Just a question. I never put my children on the blog. Is it safe? I guess I am overly protective. I know you do a lot of shots of your family - I guess it is just like being famous - which I guess you are. Nice shot.

I have been admiring your work for a while now but I never posted any comment before. I really enjoyed your last two shots. I like the symmetry in this one.

impressive sharpness considering them running/walking towards you...i always have a damned of time getting people sharp while coming towards me.....and, again, timing is spot on....no one is actually touching the ground....very cool!

I got chatting to a rambler once. He just went on and on and on..........
;)

Great stop-action technique in getting all of the feet off the ground at the same time. I think I might prefer this image in grayscale.

Mark (Power) - Lol :)

Dave - Lovely shot. The comission explains the fact you've finally put up some tall photos, I guess they want them for use on posters that way round. It all makes sense. now. I've got you rumbled ;)

I like the fact that both of them are 'flying'. I had a look at the ramblers page and noticed your 'keep out' shot on the front page, cool...

Lovely composition and colours, nice shot.

I love the three-dimensional quality of this one, and yes, it is great stop action too.

Very well timed. Absolutely wonderful photograph. :-)

ummmm...I think Rhowan is on the left... Either way it is a very sweet picture, captures the youthful joy very well

I'm with the others; having all four feet off the ground enhances the happy, bouncy feel of the photo.

What else to say, wow

I certainly understand Kurt's concern about having children on your blog. But since you've done it so often Dave, I've taken to it as well. Plus my kids are older now, so I don't feel as worried. Besides, my son is a crack shot! ;-). This is a wonderful image that paints such a happy portrait of childhood. It's one of the many reasons I enjoy it. BTW Dave, thanks so much for your comments on the 70-200 IS. I love mine as well.

Putting your kids online is pretty much perfectly safe. The predators mainly get in contact with their prey in sports, on the internet through social networking sites, in church choirs, through family bonds, when they work as school janitors etc. Why would a predator be able to target your kids by seeing them in an image gallery when there are so many easier ways of finding prey? They would have to lurk around your kids' school or your neighboorhood - and the dirty bastards do that already.

Otherwise - great shot!

What wonderfully warm and beautiful colours! The portrait framing seems to accentuate the feeling of them running towards the viewer, and therefore works better than landscape in my opinion. : )

They are flying !!!! Nice one !

Great pleasure in this photo!

:-)

It's a bit of a 'snap' by your standards I feel. Not my favourite and the colours are somewhat muted.

As for the children issue someone said to me the other day that they 'weren't sure about Chromasia putting his children online as images to purchase'. I like 'Don't Look Up' but the stigma for me is too great to ever request (not that I could afford a postage stamp size anyway) it but Kurts point seems to echo quite a few sentiments. Myself, I'm in two minds, were I to have a child, I would defitnitely wish to share in the joy of fatherhood. Quite an emotive subject though. Mainly due newspapers like 'The Mail' in demonising it rather than any tangible threat...

It's an ok shot that to be honest most folk with that camera and lens could take, sorry, but it's a bit catalogueish for me...

Thanks everyone.

As for putting images of our children online: we've talked about this and don't think that they're at any risk. Children who are targeted, as mentioned by Jeppe, aren't contacted through fora such as this.

mooch: I'm a bit puzzled about why anyone would think it an issue that I sell prints that contain pictures of my children. Could you elaborate?

Um, not much more really no. This was said in passing by a felow blogger. I'm not stirring the muck. Um, I don't know, are they to be considered a commodity? That's my question. I would cherish images of my children, would I sell them on? Not so sure. It's something to ponder, having no children of my own, I am not sure what to conclude.

mooch: I do cherish the pictures of my children and don't see that selling them means that I would cherish them less. Actually, I sell very few prints of the kids, mostly, I think, because people don't tend to want anonymous children on their walls. The other side of this is that we have licensed quite a few of them, and when that happens the kids have been delighted. This one, for example, has appeared in a few places, most recently on a billboard in Holland. Camilla was delighted.

Anyway, I guess I can see your point, but I honestly don't think that selling prints or images of your children has anything to do with how you view your children, nor do I think it commodifies them in any way.

Yes, it's flattering. As I said, not really sure. Put another way, celebrities try to keep their children out of the limelight due to potential unwanted attention. Not quite the same, agreed but the point is still valid. Once in the public domain, how much control do you have?

I have not constructed an argument, same as my views on post-processing in PS too much, or taking the work of a graffitti artist and selling it on. I cannot produce a watertight argument but there is still a nagging in the back of my mind.

Put the argument another way, how many other people do you know, within the photography community that sell images of their own children? Perhaps that will provide a more polarising point. A simple yes or no.

I'm never overly happy with appeals to what everyone else does as a way of resolving a debate. A better question, for me at least, is why would anyone think that selling a shot of one's children was at all problematic? What difference does it make to a) my relationship with them, or b) the value I invest in the photograph (as in personal and emotional investment rather than commercial)?

Ask other people, I am but one. Although I say this in full knowledge that your mind is made up of this topic but it may provide further debate. IF you so wish. My point still remains, I don't know of anyone else who puts their own children out there. It's not a judgement I'm just curious as to opinion.

Kids that can fly... can you beat that? I think not!!

I too have both sold and licensed images of my children as a direct result of the blog, the most recent being of my daughter Zara. She was over the moon!
I have no problem whatsoever with selling the images. People have got this whole protection of kids thing out of proportion.

Great timing and capture of the children floating in mid air!

As for the debate on whether or not it is ethical to sell pictures of your kids, well in my opinion it's purely down to the parents of the children in question if they wish to do it or not, also with the childrens consent as well.

From spain, I only can say ... Impressive :D i like all your pictures :D

Looks like so much fun!

Glad that you can capture moments like this so well.