Category Archives: Kids

Skinny on Fatherhood

Katie Rose

When Katie Rose was born she weighed less than two pounds. She’s still small for her age, and likes to fit in small spaces like the bathroom towel storage shown in the photo. Proving that size isn’t everything.

The biology of fatherhood isn’t everything, either. I occassionally joke around with Phyllis about our kids—”What did I have to do with them?” Being a DNA provider is often a brief matter and hopefully enjoyable. I keep in mind the Shakespearean conceit that if the parents had a good time conceiving, the child is likely to be of happier disposition. In King Lear the villainous Edmund therefore describes the “lusty stealth of nature” as providing more “composition and fierce quality” than a “dull, tired, stale bed.”

My point is that Phyllis did the tough work of pregnancy, and does a great deal of the grunt-and-scut work of day-to-day parenting around the house.

Fatherhood is more volitional. There are men who are great father figures to kids with whom they have no biological connection and—the opposite side of the coin—biological fathers who completely abandon their kids.

True fatherhood is a state of mind. Personally, I love being a father. It is the toughest job in the world—or second toughest after being a mother—and also the most rewarding!

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Mathew

Mathew is my almost-seven-year-old son. Sometimes he is a ball of energy and sometimes he is abrasive. Often he is full of love and affection and wonder at the world around him. I love Mathew very much.

It is a joy to me to have three boys (and Katie Rose). But sometimes I look around and say, “Who are these kids, and why are they calling me ‘Dad’?”

Each child is different, and each is wonderful in his or her own way.

Mathew

When I made this photo, we were visiting a house with frosted glass on either side of the front door. I asked Mathew to pose for me looking through the glass. I knew I wouldn’t have much time with this mercurial child. I bumped my ISO slightly (to 250), set the camera to programmed automatic, and set the exposure adjustment to minus one f-stop to compensate partially for blow-out from hot spots where the sun was hitting the glass.

I was able to make four exposures before Mathew got bored, and only this one came out. There’s minimal post-processing involved, primarily spotting in Photoshop for dirt on the frosted glass.

Exif data: 200mm, 1/50 of a second at f/5.6 and ISO 250, hand held.

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Creative Landscapes

Creative Landscapes

Creative Landscapes, photo by Harold Davis.

In a family tradition, Katie Rose checks out my new book Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques.

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Katie Rose Is Three

Katie Rose Is Three

Katie Rose Is Three, photo by Harold Davis.

My darling Katie Rose is three. She’s shown in this snapshot at her three-year checkup; check out Prize Specimen, an earlier visit to the same pediatrician.

Katie’s milestones remind us of how far she’s come from birth as 24-week preemie weighing less than six sticks of butter and resuscitated eleven times; check out The Day My Daughter Was Born and The Birth of Katie Rose for stories of her early days. She also has her own book that tells her story; you can find it on Amazon!

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Blanket DNA

Blanket DNA

Blanket DNA, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

Picking compulsively at his beloved blanket, Mathew leaves these microscopic skeins of fabric everywhere. He and Nicky have dubbed them “blanket DNA.”

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Julian and Katie Rose

Julian and Katie Rose

Julian and Katie Rose, photo by Harold Davis.

Wherever you go, there you are. If you have an iPhone there you are with a fairly decent camera. A fairly decent camera with some interesting features. Great for photographing Julian and Katie Rose on our way down to the playground this evening.

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83rd Birthday

83rd birthday

83, photo by Harold Davis.

My parents, Martin Davis and Virginia Davis, on the recent occasion of a family lunch to celebrate my Dad’s 83rd birthday, taken with my Nikon P7000. Nice soft light coming in from the window, and nice smiles from the birthday boy and bride mark a happy time over Dim Sum.

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The Story of Katie Rose: A Preemie’s Journey

Katie Rose was born prematurely almost three years ago at 24 weeks gestation, almost 16 weeks early. In the dark, hectic days in the NICU that followed, we would have been delighted to know how well she is doing today.

It was hard on all of us. I used photography as therapy to help me through it. I also realized that I had a unique opportunity to document the journey of a micro-preemie.

As Phyllis and I sat down with our boys and tried to explain what was going on with their new, very little sister in the hospital, the germ of an idea for a book about preemies for siblings was also born.

The book has had a difficult gestation itself. A major children’s book publisher almost picked it up, and then ultimately decided not to publish it.

We are pleased and proud that The Story of Katie Rose: A Preemie’s Journey is finally seeing the light of day. You can order a copy now from CreateSpace; it will be in the Amazon catalog and other distribution channels in the next week or so!

We’d really like to get our book with its message of hope to those who need it most: families with babies in the NICU.

