Took me a while to spot the eye of the parent for some reason - until then I couldn't get a bead on the background in my brain. I like the scene, but I personally feel that the baby is too far out of the image, and even as a stylistic choice than positioning combined with the overall softness both of focus and contrast niggles at me. I keep thinking, that's a nice moment, but if only I could just see a BIT more at the bottom... It also feels a bit too dark.

So to sum up, if it was a tiny bit lighter, a tiny bit more contrast, a tiny bit sharper somewhere in there, and I could see a tiny bit more of the baby, I'd like it a lot :)

I think your muse has gone regarding this project. I think you are so focused on your new business venture that the blog doesn't really matter. This is not a criticism, you've been exceptional for longer than expected - just an observation. I think this is, and rightly so, the last of your priorities. Maybe it's time to stop everyday.

I do love your stuff though and will be here looking all the time regardless

DJN...the quality of your blog has gone down drastically....I have been following images from your blog for last 1.5 years...and last couple of months have been progressively bad...I normally do not comment...but I just had to put this across...as I come here everyday with some expectation....

I think I have to agree with Owen-B on this one...a little hard to focus in on one aspect..I think the subject is a great one however. The problem with having a blog sometimes is that the expectation is that the person who blogs is here to entertain other people with photographs instead of blogging things that are of interest to the individual themselves. I have enjoyed ALL aspects of your blog for the time I have been acquainted with it...babies, landscapes and other things that are of interest to you David. I am glad you ask other people's opinions of your photographs and engage others in dialog and critique. Do what makes you happy and enjoy photographing a variety of subjects. I, for one, appreciate that you take the time to post photos and comments about what you were thinking, how you photographed the picture, etc. People appreciate what you do, or they wouldn't come back.

uh, i haven't read what those other folks said, and frankly I'm too lazy. So forgive me if I'm being repetative.

I think the focus is really soft, but it reads well if the image is smaller. And I like this image for a small print anyway, because it IS so intimate, it really ought to draw you in, and small images do that.

Okay, the end.

Oh, and also babies are cute.

okay, so I'm apparently not as lazy as I previously suggested, and just went back and read some of the shorter comments (not that long one right before mine though... although it looked like a nice comment) and I just want to say that I was just being silly with my comment, I wasn't trying to be cheeky or rude. I like your photos.

The mothers of those kids before me would probably be embarassed if they saw how their children are talking to you! Or they should be anyway!

!!

DJN...please delete my earlier comment....it is too rude when I read it myself....sorry about that....

I would agree with others, that your photos haven't been as good lately. However, this photo is very good! I love the contrast, and the slowly developing background as the eye adjusts.

Once upon a time you produced amazing images with a simple Canon G5. A long time ago (maybe 2 years ago) the photos gradually lost their dazzle.

I don't know, a better camera and improved Photoshop skills has maybe made you creatively lazy?

I'm sorry the comment is so blunt. I wanted to say this 18 months ago though.

Sorry David, I just read my comment together with what some others had written. It looks like others maybe share a similar impression.

I like this shot, but feel it a bit underexposed and dark. You should lighten a bit on the face in the background, cause it's not so easy and evident to identify what are those dark spots there, to realize the shape of a face. Otherwise it is a nice moment of baby and mother.

Interesting angle and cropping. And i am with Eyevision. Its a little bit too dark in my opinion.

I love the composition, but I have to say I’m not a fan of the softness. Perhaps with regards to all the above comments it might be an idea to put up a photo of a potters wheel along with some relaxing music (ooops showing my age – that will be lost on most ;-D). You are under a terrific amount of pressure at the moment – something the casual visitor may not appreciate and these comments will not help. Have a break – get your book finished – then knock em dead! Best wishes

I think people are being a little unkind with some of their comments. I love all your work, but I think recently we kind of know what to expect, where as in the past the shots were so diverse that it was always a surprise. I'm not a great fan of soft tones, and being old fashioned I like a bit of colour rather than black and white, BUT your work is absolutely brilliant - thank you for sharing it with us.

I do like the idea of the shot, but I think it's a little to tightly cropped at the bottom, and perhaps a tad to unsharp on the eyelashes of the baby.

ugh, your blog is becomming so boring, fair enough the post processing and odd baby picture is good, but i come on here everyday expecting too see somthing new, fresh and inspirational... but all's i get is god damn babies - i know you've got a commision and everyhting but damn, take some photos that inspire me (again)

Well, though the babies aren't everyone's bag (and not particularly mine) I think this is one of the most interesting - it seems that maybe you're posting this one on the blog while it might not be used in the project, as it's a lot more abstract/subjective than most of the others (?). I like it's vagueness, and because of the baby's place and position in the frame, it looks as though he/she is being almost suffocated by the mother, and the picture's therefore really quite tense for me. At the same time, the tight framing is a wee bit indulgent, perhaps.

