First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2010 went down with a bang, but I couldn’t more excited for what 2011 holds!

Secondly, this will be my last post on this blog. Ever….

I’m soooooo thrilled to announce that my new blog is here!!!!! Holla!!!!!!! Be sure to check it out :)

And, in case you were wondering, even though I won’t be posting to this blog anymore, it’s not going anywhere :) This little ole blog holds a lot of memories. Memories I plan on being able to look back on. A small slice of my life, my world, in an online journal, if you will. Thank you so very much to those of you who have followed me this far. I hope you’ll keep following me! And I hope 2011 brings you nothing but laughter and love.

See you on the other side :)

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. I mean, sure I would tell myself I’m going to lose weight this year or I’m going to become more organized this year. All of the usual resolutions. And maybe I would succeed, maybe I wouldn’t. It wasn’t that serious. But I’ve never actually sat down and made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish the following year. Specific things that will make me a better person, and a better photographer.

I think it’s because I was afraid to fail. To transfer my goals, my dreams, my aspirations from my head to a piece of paper would make them real somehow. Tangible. It would also mean risking failure. Losing. Who would I be losing to? I’m not exactly sure. But it would feel like losing. And I hate losing. It’s just not in my nature. So I never made a list of resolutions.

This has been a big year, though. A year full of triumphs. And failures. But through it all, I’ve realized that if I don’t push myself, if I become satisfied with where I am now, my dreams will be just that. Dreams. So this year, I made a list of goals. Because I plan on making my dreams a reality.

Here’s to the end of a great year, the beginning of another, and to following your dreams.

So, as the holidays drew closer and Christmas cards started arriving, I came up with this brilliant idea that, instead of doing a Christmas card, I would make a Christmas video. Yes, a Christmas video. Awesome, right? Then I would email it to family and friends. Because that makes me look really tech savvy. And who doesn’t want to look tech savvy?

I had a vision in my head. All these great ideas. It was going to be very cute and really clever and Christmas-y. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out the way I had planned. It’s more funny than anything. Videography is not as easy as I anticipated. So for any videography veterans out there, please don’t judge. I think I’ll stick to photography. And Christmas cards.

May your Christmas be filled with love, joy, lots of family time, and good food :)

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas from the Uribes!

As I sat on the plane last night to come home, I started thinking about this past year, and everything that has happened. I started thinking about all the things I did right, that I’m proud of, and all the things I want to work on, that I could have done better. One of the things I’m constantly trying to do is better myself as a photographer, and hone in on my style, my brand. So I decided to take a look back at all the pictures I’ve taken this past year, and pick my 25 favorites, and my 25 least favorites. (No, I’m not going to show the 25 least favorites. Those will be in a secret folder on my computer titled DON’T DO THIS AGAIN. Ha.)

But I decided to share my 25 favorites for two reasons. The first is that I hope it will showcase my style, who I am as a photographer, and continue to help me shape my business. And secondly, when I do a review again next year, I’ll see how far I’ve come :)

It wasn’t easy narrowing it down… I had to go through them twice to get it down to 25. (Being indecisive is really a pain sometimes.) But here they are, in no particular order.

From Kellie and Zach’s Wedding:

From Jamie’s Senior Pictures:

From the Kimble’s Family Session:

From Summer and Carl’s Engagement Session:

From Sarah and Jacob’s Anytime Session:

From Alyssa’s Anytime Session:

From the Deeken’s Family Session:

From Natalie and Brenden’s Engagement Session:

From Kara and Zach’s Wedding:

From Erika’s Maternity Session:

From Emily’s Anytime Session:

From the Rodeheaver’s Family Session:

From Suzi and Ryan’s Anytime Session:

From Jessica and Joe’s Wedding:

From the Keen’s Family Session:

From Brittney’s Anytime Session:

From Krystal and Adam’s Engagement Session:

From Lauren and Joey’s Family Session:

From Bree and Jordan’s Engagement Session:

It was a good year. And I can’t wait for what next year holds :)

It’s December. (Obviously). Which means Christmas is around the corner. Which means all I’ve blogged about recently is Santa and pine trees and holiday cheer.

Oops.

Just bear with me for a few more posts as I get it all out of my system. I mean, it only comes once a year…

So yeah. Anyways. Christmas lights! I’m a fan. Big fan. Big enough that I convinced Jake to drive me around to look at all the pretty houses. (Though he secretly enjoys it, too.) And I figured I’d blog my favorites. Because everyone shares my affinity for Christmas, right? Riiiiiiiight. Unfortunately though, pictures don’t quite do the lights justice…

This house goes crazy with lights every year! Love it. They’re right off of a major road in Park City (highway 224 for any locals). This was the best angle I could get.

This one is so bright you can see it on a mountainside from I-80. Gotta love LED’s!

Last but no least, our own humble abode :) Again, the picture does NOT do it justice.

