Ashland writers, James di Properzio and Jennifer Margulis, have teamed up with Ashland Photographer, Chris Briscoe on a great book titled The Baby Bonding Book For Dads. It is a book I wish I had when I was first introduced to fatherhood. James and Jennifer have packed it full of honest, helpful and humorous stories and advice to help new dads realize the importance of connecting with their babies starting on day one. The book includes everything from hints to dads on how to hold, feed and comfort a newborn to suggestions for activities dads can do with their babies to create a lifetime connection. In addition to the fun and encouraging writing, as a photographer I particularly like the selection of photos that accompany the text.

Chris Briscoe, a father himself, is a well known and highly respected portrait photographer from Ashland, Oregon. Since I have known Chris, I have always been drawn to his calm charisma and genuine interest in people. His talent with people photography comes from his kind, disarming personality and love of interacting with others. His special talent for getting to know his subjects, putting them at ease in front of the camera and getting their best to show allows him to produce honest and engaging images. I have seen many of his photos of babies and dads in his studio, but until this book I had not seen an entire collection of dad and baby photos, which strengthens them even more. Each photo in the book is a perfect compliment to the narrative. The wonderful black and white images illustrate the emotional connection that can and should form between a father and his baby and help to bring the stories in the book to life.

While the photos in the book are most powerful for the story they tell as a collection, I have a few favorites that I think are particularly strong individually.

To me, this photo of a dad humorously commiserating with his crying infant represents the compassion and caring that a father and child can share and how a father’s love can be unconditional and complete, even if a little humor is needed from time to time.

The serendipitous fun of this photo has always made it one of my favorites. To me it symbolizes the unpredictability of being a parent and the importance of keeping a sense of humor even when things don’t go as planned.

Photos of a tiny baby foot cradled in the strong but caring hands of a father are as iconic as they are classic, but they never seem to lose their impact. This photo says so much in such a simple way about the relationship between a father and a newborn. It is a simple and moving tribute to the vulnerability of an infant and the awesome responsibility of the father.

As Father’s Day approaches, this book and the photographs have given me some new energy as a father and brought back some great memories of my sons as babies. Additionally, it has reminded me that I need to pull my focus away from landscape photography every once in a while and take some more photos of my kids.

To read more about baby bonding, dads, and what other bloggers are saying about the book, check out the book’s blog:Â http://babybondingbookfordads.blogspot.com/

See it on Amazon HEREÂ