (I just love that 007) – sneak peek at the trailer here.

of my little Domino Magazine giveaway is . . . Rachel Courtney!  Thanks for playing y’all & Rachel, lets get in touch so I can send you the mag.

*Ginger Jars on Classic Bride - did you know those pretty, blue & white vases are called Ginger Jars?  I didn’t either, but I’d love to see these start popping up at weddings and giving the Masons a run for their money.

*Inexpensive, custom made dresses from Heart My Closet – looks like this is an etsy shop and a web store, but if the quality is half as good as these dresses are cute, this looks like quite a deal.  Some really cute dresses for a City Hall wedding in here.

*I forgot how much I like simple letterpress invites, like the ones at Carrot and Stick press — I believe I got an email saying they’re having a sample sale this weekend at their Oakland store.

*Hilarious review of this week’s Mad Men episode by one of my favorite blogs, About Last Weekend – I just crack up every time I read this blog, Jody, the author has the best sense of humor and it’s always an entertaining read.

*Do y’all read the Vows column in the Sunday NYTs?  Fun history of how it came about here.

Hope you have some excitement like this little one this weekend!

I just cannot get over how amazing the camera on the iphone is.  Now, I’m not going to start shooting weddings with it or anything like that, but I love how I always have a camera with me if I have my phone.  ”They” say the best camera is the one you have on you.  I can kill a lot of time taking a little snap and editing away, so I thought I’d share my favorite apps for doing this with y’all.  Drumroll . . .  In no particular order, they are:

-Camera+ - this app is a juiced up version of the camera that comes with iphones, my favorite feature is that it lets you zoom.  I’m not sure that the quality is as good as the app called “camera” that’s preinstalled, as my pictures on this app aren’t always as sharp, but overall it’s a nice little extra.  (In the pic above, starting at the top left, the original image was shot on Camera+.

- VSCO Cam - I use this app for editing pics as it has a lot of nice selections for bumping up color, making color warmer, adding grain, adding fill light, etc.  (Working clockwise in the pic above, the second was edited with VSCO Cam.)

- Photoshop Express - I like this app for basic edits, like exposure and cropping.  Otherwise, I don’t use it too often as I like the options on the other apps better.  I do recommend this app as it’s nice to have a basic toolkit in your wheelhouse of options.

- Instagram - I haven’t made my photo stream public or gotten into the social networking aspects of Instagram, but I do like their filters for a fun, quick edit.  The other apps I’m recommending take a little time to work with as they enable you to customize each shot.  Instagram does the work for you with classic film filters.  (In the pic above, bottom row, far left, edits done on instagram.)

-Pic Frame –  This app lets you make collages (like the picture above) and it also lets you do fun things with a photo, like turn it into a triptych (middle picture, bottom row).  You can play around with a lot of framing options.  It’s a fun way to showcase a series of shots taken in a row.

-Polamatic –  I still love a polaroid camera & this app lets you get the effect of different polaroids and it allows you to write on them (as you would an old polaroid snap).  Had to include this one for the nostalgia factor & it also has some fun filters.  The shot on the bottom row, far right was taken with Polamatic.

- Picfx – this is a neat app that has a bunch of preloaded filters, including some cool bokeh filters.  It kind of makes me sad that classic film effects can be digitally inserted into a shot so easily, but hey, I think that train left the station a long time ago.  It’s still pretty fun.