Sometimes the people you think you know end up surprising you…and not always in a good way. Even with long-time friendships, there can be facets people reveal that can both stun and sadden you.

To be clear, I understand completely that one needs to accept his/her friends as they are,… Read full post »

I'm the mom of a supergirl. Actually let me correct that. I'm the mom of a SuperGirl named, appropriately, SuperZara!

SuperZara is an invincible superhero with a plethora of superpowers. If her SuperZara senses tingle, it tells her that something is awry in her protectorate land, and she is off in… Read full post »

The things kids say. We parents tend to talk about this a lot. Mispronounced words, crazy statements, things that just make you want to wet your pants in uncontrolled laughter when you hear them. You know the drill. Zara has had some fairly humorous examples in the past that I've shared… Read full post »

The Crap

I seem to have a very ridiculous default position. No matter how far I've come, or how many years I've had in therapy, when the world starts falling down around me, my default belief is that I am deserving of punishment. Whatever is happening: health problems, marital difficulty,… Read full post »

I call this diptych, Perspectives. It's the same shot with two different processings. When I look at it, I find my eyes being drawn to one interpretation of these water droplets, then moving to the other. Somber/heartening. Moody/incipient. I cycle back and forth with evocation.

This dipty… Read full post »

I've been practicing studio photography for so long that I'd forgotten what it was like to shoot outdoors. I can't let that happen again!

Here are some lovelies from last Sunday after the rain:

Self portrait in a bubble:

Water droplets:

Water droplet bokah:

… Read full post »

Those of you who have been with this blog for a little while know a few things about me:

• I live my life as an open book
• I become type A and compulsive about just about everything I do
• I'm a staunch empiricist (data driven and proud!)
• I like
… Read full post »

I really thought that I was just bringing back some souvenir mugs. I had no idea that for my husband, one of the mugs would cause his skin to crawl as much as if he had awoken after having fallen asleep on an anthill. Let me explain.

The… Read full post »

Talk about your good surprises. I won, I won! Well, to be fair, it's more like I honorable mentioned!

So what am I blathering about? To my utter shock, the photo that I entered in the Tamron Fall Into Winter 2010 photo contest was selected as emotional favorite, giving me… Read full post »

The new show, Shameless, premiered last night on Showtime. That family has nothing on me! I, too, am extremely shameless. I'm a shameless promoter of my daughter's incredible cuteness and my photographic skills. Together we make magic. Enjoy!

My Ballerina Girl from Liana Clar… Read full post »

It all started because of that damned Barbie. Seriously.

Way back in the early fall, I gave the kidlet a toy catalog to look at. Normally when I did this, the catalog would register as much importance to her as my having given her a wet sock. But alas, turning… Read full post »

I know it's been a minute since I last posted, but I couldn't let the year end without wishing all my friends a happy new year! May 2011 be a year of great joy and love for you and your family.

Happy New Year to All My… Read full post »

I know it's been a long time, but guess what? I'm still here.

You've probably wondered what's been keeping me from updating the blog like I used to. All I can reply is life. Life has been extraordinarily challenging of late.

When my boss quit at the end of September I… Read full post »

Hi Friends,

I know you need more blog writing from me than just intros to my photos, but I'm still hard at work editing client photos at night and trying to keep up with my day job during the sunlight hours. And then there's the spending enough time with the… Read full post »

The fun folks at Love That Shot are having a contest that I just couldn't resist. The goal is to shoot and show your favorite face. Well that was pretty darn easy for me. My favorite face belongs to my absolutely adorable kidlet, Zara. And last night during bathtime, I couldn't resist… Read full post »

Not that kind of weed. An actual weed. The kind you normally pass without a second look.

But stop yourself and look...really look.

But so perfect, so beautiful in its own right.

The symmetry of the globe.

Look again. Such gorgeousness.

So fragile.

Such… Read full post »

Up until recently, I'd not seen a reason to cut Zizi's hair. Her curly tresses were delightful, even though the twice daily combing was not the most fun for either of us. Yet now at 3, when wet her hair reached the top of her butt-butt. That was fine for braids,… Read full post »

Something about South Africa makes me believe in the improbability of blood memory, the concept that our historical roots and connections reside in some spectral remnant within our consciousness, wakening only when we visit places significant to our history...to our story. How else to explain… Read full post »

Cross posted from Eclectic Journey Photography 

I've been on a trip over 8000 miles away from home visiting one of my favorite places, South Africa. Though I've been twice to Cape Town, I had not yet had the pleasure of a stay in Johannesburg.

While there, I took a tour of… Read full post »

Greetings to all my bloggy-friends from lovely Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm sure that some of you were hoping for a photo-blog posting of the sights here, but I'll have to disappoint you. Other than Nelson Mandela Square shot with my iPhone, I haven't even taken out The Precious for any sightseein… Read full post »

Yes, I've been a bit scarce of late...not blogging as much...not knitting...not keeping my peeps up to date with the goings on in Liana-world.

Well, I'm finally ready to reveal the reason why (though it is still a work in progress).

Friends, I give you the next big thing… Read full post »

How do you help a friend who willfully denies the crisis that is her life?

That’s the question I posed to myself last Friday after reaching a point of utter incredulity in my conversation with Nadia (name changed for privacy).

“Are you fucking with me or are you utterly… Read full post »

You might have noticed by now, my dear readers, that I am a bit of a storyteller. I just love recounting the funny, the emotional, the angry, and the evocative tales from my life. Yet there is one area that has been almost completely off limits, and that is the tales… Read full post »

It's time for a photoblog post, and this one requires audience (reader) participation. There is a magazine cover photo contest that I would like to enter a photo of the Zizimonster, but she looked so cute in this recent shoot that I cannot decide which photo to submit. That's where you… Read full post »

I cringe as I type this post. I'm serious. The 47 year old me is looking back at that 27 year old me and thinking, what the hell? Were you on bad drugs or just loopy in the head?

But a promise is a promise. And a long, long… Read full post »