Category: Life

I find the confluence of human and geographical history to be fascinating, and one of the best examples of that is pre-Columbian American cultures, and the hints the different societies left us. The Northern Paiutes of Central/Southeastern Oregon did not use stone-based architecture, and their nomadic lifestyle meant fewer long-established civic centers to leave obvious [...]

Mr. Pencil and I have reached a beautiful equilibrium of joint travel. This year’s week in the American Southwest was a perfect synthesis of this: the traits that make travel broadening for me, the wildness of David’s exploratory whims and the driving curiosity that spurs us both. Both of us love to be outside, to [...]

The Traditional Approach What: Antelope Canyon How much it costs: $31 per person to enter. Considerably more if you want to take photographs and sell them. Crowd Factor: Access only via tour group. Truckloads of tourists brought from nearby Page, Arizona. Level of Spectacular: World-renowned smooth sandstone walls with fascinating light. The Pencil Approach What: [...]

Traditional Approach How you get there: Highway 67 south from Jacob Lake, Arizona. During our trip, technically impossible because the road is closed for the winter through May 15. How much it costs: $25 per vehicle to enter the park, $18-25 per campsite per night, considerably more if lodging in a building. Crowd factor: Excessive. [...]

I went into my last Remicade infusion at St. Vincent Cancer Center–last Monday–with too much hubris. They hooked me up, the IV went well (save for a bit of “digging” for a wayward vein), and the goop went into my body in record speed. Start to finish in 2.5 hours. I ate an unwise quantity [...]

Millican Valley Sunset and Fog Redux Originally uploaded by lyzadanger Alive? Me? Yes. Apparently folks have not found it as easy as I’d like it to find where it is that I stick my photographs. They come, naturally, to my Web site and there are dead-ended. The answer: Flickr. The URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyza Here is a [...]

Briefly. I don’t generally enter contests, nor do I generally push my aesthetic or editorial agenda, but I found the Name Your Dream Assignment idea impossible to ignore. Essentially you envision your dream photographic assignment, explain it, and if you win they give you $50,000 to make it real. I have had this idea kicking [...]

One of the ironic characteristics of Crohn’s Disease is that the sickness it causes me is quite likely partially because my immune system is too strong. I had never really stopped to think about this. I had always thought I got as sick as anyone else. Headaches, sometimes Migraine? Check! Stomach pain, tube grief, and [...]

One Year Later Originally uploaded by lyzadanger The one-year anniversary of my surgery and the status of my scars. There is one above my belly button and three on my abdomen. One is not visible in this photo. They are healing and fading quite nicely.

Every several weeks I spend a half a day or so in the hospital and it has come to the point where this doesn’t feel like a significant thing. It is a good exercise in a different state of consciousness. Today is my day for 750cc of Remicade. Right now I’m tethered by my right [...]