liana's bananas

Tue - August 14, 2007

Bookmark the NEW Blogs :)

Hello friends ...

I know many have done so already, but here are the links to the TWO NEW BLOGS now that the domains are set...

Liana's Bananas Photo Blog (just like it was before but new and improved layout/design!)
www.LianasBananas.com

BananasEDU Blog (for photographers/small business owners)
www.BananasEDU.blogspot.com

You can click on "RSS" on the top if you want to plug these into Google Reader or another RSS reader so you know when they're updated. See you at the new blogs! Cherio :)

Posted at 07:33 AM Read More

Wed - July 18, 2007

NEW BLOG!!!!

Headed out the door to GREECE where I'll be shooting & Island-hoppin' the rest of the month... but not before letting ya all know where the NEW BLOG can be found as we're transitioning to it slowly....

*** CLICK HERE to access the NEW liana's bananas!!! ****

I'd tell ya all to bookmark/RSS it but it will take a few days for the link to show up correctly as www.lianasbananas.com as they change the DNS server. We'll keep you posted though and check out what's new via the link above :)

Cheers!!

Posted at 02:19 PM Read More

Thu - July 12, 2007

BBC TN SupahModels Slideshow :)

Check em out!!

Posted at 12:38 PM Read More

Our Little Supah Model in TN

We're doing a fun Adobe Lightroom demo now up here at the Nudd's studio in TN for the BBC - look how adorable Graycen is!! She's a natural supahmodel (I think G$ & J$ are training her just riiiiiight!)

Posted at 12:07 PM Read More

Wed - July 11, 2007

Bridget & Wei's Aruba Wedding Slideshow

We're on a roll with the slideshows!

I have to give Bridget & Wei mega-props for picking Aruba for their wedding - it was "paradise" as my driver called it - NEVER seems to rain and there's always a breeze to keep the hot air cooled down. Every detail was gorgeous from the romantic flowers to the location and blue and brown clad cake. We had some fun shooting pics before the wedding of both of them and took a few portraits after the ceremony as well to get a few beach shots in. I saw something never seen before - what I call a "direct sunset"... the sun went down directly across from us on the ocean (instead of off to one side as it usually does). They were the most gracious hosts and we enjoyed a five-course meal under two jumbo tiki-huts right on the beach. Delicious! I've got to post some of the details when I get home this week because they did really fun stuff with the tables. Until then... enjoy the slideshow...

Congrats Bridget & Wei!!!

Posted at 11:03 PM Read More

Sarah & Derek's Wedding Slideshow

Check out more of Sarah & Derek's super fun wedding at the Georgia Botanical gardens!!

Posted at 11:00 PM Read More

Back from Aruba - in TN this Week for the BBC :)

Phew - it's been quite a busy few days!

Bridget & Wei's wedding in Aruba was AMAZING and the design team is quick at work processing everything so I hope to get some pics up soon :) In the meantime checkout a small pic I have of their ceremony & reception site way down on the beach ... gorgeous!

I'm in Chattanooga, TN this week as Garrett and Joy Nudd are so graciously hosting my Business Boot Camp here. The group here is awesome and I've got so much to blog about but we're about to start a marathon of a day so I'll be back later with more...

Cherio!!

Posted at 09:23 AM Read More

Tue - July 3, 2007

Lucky Number 7-7-7

Today is my last "work day in the office" this week before we close for the 4th of July and then I leave Thursday AM as I'll be shooting Bridget and Wei's wedding in Aruba on lucky 7-7-7 :)

According to this article on Yahoo , there may be a WORLD RECORD this Saturday for the most weddings ever:

" The Knot.com a wedding planning site, says that on any given Saturday in July (the most popular month for weddings), there are typically 12,000 weddings taking place. But on 7-7-07, that number has more than tripled - to 38,000. That could possibly make this the most popular wedding day ever."

Here are some of their ePics that we shot in early May :)

Posted at 04:51 PM Read More

Mon - July 2, 2007

Sarah & Derek in Athens

This weekend, Sara and I headed up to Athens, GA to the Georgia Botanical Gardens for Sarah & Derek's wedding Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day out (HOT hot HOT) and Gardenia Floral did another awesome job with the decor & unique arrangements. The flower girls were quite camera-friendly and there was no lack of fun dancing at the reception so we'll get a slideshow hooked up soon for more.