Hi Dave,
As ever, I visit your blog to enjoy spectacular shots and to learn new techniques. I may not like or 'get' all of the shots that you post, however, those ones are the kind which make me look the closest, to see if I can decipher what you intended or how you did it. This shot, as most have over-stressed, is just another baby shot...or is it? I've looked more closely and I find the composition to be extremely good. There is a kind of 'ying and yang' thing going on between the curves of the babies head and nose and those of the mothers chin and nose. There is no ambiguity as to who or what the figures are, and the soft-focus only enhances what is clearly a very tender moment between mother and baby. The lighting of the shot is also impressive, stressing the purity of the baby's skin.
So, for just another baby shot, I think this one is just fine by me.
Cheers,

It's funny how we have to go through this discussion at least once a year :)

I like coming here to discuss things, it seems like at least a few people do read things here and do consider other's opinions :)

Having said that...

I hope some people one day realize that not every photo posted on a DAILY PHOTOBLOG will be a masterpiece. Not every photo is meant to be artistically psycho-analyzed, and torn apart like it's a Picasso or a Van Gogh... It's merely a journey through the life of a person. It's no different than a text blog, only the author of the site wants to express the journey in a visual way. Or at least that's what I have come to believe.

Somewhere along the line people have started to expect that every photo posted on a 'photographic journal' must be a photo fitted for a museum. In the early days of my photoblog, if you look through my archives, I was guilty of this. My photographs sucked but I used to spend hours photoshopping an image just to try to get 10-15 comments of people saying "wow" .. Then I came to realize that it is simply not me, that I was trying to be something I'm not. Since then I've stopped caring about what people think, and have just done what I needed to do to document my life the way I see fit, without much influence of the outside world.

I have to admit that I feel sometime in the past Dave has provoked these artistic discussions and the masterpiece expectations with some very attractively photoshopped images, and cleverly worded descriptions, but sometimes I also make myself believe that he, as well as a good number of other photobloggers from the early days are now posting without the intention of "wow"-ing people, but rather to keep this journal going, and perhaps even still: to keep asking for advice on how they could improve and grow.

Now I'm not saying I'm in favor of all these photos, in fact I mostly come here to smile at these silly comments. Once people ease up a bit and stop having such high expectations, maybe fifteen thousand photos of babies won't be such a bad thing. Maybe it'll just be another phase in the life of 'just another' photoblog site, a phase in the life of 'just another photographer' .. Just my thoughts.

I say keep irritating the buggers. More baby pictures! You have nothing to apologize for, David. It's not like we're subscribing to your blog or we've had you sign a contract requiring you to post only pictures we like. A blog is a personal journal of exploration and experiment. Do with it what you wish. We come along for the ride and the fun.

Here is the day - http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archives/0703031831.php - that Dave signalled to us through his photographs that he had become a commercial photographer, having to earn a living from his art.

The day that Dave left his lecturing job and became a professional photographer was the day his creativity, style and vision became fused with income necessities.

For years we have been taken aback (almost daily) by Dave's images. We still will, I am sure and hope, be taken aback, left stunned. But are his images from now on going to be images from his business commissions or a continuation of his ever-varied but signature Chromasia images? A mixture of both, most likely?

I sense his blog followers, including myself, are anxious with uncertainty. We wait with interest and intrigue....

Although I do think this image is nicely done, it doesn't really do much for me personally. The parent's image is unfocused enough that I really didn't notice for the first few seconds that it was a person's face. And I realize it could be my monitor settings also. I like the idea of this image, but it's not as good as your previous shots I think. But the overall quality of your work is what keeps me coming back everyday.
I do think it's interesting to read viewer's comments that seem to have no regard for how to be tactful. I'll refrain from going off on a tirade about the importance of being polite to each other and just say that I think Miklos' comment was "spot on." :-) Keep up the nice work, David!

Thanks all, especially Miklos. As for the points you've made - I've picked up on most of them on tomorrow's entry.

There seems some quite harsh comments on here maybe bread out of such high expectations. However, I think credit must go to Dave for the huge effort put into this blog. Having a photography blog myself, I only post every 2 or 3 days due to time. To post every day must be a big burden on Dave’s time and also puts pressure on to come up with beautiful and creative shots every day. Personally I think he is achieving it, and although every image might not be to everyone’s taste, at least give him credit for his thankless task of providing us with stunning imagery to admire and talk about!

funny how we all see things differently. I love the image, soft subtle, beautiful. Mal

i don´t want to get in this discussion, because I stumbled into this blog right now.
I got sticked with this photo. I like it very much.
Greets
thomas

This is my favourite of the baby project. It feels like a memory, as if you've photographed a parent's remembrance of their child rather than an actual child. It's perfect.

This is one of the pictures with strongest mood I've seen in a long time and one of my favourties of your blog!

Wish I'd taken this, requires thinking - QED.

wonderful moment
i love it

I love this picture. I think that it displays pure beauty within the child and the mother. The angle that it is shot at captures it all, the moment, and the emotions that are given off.