I swear in real life it looks like a giant gingerbread house. My own gingerbread house. Mmmmm. Maybe next time I’ll blog about gingerbread houses….

Rudolph has been doing the whole pull-Santa’s-sleigh-and-save-Christmas thing for quite a while. And he never takes sick days. At least, not that I know of. So this year, Zuka offered to step in.

Rudolph, if you need a replacement, we’ve got you covered.

Akiva is more interested in flirting with Dasher, but she said she could help, too. You know, if it’s necessary.

And Frisky? Well, he’s more of a lap warmer.

Happy Monday!

P.S. In case you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I’m super excited to announce that my blog is getting a HUGE makeover!! It’s basically going to be a brand new blog. You won’t even recognize it. In a good way. So stay tuned for the upgrade!

I love Christmas. I really do. I think I’ve made that pretty clear… lol.

But this year, things are a little different.

Last year, Christmas was the same as it had been every year before.

Not this year.

And if I’m being totally honest, part of me wants to cry. Has cried. Because I’m not one who deals with change all that well. It’s a little hard to swallow that I won’t be waking up at my parents house Christmas morning. That I won’t be making Monkey Bread with my mom. That my ornaments won’t be on their tree.

The other part of me, though, is ridiculously excited. Because I’ll be with Jake. He’ll be the first thing I see Christmas morning. And we’re going to start making our own traditions.

There was one tradition I left out of that post from last Christmas. Every year, my parents gave my brothers and I an ornament in our stocking, so that when the time came for us to move out, we would have ornaments to put on our tree. For some reason, it never really resonated with me that it would come so soon…

But on our honeymoon, Jake and I bought an ornament, to start our own collection. Our own traditions.

I’ve got mixed feelings about Christmas this year. I just have to figure out how to balance them. And I sure hope Santa knows where to find me this year ;)

A Christmas Elf, to be specific. You see, I would fit riiiight in. In case you didn’t know, there are three rules every Christmas Elf lives by. And I could totally conform to these Elfisms…

* Treat every day like Christmas. (Gingerbread houses, the smell of pine, and Wizards in Winter all year round? I’m in.)

* There’s room for everyone on the nice list. (Except the boy who pulled my pigtails in 2nd grade. But other than that…)

* The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear. (I do this regularly. Especially in the shower, the car, and Jake’s ear.)

Plus, me and Will Ferrell? We’d totally kick it in the North Pole. Sadly, though, I am not a Christmas Elf. So I will have to satisfy myself with consuming lots of hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, blaring Christmas music, and putting up so many decorations Mrs. Clause would be proud. Oh, and watch every Christmas movie EVER MADE. Because really, what’s better than Home Alone 2 and a crackling fire on a snowy evening? Maybe Home Alone 2 and brownies. But other than that, not a lot. Here is my current list of good Christmas movies to be watched (in no particular order):

1. Elf (Duh)

2. Home Alone 1 and 2

3. The Santa Clause

4. Christmas Vacation

5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

6. A Christmas Story

7. The Grinch

8. A Charlie Brown Christmas

9. The Polar Express

10. It’s a Wonderful Life

Am I missing any??? 23 days till Christmas! :)

I’m thankful for his heartbeat.

Last night when I crawled into bed, I laid my head on Jake’s chest and listened. Listened to the slow rhythm of his breathing, to the thumping sound his heart made. And as I stared up at the ceiling, listening, I thanked God. Because I surely don’t know what I did to deserve all the wonderful things in my life. Like a roof over my head. Like my truly wonderful friends and family and the awesome feast we will have tomorrow. Like Candycane Cocoa and Wednesdays.

Like his heartbeat.

Happy Thanksgiving.

(Whether yours is warm and sunny, or cold and white.)

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a Flash Workshop put on by the awesome Dustin Izatt. I recently bought a new little flash set up that I plan on using for night time receptions and weddings, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to know my new equipment inside and out :) I’m so glad I was able to be a part of this workshop! I got to meet some other awesome Utah photographers, including Brittany Cascio and Deone Thornton, and I learned a few new tricks of the trade :)

In all honestly, though, the number one reason I’m glad I attended this workshop is because it reaffirmed my love of natural light. I think it’s safe to say that I have been and always will be primarily a natural light photographer. Not to say that flash doesn’t have it’s place! There are some instances when flash is a must. Plus, some of my favorite photographers use flash, and the art of flash can create some stunning images. It’s just, for me personally, natural light is definitely my cup of tea :) So I will stick to using flash only when necessary.

But, like I said, I had a great time, and still got some fun images out of the evening :) Here are a few of my favorites. A big thank you to the wonderful couples that modeled for us!

Love this. So fierce.

The next two are quite possibly my favorites.

But I’ll end on these, because there is something about this set that I absolutely adore.

Happy Monday!