Today Andy turns 30.

For his birthday present, we’ll be visiting Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland at the end of May… that’s the deal we made. When you turn the big 3-0, to lessen the blow of getting older, you get to pick the vacation destination. I can’t believe I’m married to a man in his 30s. Next year, when I join him in the older-than-dirt older-than-29 club, I think I’m going to choose India.

By himself and totally natural looking. How does he do it? In Avila, Spain. (circa 2011)

To pay tribute to the amazing man I married, I want to tie in yesterday’s post about perfect photos to today’s post about him. My husband has heaps of these… mostly because he’s a dashing guy, but also because he has the unique ability to be in a picture all by himself, without any props, and still look great. When you are part of a traveling duo, it’s easy to end up with lots of photos of just one person or the other. In our case, we end up with a bunch of Andy looking terrific and a bunch of me looking… well, a little odd. Maybe not bad exactly, but definitely not natural by any means.

No prop and he still manages to look great! In Santander, Spain. (circa 2011)

If I don’t have a prop, I suddenly can’t figure out what to do with myself. Seriously, do my arms usually just hang there all the time? What are my feet supposed to do and why can’t I remember the normal way to position my fingers? I either attempt a candid, caught-in-the-moment pose, which I’ll usually make Andy retake 3 or 4 times and still, it will translate as weird instead of the intended cute-quirky. Or, my other solo-picture look, is to just stand there looking stiff and awkward. Neither of these methods ever really produce any real winners.

A random camel… that will work just fine as a prop. In Barcelona, Spain. (circa 2011)

Clearly, I’m a person who needs props. The cat is out of the bag and now all my friends will know that, “Let’s get a picture together!” is really just code for, “I want a picture of myself here and I need to use you as my prop.” Sorry everyone! I’ve been using you all along!

Do I point? Is that what I usually do with my hands? In New York. (circa 2011)

My hope is that props will be plentiful on Andy’s birthday trip. It will be the first big trip, since our honeymoon, that Team Shamblin will be doing with just us two. On our last few trips, we’ve been lucky enough to travel with another couple. Not only is this fun because they are a fun couple, but obviously, inviting friends along is way cheaper than hiring a professional photographer to follow you around the world. At the end of our trips, we usually end up with photos of the guys, photos of the girls and lots of couple shots.

But on this trip, with just the two of us, who knows. Maybe I’ll have lots of adorable pub shots of me with a pint of beer, or outdoor shots of me with an umbrella and lots of rain. Andy, on the other hand, will surely come away with great solo photos sans any gimmiky props. But, I suppose, that’s the way it should be. After all, it’s his birthday trip and he deserves to have some amazing photos for making it an amazing 30 years.

Sometimes Andy points too, but here it looks good, not cheesy. In Portland, OR (circa ?)