The comments aren't showing up for this picture :(

Anyway, beautiful picture - although, I can't help but be distracted by the out of focus object in front of her.

oops - there we go! :)

Words that spring to mind ... curiosity, hesitant, magic, enchantment ... a wee peekaboo from those who still young enough to live in the enchanted world ...

Charmed ... xxx

Beautiful picture, if only your daughter was a little to her right when you took this. The reason I state this is I find the mouth a little disturbing due to the leaf in the foreground giving the impression she hasn't got a mouth. I was always a little disturbed by Stephen Kings series of short films in particular the girl who has no mouth eeek. Apart from that detail I do think this is beautiful...

The face hidden behind the leaves and just the eye, great shot!

The major feeling: a spirit of the summer past :) I haven't been home recently, but now I can congratulate you on the newborn child :)

one thing i like most about djn are the eye's of the people he photographs. always defined, always have a drawning pull towards them and always bright. Kids are great aren't they.

I love that her eyes always make her look like a little fairy or something; like she knows a secret no one else does. :)

Rhowan is so big now... Amazing.
I went back and tried to look at the previous picture you posted of her(eating her ice cream cone), and I found similarities in the tone and colour.
I like this one, her eye really captures the viewer's, and the dark leaves behind, and blur leaves in front make it a bit mistreyous.
I know it is hard to capture them when they are playing, this was a good moment.
Love the tone (was it just curves)

Great...

The out of focus object makes it seems as if the face is blurring or fading.

The single eye is good, the leaves do make the shot a bit dark and moody.

love it! it's moody, it speaks to the viewer. it has great tone, and the black and white is very warm and inviting. did you use a duotone process to make it such a warm b&w? if so, what color did you add?

Harmony is a wonderful name and you have done her proud with this image.

This could well do well on the old challenge. I have trawled through a number as I too have entered and this is rather striking.

OMG... Harmony? Time flies... and I thought she looked too "grown" to be Rhowan. We'll be waiting for the boy's pics.
Again, great tones.

VelviaPix: yep, Harmony is two and a half now and Rhowan will be four in a few days time. There'll be pics of the latest one (and we still haven't decided on a name) playing football before you know it ;-)

Great picture!

I think it's great and will cast my vote for it when I get the chance over the weekend!
Nice of you to include your PP info too!

Lovely. Great tones. I can't quite figure out how I feel about the composition though. It's striking, but unsettling at the same time. Hmm.. interesting work.

strong image with the one eye shaprly focused. Very creative. I think you have a series of these type of almost gothic shots now.

Very nice. I'm torn between distracted by the foreground and liking that it hides half of her face.

Great! I love the "disturbing" blur in front of her mouth, contrasted with the extremely "in focus" eye. I saw this on Photo Friday today and immediately thought you have a noteworthy here.

I like how this makes you focus on her eye.

Like the clarity in the eye. At first I thought you've used flash.

Brilliant.

Congratulations, Dave, on the birth of your son. You have a beautiful family.

I like how your focus is drawn straight to her eye.

sort of a creepy shot... I'm not sure why. I think it might be because he seems so pale and how the leaves are dangling and covering half his faced, all blurried and such. Makes me think of some scary movie poster. Though I hope that doesn't sound insulting, because I don't mean it to at all.

What AF settings do you usually use? AI servo? One Shot? I've always been curious. I understand each image is different and requires different settings, but what do you favor mostly?

Another great shot which made me smile as soon as I loaded the page. It really captures the innocent, playful nature that only kids can achieve.

My heartfelt congratulations on "the latest one" :-)

i love the tone, however the way the blur in the front obscures the other eye is not very flattering. i think the picture would have been much more grand if both eyes were visible however it does suit the theme for photofriday quite well.

Great picture!

Stephan

Hey look at the ex-baby. It may be just me but this pictures makes it look more mature. Love how you focused on her eye and how is framed. Don't worry about the baby's photos let him rest enough to be another good looking member of the chromasia's family. Regards.

Very very cute and I think this will make a get entry for one. Partially hidden. Sorta like playing hide and seek with you.

:p

When I first opened it up, I half liked it & half disliked it. The more I look at it the more I like it though. I would have preferred to see just a tiny bit more of her face as the leaves hide most of her mouth and most of her nose as well as her left eye, I think it's slightly too much hidden, but I love the eye contact, it really draws you into the picture.

I'm amazed that Harmony is younger than Rhowan, from this photo, she looks older. Oh and happy birthday in advance to Rho BTW!

What a lovely shot - a world of difference between her and my 19 mth daughter... makes me realise how quickly they change!

very moody and emotional image. i like it that the eye is not centered.

This shot is really eery in my opinion. Half the face blurred, the toning and just the general atmosphere is eery.

Amazing picture!

I also have the 50 mm f/1.8, it is so great to shoot portraits. :) And I've just ordered the Canon EF 70-200 f/4L, I think I will enjoy this lens a lot..

I admire your work M. Nightingale, keep it up!

Check out my blog (http://www.hitchica.com/blog) and my portfolio (http://www.hitchica.com/portfolio)

Roger from France.. :)

Nice one. I love this one.
Great job as usual.

Heh....cute kiddy in a magic den.

Hey Dave... I like this one a lot. Very surreal. I'd like to see a version that hasn't been hue'd -- I imagine it's still a nice image even as a straight B&W. But I do like it...

Nice shot, her eye is in very nice focus. But I find the fact that her other eye is hidden very disturbing. Kinda creepy. The loss of her mouth also reminds me of Silence of the Lambs.

Excellent work Dave

I absolutely love the tonation. Excellent!!

Thanks, I like this one too, and I'm glad that some of you found it a bit surreal/creepy/etc. I do think there's something quite magical about children when they play, but I don't often manage to capture as well as I did with this shot.

Very nice photo and nice child. :-) The 50mm must be good lens ... :-)

I love this picture. I love the fact that she is peering out through leaves. Half hidden. She looks wise and yet innocent. A fairy maybe.

Beautiful photo Dave. She's a real cutie! The framing you've chosen is fantastic :) Hope the little man and your wife are doing well!

Fantastic David!!

fantastic shot this one. you draw a lot of emotion out with your photos.