The Story of Katie Rose: A Preemie's Journey

Here’s the book description from the back cover:

The Story of Katie Rose is about a premature baby who was born very early. This book follows her journey as she grows in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and is finally able to go home.

Often siblings of a preemie do not understand why their new baby brother or sister has not come home. The Story of Katie Rose is written for children and is perfect for reading aloud to help explain what is happening. Actual photos of Katie Rose in the NICU accompany the text and will help familiarize children with what they may see in the hospital.

The hospital machines, such as respirators, monitors, and incubators, can sometimes seem scary. These essential machines are explained in simple, easy-to-understand language that describes how they help Katie Rose.

The Story of Katie Rose is not just for siblings of preemies. Parents and grandparents, and anyone who is close to a preemie in the hospital, will find the simple, clear information about medical technology related to prematurity helpful and enlightening.

Follow the inspirational story of Katie Rose’s journey as she grows from a tiny, fragile baby who weighs less than six sticks of butter into a baby who is ready to come home.

  • Written in simple easy-to-understand language
  • Shows real photos of a premature baby and the NICU environment
  • Gives advice to parents on how to start conversations with the siblings of preemies
  • Includes a glossary of common terms used in the NICU
  • The Story of Katie Rose has been reviewed by neonatologists, special care doctors, and a child psychologist for accuracy and appropriateness

Publication Date: Feb 10 2011
ISBN/EAN13: 1460924797 / 9781460924792
Page Count: 48
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 8.25″ x 8.25″
Language: English
Color: Full Color with Bleed
Related Categories: Juvenile Nonfiction / Family / New Baby
List price: $19.99—Purchase now.

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Katie Rose in the Sandbox

Katie Rose in the Sandbox

Katie Rose in the Sandbox, photo by Harold Davis.

I took the kids out to the playground today, and shot some photos with my new “toy” camera. It’s a Nikon Coolpix P7000, and I’m kind of impressed. This one was a straight JPEG capture, cropped a little but otherwise no manipulation or post-processing.

The P7000 reminds me in look-and-feel of one of the old Nikon rangefinders, or maybe even an old film Leica. In other words, it is actually an elegant camera. In any case, it’s certainly more fun to carry around when I’m also wrangling the kids than my full kit gear with tripod and all.

Here’s Katie Rose from her early days.

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The Photoshop Darkroom 2

In keeping with family tradition, Katie Rose and Phyllis check out an advance copy of The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations. The publication date for the book is February 15, 2011—so copies should be available in a month or so.

Photoshop Darkroom 2

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Nicky and Friend

Nicky and Friend

Nicky and Friend, photo by Harold Davis.

To get this portrait of Nicky, I asked him to make an expression like that on his plush Penguin.

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Katie Rose

Katie Rose

Katie Rose, photo by Harold Davis.

A potrait of Katie Rose seems a good way to start the new year, full of hope and new beginnings!

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Nicky Is Nine

Nick Is Nine

Nick Is Nine, photo by Harold Davis.

Happy Birthday, Nicky! We celebrated this weekend with a noisy, chaotic, and fun house full of kids.

Amazing how time flies when you have kids. Here are some past stories featuring a younger Nicky:

Nicky in the Bath
After the Burger King Star Wars Meal
The Carousel
Portrait of Nicky
Nicky is 4
Julian and Nicky
Nicky and the Chocolate Sandwich
Ducky Dialog
Kids and Hiking
Kid Break
Nicky Jumping
Kids in Yosemite
Katie’s Big Brothers
Nicky on Black
Nicky with Face Painting
Alien Monster
Nicky Is Seven
Snaggle-Tooth Nicky
Nicky is Eight

Nicky is a wonderful kid, now—and all along the journey. He’s thoughtful, creative, considerate, fun, and full of life. He is simply the greatest!

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Katie Rose Tutu Head

Katie Rose Tutu Head

Katie Rose Tutu Head, photo by Harold Davis.

Katie Rose likes to wear her tutu on her head, as you can see in this studio portrait.

I’ll get over what a miracle she is someday (maybe)—but in the meantime it is hard for me to photograph her or write about her without remembering. Here are two stories about her early days: The Birth of Katie Rose and The Day My Daughter Was Born.

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Mathew and the iPad app

Mathew Viking

Mathew Viking, photo by Harold Davis.

Mathew dressed up in a knight’s tunic and plastic Viking helmet seems no one to mess with, particularly with the sword in hand and glint in his eye.

So do what Mathew says.

He says, Try out the new Harold Davis – Photoshop Darkroom iPad/iPhone app. It’s free, fun, good photos, and you’ll like it.

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