Cupid is coming! Valentine's Day is around the corner and what better way to say I love you than with a photography package? You're in luck! Right now I am running a Valentine's Day portrait special -- $75 for a 1-hour photo shoot and a $75 credit (good for 20 digital images or prints a la cart). 

Memories make the perfect Valentine's Day gift! Think a couple's session for you and your honey or a sweet or sensual individual shoot to give as a gift. Book by February 19, 2010 to guarantee this special deal!

And just because I love my customers...

♥ Enter to win a photo shoot from Angela Fairbanks Photography ♥

The winner will receive one portrait shoot for 1-2 people and a full digital package worth $300! To enter, leave a comment telling me why you would love to win! 

Contest ends Friday, February 4, 2011 at midnight. Winner will be announced the following week. 

Alright, it's the new year and it's time to gear back in gear with my posts! I'm way behind on posting a few fabulous photo shoots, but I have an awesome shoot to share with you. I did some save the date photos for Adrianne and Matt in the late fall and they turned out gorgeous! I'll share my save the date design when it's all finalized for printing. In the meantime, enjoy!

Sometimes you stumble on greatness. Late Wednesday I stumbled on Noir Blanc Design's family recipe for pumpkin pie. Delicious! I doubled the recipe, only to realize I only have one pie pan. Didn't want to wait for the first pie so I cut the dough into little circles and made the remaining into mini pumpkin pies. They were a hit! With five pies on the table, these minis were the only dessert to fully disappear because they were so easy to eat and the perfect size for those who ate a little too much. A little dollop of whip and voila! The big pie was so creamy and delicious too! Of course I took photos, as always. Just thought these were too cute not to share.

I have some truly beautiful people and things in my life that inspire me everyday. The more I look at them, the more I feel like one lucky girl.

I was so honored to be the photographer for the 1st annual Run for the Nuns Run/Walk event in memory of Sister Mary Joseph. It was a gorgeous day to be out for a run and wandering around the carnival and silent auction, all in support of the Carmelite Nuns of Salt Lake City. Here are some of the highlights of the day.

I love fall weddings in Utah. The beautiful colors, the stunning mountains, the nice cool air...well we didn't quite have that crisp autumn weather for John and Maygen's late September wedding. It was in the 90s, but with a little fanning of the bride before the ceremony, it was no sweat. Despite the heat, it was a gorgeous day full of friends, family and fall colors up Parley's Canyon.

See their cute engagement shoot in Main Street in Park City here.

Since it's All Saints Day or Dia de los Muertos, it seems the appropriate day to share my photography series. Let me begin by saying I'm not a morbid person. My graveyard series is one of my favorites I have done, perhaps because of the transformation I have gone through personally because of it. Graveyards used to scare me. They were dark, dead places full of the unknown. Through my experience photographing them, I now find them beautiful, peaceful, and inspiring.

It all began in Philadelphia. My brother and I were walking down the street in the rain when we came upon an old graveyard from a battle between Native Americans and American soldiers. I was a bit hesitant to go in at first--I've always been afraid of graveyards. Once inside, there was something about the feeling in there that inspired me. It was so peaceful and full of history. I wanted more. The rest of the trip we visited several others in various states and I officially decided to start a series. Over the next several years I visited dozens of others, appreciating the differences in the headstones, symbols, inscriptions, even the preservation or decay of the stone itself. You can see a culture through the way they honor their dead.   

For me it has been a journey of self-discovery. Death unites humanity. Across cultures, countries, and time we face mortality. Death is black. Death is white. Death is red. Death is the end. Death is the beginning. Death is a cycle. But no matter who you are or what you believe in, it is something everyone in history and everyone in the future will experience. While I am certainly in no hurry to meet them, there is something poetic about this reality. 

When I visit a graveyard it brings me peace. It's as if the souls who dwell within are there to comfort me and give me strength in my life. As I explore, I take in the beauty of names, dates, symbols, and weathering that threaten stones with decay. I now find peace in these places where those who have walked the earth before me lie. Their existence affected the world as it is today and we are their decendants who will affect the world for generations of tomorrow. I honor their life as I am aware and appreciative of every breath I take--still with a chance to make my mark on the world. 

Dona eis requiem. Rest in peace.

For the last several years it has been my birthday tradition to take photos up the canyon. It all started back in college when I had a photography assignment due and my only day to do it was my birthday. Well, up the canyon Nate and I went for photos and it was one of the most amazing birthdays I've had to date. Not only is it a great excuse to get me out doing the thing I love, but there's also something sentimental about documenting each birthday in such a beautiful way.

As I said in my Everyday Inspirations post yesterday (where you'll find a yummy pumpkin bread recipe), one thing I have discovered through this is that October 21 is pretty much the perfect fall day. I've photographed florescent fall colors against a bright blue sky, clouds of fog sitting on mountains of orange, and the first canyon snow dusting the treetops. The season has had long enough to set in, and yet hasn't quite made the jump to Utah's near-winter that happens the rest of fall. Seriously perfect day. Go take a picture. 

Here are the results from today's photo shoot up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was an incredibly beautiful autumn day as was expected. Enjoy!