Face Painting

The first mask is supposed to be an ape... my most sincere apologies, if the artwork (by your's truly) looks liks like a cat!

FINALLY

... I got some holidays and I got time for paddling. I'm sorry folks, posting to this web site is sometimes painful: the images pile up and I have too much to do (again) in too little time. I got nominated this January as the chairman of the board of the Union of Artist Photographers, Finland, and I am therefore also a board member of the Artists' Association of Finland. My daughter also takes quite lot of my time, so occasionally, I am full of anxiety and got a strong need to go out to the sea.

Spring Flowers

Spring Fairies Are Here

This little girl breaks my heart. We have now discovered fairy tales and
-unfortunately- pink colour.

Jurmo Island in 2011 (#4)

Dad's little helper! The nightdress got quite wet, though...

Jurmo Island in 2011 (# 3)

Blizzards and a backpack... we headed to the lee side of the island, where Lumi was hunting for treasures by the seaside...

About Instant Coffee and Quill Pens (Jurmo #2)

Lumi found several swan and gull feathers, mummy made a quill pen for drawing. The final product was a treasure map made by thick (and quite awful) instant coffee... yes, I am an espresso man...

Jurmo Island in 2011 (#1)

Oh boy, what a holiday. After furious driving during early hours we entered a boat to the one of the outmost islands, Jurmo. I fell in love with the island in the late 90's, and visited the island by kayaking several times. Now it was just below zero Celsius, but the wind in gusts was in storm readings. The boat could not enter the harbour due heavily packed ice, so we walked, both ways.

Did I deserve this, and why?

I did turn to 50 (yes, 50 years) just about week ago – how in the hell I got a huge PIMPLE straight onto my nose?

Ice Fishing and Other Sports

... at the first time, skating was painful and Lumi hated it. It was too difficult to stay on the skates, but now she is developing. Ice fishing, though, was easier: she managed to wait for the fish almost for 15 minutes! And she looked quite professional.

Lumi Drumming

Aww...

holiday shots, old... we made our own rules for playing chess.

-19 Celsius and...

..she keeps telling us that the snow is melting and the spring is coming (temps about 66 F)!
One can't beat that kind of optimism, so I did a little foxhole for her into snow.



.

Season's Greetings!

Lumi made an elf at the Kindergarten!

























We are leaving for our mid-winter holidays. The first week will be from -15 to -22 Centigrades. HUH! Heating the old sauna and grandfather's old cottage will be an interesting task... See you next year!
[photograph by Riitta Päiväläinen)

Shooting at Hanko beaches

Oh boy, it was great, though sleeping with a daughter and my wife in a low two-person tent was painful. And we didn't have enough time for enjoying the kayak gathering together. I'm starting to whine and whimper again... missing the summer...
(images by Ilkka Salmi)

Autumn Summary

...so far: four or five cases of flu and three cases of inflammation of the eyes - and I am still very satisfied with our kindergarten. One just can't avoid this sh*t when dealing with small kids. But we are very tired... designing my web page is late, one exhibition proposal is half-done and both the studio and the house are a mess.

Summer Memories #3

My most beautiful portrait of Lumi, ever!

Father's Day Blues and Cabin Fever

Last Sunday was local Father's Day and my girls served me my Sunday paper, a cheese cake and full breakfast (which was great because I am the early bird in our family and I am usually making the coffee).

The flu has not left and the house is a mess. We had to stay indoors several days, so I really got crazy and frustrated. Lumi can turn a room chaotic in few minutes, and unfortunately we are too tired to clean it. Both parents want to sleep long and well, and get better again... and I miss the sea.

Kayak session

On Saturday I was shooting for a kayaking book by the pool which is the second oldest in Finland. It belongs to the National Defence University and was originally built for the Helsinki Olympic Games (1940), which accidentally never came true until 1952 -thanks to WW2. Interesting functional style of the 30's with perhaps a bit classic pillars.

I was in a bad shape, luckily not in fever. Lots of people involved, great guys and nice place to shoot in, though there was not so much light!

Aww, sigh...

Two cases of inflammation of the eye and three serious cases of flu in the family! Staying indoors with a very active little girl under three years is driving me nuts. And when we were staying again at the 'Grandfather's Cottage' about a week ago, we had very little time for ourselves, being or doing things together. Like, preparing the garden for the winter. Some girls can be very demanding. We are in a bluesy mood now.