For now, few of my favorites from the day:

CONGRATS you two!!

Posted at 12:04 PM Read More

Thu - June 28, 2007

Internet-less Islands

Yeah! The internet has been restored to Freeport/Lucaya!

It's might not be so bad if it wasn't rainy out today ;)

This is the 2nd time in the past three weeks when the internet went out for a day or two straight on the Island were I was working - first in Negril, Jamaica and now in the Bahamas.

It's INSANE how much I depend on it to work / communicate.

Well I'm headed to the airport in about an hour so I'll save blogging more until I get home.....

Posted at 12:40 PM Read More

Tue - June 26, 2007

Rainbows and Luck

As I walked out of the cool dark lobby of the yellow Westin building, the wind caught the tails of my painters dress... threatening to beg the same response I got from Christina two weeks ago in Jamaica. I hobbled along to the beach bar where I knew I could indulge in exactly what I was looking for: beach fare with a beach view and enough shade to finish up my work oceanside on my Macbook.

It was like the heavens were smiling down on me today: sleeping until 10:30am in a heavenly bed, unseasonably perfect weather, finding a fresh juice stand for mango, lime, and pineapple concoctions at lunch, and at dinner - a perfect rainbow in perfect view arching over the beach and ocean!

Naturally, as any photographer in their right mind would do, I reached into the pockets of my painters dress.. grasping for my tiny point & shoot camera. Nothing. Nada. The whole wallet gone. Did the wind take ahold of it as I walked out of the door? Had I put it in my bag instead? Nope! Perhaps it was left in the room? Uh oh. The weren't letting people into the hotel without showing a key. I contemplated canceling my order to go find my wallet and keys... but opted to sip a margarita and enjoy the view instead while I waited for a tasty grouper sandwich to arrive. Besides, I had my Macbook handy so I could at least get a bad image of such a beautiful site!

And as the heavens would have it... one trip to the lobby later.... I found my wallet safe and sound in the room where it had missed falling into my bag... camera still there.

Posted at 11:13 PM Read More

Mon - June 25, 2007

In the Bahamas this week for Chicks that Click!!

Check out my HEAVENLY BED!!!

I *heart* the Westin so I was super excited upon check in today to the Chicks that Click convention here on Grand Bahama Island ....that the folks at PPA put me up here :) Yeah!

I'm super excited for this trip because I got to pack extra extra light (no camera along except my mini-point-and-shoot) and I'm here with 100s of other female photographers from all over the place! It was a huge honor to be asked to speak at this and I'm excited to get to meet a lot of new faces. The pool / beach looks awesome here too... off to go check that out soon!

PS... I'll be back in the office Friday AM but the gals will be around this week if you need anything feel free to email any of us :)

Posted at 01:51 PM Read More

Fri - June 22, 2007

Disconnect to Connect!

I remembered back to right before I went to Brazil when everything broke. ... and how, weeks after returning , my Treo 650 was still on the fritz. And I didn't care one bit. I'd broken free from "the addiction."

The addiction I'm talking about (*see #9 below) is one that is so annoying I'd rather not be around people that have it (yes, I used to be one of them and may still be...). I'm talking about when someone is more concerned with what's going on online, what email might be coming in, and who might have called in the last five minutes that they seem to have a twitch... constantly eyeing, fiddling with, checking their mobile device. The person makes it very clear that those things are more important than being where they are at present. The addiction had become an epidemic within the walls of corporate america especially... I can remember sitting in meetings a year ago... wondering why we even bother because no one was really "fully present."

Well, I'm happy to say that I've removed the email and internet access from my Treo ... so now the Treo is a phone at best... if you can call a piece of plastic that turns off every 5 seconds and breaks in the middle of calls a "phone." It's been a much more fruitful, productive, and happy 1/2 year without the constant annoyance of email reminding me how much I have to do. I received this fun list today from the people at PINK magazine who I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago when they were just starting the magazine. Enjoy! (And see if we can abide... )

Posted at 09:55 AM Read More

Wed - June 20, 2007

Christina

Bet you can't guess what happened to me to elicit a laugh like this from Christina!??

