Just a quick look before holidays, more when I am back! She was the sweetest little thing 
Archive for the ‘Newborns’ Category
Leo Tolstoy is best known for his literary works, of which I was utterly bored by his masterpiece Anna Karenina and though I have never read War and Peace, my dear husband loves it so much he can quote long passages from memory, so I have a good grasp of the book’s many fine details. But besides his world-known novels, Tolstoy also wrote a number of essays on art, history and religion. Recently I have stumbled upon excerpts of his essay “What is art?”, originally published in 1896. Now, let me show you, why every baby is an art. Here is a proof from Tolstoy’s essay … and I dared to include a few more.
#1 In order correctly to define art, it is necessary, first of all, to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it in this way we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the means of intercourse between man and man woman.
While Wikipedia claims that the definition and evaluation of art has become especially problematic since the early 20th century, we all know that art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions.
#2 (emotions) My favorite quote about babies is from the book “Our babies, ourselves” by Meredith Small: “Babies emit cuteness so adults emit love.”
#3 (senses) Babies smells good, their skin is smooth and perfect, they make funny noises (even when crying), they look adorable and they probably taste good, but I have never tried that… 
(oh and sometimes babies look like miniature old men, too)
Various people have been answering the question “What is art?” and these are some of the answers (apply them freely to babies):
#4 Art has the facility to actually enrich and empower your life and make you happy.
#5 Art is anything that requires a maker; it cannot make itself, said Aristotle.
#6 Art is the opposite of war.
If you want to have your own newborn miracle photographed outdoors, book me quickly, before the heat wave (and summer) is over. There is not much time left, so call 0400-358990 or send email to niki@nikistrbian.com today. And, of course, I want to hear your own proof that every baby is an art!
Last Wednesday I was sitting on a pier of our lake, playing happily with kids and chatting away with our visitors from Slovakia, who to our great sadness flew back today in the morning. My phone rang and only happy star constellation helped me overhear it in all the noise (kids, dogs and wind – a killer combination). There was a lovely female voice asking to photograph their newborn son, who was already 16 days old. Hurry, I answered, we must hurry! Newborn babies loose that newborn characteristics look all too quickly. So we hurried and set up the shoot for the very next day. This was the fastest inquiry -> session time ever. I drove to Hyvinkää and met the happy couple and their tiny gentleman on a sunny Thursday morning in the appartment that one can only describe as “photogenic”.
The little baby boy slept throughout the entire time and he had a super clean and smooth skin, even for a newborn baby. The sun shone and I really, really, really very much enjoyed this session.
A gigantic photography event. A huge auditorium. A delicate man. A vision. Jesh de Rox and his Experiential Photography.
I am a member of a few photography forums, dedicated to portrait photography and children portraiture. Jesh’s lecture has been discussed there more than once and people raved about it. I am the type who doesn’t go to see a movie if everyone raves about it. I am the type who doesn’t believe in mass happiness. (Yet I am a potterologist and avatarlogist. Go figure!) I missed the lecture anyway. One evening, after having a rather difficult day with my little angels (sometimes it happens even in the best of families), I was editing photos and thought to myself that I will give it a try. I listened to the recording of the lecture and it
CHANGED. MY. LIFE.
My life as a photographer. My life as a person. As a human being.
I knew instantly that I wanted to become a part of this movement. BELOVED movement. And one day a package arrived. The BELOVED field guide. Which changed my life still more. Ok, I know you want to know now what this photography voodoo is about. Bear with me a little longer.
Imagine that you decide to have your photos taken. Any given occasion will do. You got engaged. Married. Secretly married. Your wife is pregnant. You have a newborn baby. You have a family. You celebrate your wedding’s 50th anniversary. Any occasion will do. Even one as simple as: “it’s a beautiful day”. So what is it that you want to have captured?
Poses.
OR
Feelings. Laughter. Deep gazes into each other’s eyes. Hugs. And … do we dare … kisses.
I bet it’s the second one. And it damn well should be! BELOVED photography will empower just that. Through a number of small tasks (for a lack of a better word), you will experience real feelings in front of the camera. You will BE LOVED. And if you let me, I will capture the feelings in a timeless manner. Resulting in a true celebration of your relationship.
Oh common. Say it out loud! This is unheard of in Finland. This will never work with the Finnish nature. Finnish culture. Finnish personalities.
Really? Try me! Book your Beloved session now. (It’s also a perfect gift.)
Oh and not that it’s the most important thing. But I am officially qualified for the Experiential Photography. You can also find me listed as a photographer of the Beloved movement. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Your Beloved photographer, Niki
PSHHH: The first three Beloved sessions will receive a special gift from me.
Fairy tale about how little packages of joy make you forget all the misery – Niki Strbian Vastasyntyneenkuvaus
May 30, 2010A newborn baby is a true miracle maker. They make you functional for hours, around the clock, and even at 4am because of their sweet scent and a little cry you produce all the shhh sounds and kissing and rocking and singing… As said before, babies emit cuteness, so adults emit love. And it was same with this tiny gentleman. I knew he was actually not going to be so tiny, since he postponed his grande arrival to the last possible moment (2+ weeks over the due date). But he is tiny compared to the normally sized gentlemen, isn’t he?
Anyways, despite the difficulties his beautiful mom withstood during the birth, when the family arrived home, her thoughts were: “I want more children!” And that’s because this little bub is so stinking cute. But he slept well the night before and therefore didn’t have almost any interest in sleeping during my entire visit. But as it is, he fell asleep the minute I closed the door. I believe we still got some lovely shots, even of the older and slightly more hairy other child in the family.
May I introduce you to the hairy older brother, Vadim. A true aristocrat, greeted my camera with a little bow.
No baby is complete without a loving family.
One day I was cooking and suddenly a phone rang. A cultivated voice asked whether I would have time to photograph their newborn girl. She is already 2 weeks old, but very tiny, the honey-smelling voice said. My heart started sining: “Newborn girl! Newborn girl!” Of course, I answered, we set a date and I continued cooking. And singing: “A newborn girl! A newborn GIRL!” You don’t understand my sudden maddness, do you. Well, you would if you were a newborn photographer who was in the past few months hired only to photograph newborn boys. Make no mistake, I love photographing any newborns, boys or girls (or puppies), but boys look a bit weird in cute headbands and hats, and I own a box full of those … Despite this girl’s father, who wanted something unusual, not necessarily sweet, I could not have resisted and used few of the cutie props anyways. Oops. Sorry! The baby-girl slept through the entire session (mostly because of total lack of sleep the night before, a little bit because of the space heater and maybe a tiny little bit because of the baby magic I can do ) and was the sweetest little thing. And her parents love her so… And each other. So, there you go: a bunch of photos full of unusual amount of happiness and love. Enjoy them, more coming soon
Joy of the world – Niki Strbian Vastasyntyneenkuvaus
March 24, 2010What a joy to hold a newborn baby – the scent, the silkness of his skin. Whoever held one in their arms will never forget the pure happiness it brings to one’s heart. At least until the screaming starts But even then the screaming is more just a lovely song, the strenght and the pitch coming only later. I consider it priviledge to enter families within days after the birth and document the newborn look that never lasts long.
