101 reasons why Dads are awesome | Isänpäivä
01/11/2011
The Dad’s day in Finland is creeping closer and you sit at home wondering what should be THE gift this year.
In his head: “I hope she noticed the link I sent her.”
In her head: “Would something new on me be a good present?”
In the little heads: “We can all have a breakfast in bed on Daddy’s day! Sotkua, yeah!”
Now there is some cliche in the sentences above. 
Scroll down to few gift suggestions - if impatient or desperate – or read on – with a cup of coffee … or tea … or hot rum with lemon and honey.
101 reasons why Dads are awesome (based on my Dad and my husband)
They throw kids in the air, play football, help out with math and physics, show the path, take long walks, cook delicious meals, teach swimming and skiing, and skating and biking, and cooking, tell the truth, discuss, oppose, know how to fix everything, are compassionate when necessary and demanding when needed, calm nerves, know the right reasons, can explain, make mistakes, apologize, have great sense of humor, are up for adventures, occasionally give in to unreasonable requests, support, cheer, lead by example and read together. (Ok, this might not be 101 reasons, but I am sure you can come up with your own additions and let’s see if we can reach at least 50!)
All of this requires TIME. Time away from work, from computer, from a mobile phone… Time when they are just there. Yep, some Dads can be bored with Barbies (and some with dinosaurs), but as long as they are there, present, fully aware and creative, it counts.
I am sure the Dad in your family is just like it. Let’s give him a little appreciation (and use the photos from this year you love the most)
2. replace the frame in his office
3. be an artist and make your art a gift
Found anything interesting? Good. I have one more option. You see, one of the most important things my Dad taught me was to never stop learning new things. This is me and my Dad – a couple of years ago at Vantaa airport. I wish I had more recent photo. We don’t really see each other all that often.
So here to celebrate the great Daddiness - a deal for the Isänpäivä weekend: a learning experience for Dads – 20 min consultation about photography. Get yours now.
Zzzzzzzz – electrical signal rushing through wires, pulses flying through the air. A long distance phone call:
“… so either we end this or we get married.”
Silence.
While a computer can make enormous amount of calculations in a split of a second, a human brain can deal with only as much. But a human brain has one huge advantage over any computer – a beating heart not far away. And so a computer would be calculating all the odds of a success for a marriage of two people that have known each other too short time, who live on different continents, who are from different backgrounds and cultures and who are very young. A human brain would be calculating all of the above and ON TOP OF THAT a human brain would follow the invisible watch, because an answer to such question should not take too long.
0.001 sec
0.5 sec
2 sec
15 sec
and boom, you are busted for not answering fast enough.
The answer in that particular phone call was yes, as it is self-evident from the photos below (I consider it rather hard, if not nearly impossible, to make babies over the phone). And so I am the lucky lottery winner here – it was such a pleasure to photograph this little bub, his older sister and parents. Thank you, it was a beautiful morning we spent together! ♥♥♥
PS: I know that winter is almost here and it’s all chilly out there and all – but hey, be brave and check my previous blog post for a chance to win a Ben&Jerry’s gift card.
Processed to match the bold and beautiful little creature – these shots must be my recent favorites. Full blog post coming up in a few days (I think there is someone out there waiting for the photos eagerly)!
And all my old quoteholic-self adds here is: My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. 
♥♥♥
Not many spots – come ‘n grab them! Shoot me an email or call… niki at nikistrbian.com or 0400-358990. All sessions include a set of Christmas cards. If you are not sure what you want, you can upgrade later. Oh, and we shoot unless it’s pouring cats and dogs, so get your rubber boots nice and ready. ♥♥♥
Get a 3-months old baby-girl who smiles like an angel and reacts happily to any efforts of the photographer (1.), dress her in beautiful clothes (2.), include adoring parents (3.), shoot on a construction site (4.) and enjoy getting to know these awesome people (5.).
I am blessed with my job. Thank you! ♥♥♥
Definition of courage | Wounded Angels
11/09/2011
I started feeling tired when I drove by an old wooden house with a huge sign Annika’s antique store and cafe. I still had another hour drive ahead and the nearly empty road didn’t promise more entertainment. I opened a Starbucks bottle filled with a home made special blend remotely resembling frezza. Delicious. Finally I passed the sign of Lappeenranta and pulled off when I saw the Saturday morning market on a square. More coffee, a bag of fresh pullas sprinkled with loads of sugar, a ring of old keys – you know the type that looks like it opens a secret passage to an old castle… and I was done with shopping. Then off to see the fortress, where I had two shoots that day. A wedding portrait session and a Haavoittuneet enkelit shoot with a family of six. The fortress with its little cosy cafe is a magical place, full of artists and filled with the patina of the by-gone era. Definitely planning going back there!
Predictably I started off with the wedding – and spent some hours shooting a portrait session and then a ceremony. As always I felt all beaten up at the end – weddings are such joyful occassions … for the couple 
They stress the hell out of me. But I do love the results. You will get to see them too very soon! Then I emerged from the creative vacuum, where I feel nothing and my camera is just an extention of my hands, just to realize that I was starving! I had no time to fetch any food anywhere, so there I was sitting in a car, listening to music compilations made by my friend (something fast for the way to a shoot, something to slow me down on the way home…) and munching on my pullas – sugar falling to my lap. I didn’t feel recharged when my Wounded Angels family arrived.
Nevertheless, I got out of the car, went to greet them and the moment the mum hugged me with a beautiful smile, my heart connected to their radiant energy and I was ready for anything.
We had the most wonderful time.
The siblings were clearly enjoying being in the spotlight, they worked with all my crazy ideas and also came up with bunch of stuff I could never think of! There was so. much. love. to capture among all members of this lovely family. We all had enjoyed ourselves. Life seemed 100% fine.
There is a lot I can write about any of my Haavoittuneet enkelit families. Above all, I can write endlessly of how much I admire them. Because: Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow. (~Mary Anne Radmacher, author of the Living with Intention blog)
The weather worsened quickly and kids were getting cold, so we wrapped up and I was speeding the entire three-hour drive. The fact that I got no ticket that day was a pure luck. When I got home, I had a Facebook friendship invite from both of the parents.
Thank you, I felt the same. My heart will always be connected to you. ♥♥♥
PS: Actually, I hate coffee. But yeah, it keeps me awake. Thus a home made blend, which I relish.
PS2: Leave a comment below to feed courage of this and all the Wounded Angels families. All positive thoughts count. And if you enjoy my work, become a fan of it on Facebook.
One Comment
Love these colours! These pictures are full of good energy.