Posted at 11:21 PM Read More

Tue - June 19, 2007

Recipes by Request!

After many requests... it's time to go PUBLIC with a recent favorite recipe : Horseradish Crusted Salmon!!

It's SUPER easy to make so even if you "don't cook" you can surprise friends and family with this tasty treat. Not a fish-lover? Try it on steak or chicken - it's just as good!

1. Pre-Heat oven to 425-degrees
2. Place fish (or steak/chicken) in a baking dish with foil in the bottom for easy clean-up

3. Mix the following ingredients together to create the sauce then pour over fish to coat :)

2 cups mayo
1/4 cup white wine
1/2-3/4 cup capers (they come in a jar near the pickles... strain the juice before pouring in!)
1/2-3/4 cup horseradish (not horseradish sauce! Usually you can find regular horseradish near the butter/cheese - it's refrigerated.)
1 cup parmesan cheese (to thicken)

4. Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until cooked through (may differ for steak or chicken). Mmmmmm mmmm good!

If you want to be a Super Chef... get a bag of those "steam in the bag" green beans, cook a little less than it says to, then saute in a pan coated with butter. Add a pinch of pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, and sugar to make them SUPER yummy and slightly browned on a few ;)

I'd love to share the salad recipe from that dinner too but need to get it from my friend first ;)
Let me know how it goes!!!

Cheers!

Posted at 05:05 PM Read More

Mon - June 18, 2007

Cure for the common cold

Take a young, mildly-allergic, healthy young 20-something.... mix in work overload, starting new businesses, moving, living in state where pollen count exceeds previous world records and forest fires leave the air thick with smoke, an average of 4 hours of sleep per night, email overload, attempt at having a life, an average of eight flights per month, and apparent immunity to antibiotics.... and you get how I've felt for the past year.

Most days I don't notice that I have very little sense of smell due to allergies and the above keeping me from being 100% healthy, but there have been a few times this past year where confined-to-bed-with-a-flu is the case or somewhere in-between. A week ago today the familiar swallowing-glass feeling snuck up on me just as we were seeing the light of day on the to-do-list. I spent three days in bed with a nasty fever, hoping it would pass before leaving the country. Jamaican heat did not help....but I'm happy to be taking previous "cure for the common cold" recommendations to heart and focus on getting back to 100% this week.

My momma always made this A-MA-ZING turkey/chicken noodle soup any time we had a big thanksgiving or holiday dinner.. apparently she ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two weeks and it finally got rid of a cold she'd had for four months! After much slaving in the kitchen, all in good company of course, I ended up with a three-week supply of the tasty soup. Check it out! (Yes, that's only HALF of the batch shown there!!)

The other natural-home-remedy that we swear by is one recommended to me by a former boss of mine. She called me into her office one day after hearing my angst, sniffling, and coughing.... and revealed the only remedy that has cured her daughter from suffering from sever allergies. It's far from pleasant, seldom practiced in the US, but quite common overseas. It's pretty darn disgusting actually. And it HURTS! As my friend Alecia so fondly puts it (it cured her cold when she and many of my good photographer friends came to stay with me back in the days).... "it's like snorting battery acid!" I'll spare any further description here but CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT THE CURE . Ewwwwe!

Posted at 10:36 PM Read More

Sat - June 16, 2007

We're at the Ritz today :) in Montego Bay, Jamaica

This morning we made the trip from Negril where the wedding was back to Montego Bay, Jamaica where we'll be shacking up at the Ritz Carlton here before leaving tomorrow.

This place is SUPER swanky... kind of reminds me of a tropical version of the Ritz at Lake Oconee in GA... the hallways are tropical pink, blue, and yellow... LOVE it!

It's so hot here that when we came in for a break from the heat our room window was all fogged up!!

I think tonight we're hitting up the "Jerk Shack." According to our driver, it's so good people can't help but dance. We'll see....

Posted at 04:50 PM Read More

Christina & Shane in Negril, Jamaica

We lost our internet connection at the resort where the wedding was yesterday in Negril.... no fear though... I'll share a few pics of them here now :)

Their ceremony was at 2pm in the afternoon so it was BLAZING hot and I got a nice temporary burn from running around afterwards shooting pics but we had a blast.

