Nashville Dog Photographer - Wednesday with Laura

Happy Father's Day!

Thunder, lightning and rain–oh my! Good thing I'm inside researching gifts for Father's Day. My dad is a minimalist, not in the aesthetic meaning of the word, but in the sense that he just doesn't like or feel the need to have stuff. Lucky for me–I only have to send a card, but I wanted to share some great ideas for those of you who are looking for the perfect gift.

I'll start off with a couple of gifts recommended by the Woof Report for dog dad's who love their wine. This "Leader of the Pack" custom wine label allows you to feature a photo of your favorite pup on twelve bottles of Sonoma County red wine. You could give all twelve to dad, or just six and distribute the rest to other family members. Just be sure to keep one empty bottle!

I'm sure you've all seen the Tennis Ball Throwers, but now there is a launcher that involves golf. Hyper Products has developed the Doggie Driver. This is a great way for your dad to get exercise and practice his golf swing (we know he needs to!) while also allowing the dogs to train and get exercise. Of course, you'll need a big backyard or dog park because I don't think there will be Doggie Driver golf courses anytime soon…

For the environmental and energy-conscious or traveling dads, check out the Voltaic Solar Messenger Bag. This padded bag has three solar panels that charge up to 4 watts of power and can charge cell phones, sat phones, PDAs, GPSs, iPods, cameras, etc. The bag is also available as a day pack and for something less expensive, check out the Solstice 2.5 Solar Charger. I wouldn't mind having one of those for myself!

And, as usual, I browsed Etsy for gifts and wanted to share these two fun items. You can customize a Dad Tag keychain with your own words or change it to Daddio or Grandpa.

And, if your father is the handy-man, suit-wearing type who appreciates a funky accessory, he might want to don these classy cuff-links.

Good luck on your search and let's hope Sunday brings sunshine!