Christina wasn't satisfied with any of the many dresses she tried on, so her dress is a one-of-a-kind-custom-made-for her! It was so suiting and perfect and she looked so gorgeous!! She had a stunning pair of Kate Spade shoes to finish the look while Shane and the guys opted for the destination wedding must - flip-flops!!

More pics and details to come of course ... I have ALL of next week to catch up on blogging - yeah!!

Posted at 03:52 PM Read More

Fri - June 15, 2007

You MIGHT just need to be a rocket scientist....

... to use this shower!!

WOWSER - this thing is AWESOME!! No less than Eight ... nope, four or five is not enough... only EIGHT will do in this Jamaican resort shower!

I have to admit it was my first multi-shower-head experience and I'm glad I had no less than eight shower-heads to spoil me rotten from here on out. Now I know why I've waited so long to design the bathroom that we're putting in the basement ;)

Okay... I'd blog more but I think I'm going to go take another shower instead... it's HAUT down here in Negril!!

Posted at 11:25 AM Read More

Thu - June 14, 2007

Back in Montego Bay, Jamaica

Hello Mon! We're back in Jamaica - check this totally goofy pic of me and my friend Beth who is in the wedding tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have an internet connection at the resort where we are staying :)

Posted at 06:29 PM Read More

Tue - June 12, 2007

It's a Miracle!!

It's a MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!

No really - I can't remember the last time I was ALMOST this close to the bottom of my inbox! When I wasn't fully self-employed I made it a mandatory rule that my inbox have less than 5 emails in it at the end of each workday. That is nearly impossible these days.

You see, how it works is that things stay flagged in my inbox until I can reply or complete the task. Some tasks get moved to the to-do list if they require more than a few steps to complete. The to-do list is still quite long but getting better every day.

If you haven't heard from me yet, I've gotten quite a bit of bounces back lately so feel free to resend (only if important of course).

I keep emails meticulously organized so they are easy to find - on one of my laptops - and everything also goes to the main office computer and is backed up there (but not organized like this). It sure makes life easy when things are well organized.

Posted at 07:23 PM Read More

Sun - June 10, 2007

Banana's Little Helper

Yesterday, Sara and I drove to Virginia and back to shoot Hannah & Steve's wedding and Hannah's niece was SUCH a doll and was a great little helper throughout the day.

First, she entertained us while we were waiting for everyone to gather for the group photos by running up and down the aisle with a banana in her mouth.

At the reception, she came over right away to help us pick some cute photos of her to put in a slideshow at the reception. (Sara being the PJ gal she snapped the ones below.)

She must have a future in wedding photography because she even resumed the classic editing-on-the-floor pose

How adorable is she !??

Okay... I'm pretty tired today from yesterday and told myself I should nap and kick back instead of work so back to R&R....

Posted at 07:59 PM Read More

Sat - June 9, 2007

Shadows

It is eaaarrrly and we're about to hit the road to head up to Virginia where we'll be shooting a wedding this afternoon.

Here's another shot of Carmen that I'm really liking:

Posted at 07:10 AM Read More

Fri - June 8, 2007

Stunning!

*** CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW ***

Posted at 06:40 PM Read More

Thu - June 7, 2007

Amanda & Justin's Wedding Albums

Remember that crazy wedding weekend I had last month? In the calm of all of it was Amanda & Justin's absolutely, positively, drop-dead-gorgeous, classy, elegant wedding. The reception was held at the fabulous Biltmore Ballrooms and her dress was a one of a kind - and BLUE - one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen! Swarovski crystals decorated the dress, flowers, and dripped from the amazing details at the wedding. Thanks to an awesome team of photographers Katie & Chris Torres and Matt Yung, we had complete coverage of the event and what seemed like zillions of images to filter through. Because the dress had so much detail to it that needed last minute attention, we decided to postpone Amanda's High Fashion Bridal Session to after the wedding so we'll be doing that soon and Justin should be able to join in too - yeah!

More of my favorites to come, but for now....

View a slideshow of Amanda & Justin's Wedding Album Drafts: