Naked Babies [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Anna Quindlen (Author), Nick Kelsh (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1996

A photographer attempts to capture the perfection of babies, from the swirl of a cowlick to the smoothness of skin on a neck, while the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author muses on moments like a baby's first steps.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anyone who has ever witnessed a baby escape from his mother's arms--sans clothing--and run wildly, or crawl as the case may be, about the house in what can only be described as a euphoric state knows that babies are really at their best when they're naked. No bonnets or booties to hold them in--just pure, blissful nakedness. In Naked Babies author Anna Quindlen and photographer Nick Kelsh expertly record this unique time in childhood when modesty means nothing at all. Quindlen's perceptive and personal essays are remarkable musings on motherhood and the amazing little miracles that babies are, while Kelsh's photographs are, well, amazing little miracles in their own right. Shot entirely in black-and-white, these are not cutesy, sentimental, or traditional photographs. Rather, Kelsh captures "specific aspects of babies--the perfection of a hand, the swirls of a cowlick, the smoothness of skin on the neck--and all are honest, exquisite, and invitingly tactile." Both "an unusual meditation and a wondrous book," Naked Babies is the perfect gift for the parent or the parent-to-be.

From Publishers Weekly

In this intriguing book, Kelsh, a partner in the communications firm Kelsh Wilson Design, and Quindlen (Object Lessons) capture the essence of naked babyhood?Kelsh in exquisite black-and-white photographs of dozens of babies, Quindlen in an elegant essay in which she muses about "the sheer beauty of their baby bodies." Kelsh's pictures, often of simple details?hands, feet, ears, eyes, bottoms, navels?reveal the miracles of baby skin, tiny fingers and toes, limbs contorted into acrobatic poses. His babies are not merely cute but like soft sculptures, and they revel in their nakedness: one intently studies his penis, another claps his hands as he pees onto the ground. Quindlen's essay, which is perceptive and moving without being sentimental, is based on the premise that "babies are meant to be naked, as surely as they are meant to be nurtured and loved," and it perfectly complements the photographs. Her own children are well past the baby stage, but she remembers all about babies, from birthing room to first steps, and she concludes, "The strangest thing about having babies is that before you know it you have adults."
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Studio; illustrated edition edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670868809
• ISBN-13: 978-0670868803
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #944,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NICK KELSH is the author/photographer and brains behind www.howtophotographyourbaby.com.

He grew up in Fargo, North Dakota as the second of five babies of Bud and Joyce Kelsh. Nick learned photography on the Leica his dad brought home from World War II and knew he was going to be a professional photographer when he was fifteen.

First Nick wanted to be a war photographer. Then he wanted to be a fashion photographer. Then he wanted to be a photo illustrator, whatever that is. He finally attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and worked as a photojournalist for several newspapers around the country finishing with The Philadelphia Inquirer. Now he's one of the country's leading experts on baby photography. This makes no sense.

Nick is the author/photographer of nine books including Naked Babies with Anna Quindlen, How to Photograph Your Baby, How to Photograph Your Life, and The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson. He has appeared on Oprah! and The Today Show multiple times. His photographs have appeared on several of the covers of the prestigious Day in the Life series and in dozens of major magazines.

He is currently a partner in the Philadelphia-based graphic design firm Kelsh Wilson Design.

Nick's wife, Anne, is the second of five babies of George and Linda Morgan of Walton, New York. He has three sons, Chaz, Alexander, and Teddy -- the incredible, beautiful, smiling face on the How to Photograph Your Baby DVD disc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful work! Misuse by pedophiles unlikely., October 22, 2002

By 

Andrew A (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naked Babies (Hardcover)

After buying Nick Kelsh's other book: "Photographing Your Baby" to get ideas for photographing our own daughter I checked out "Naked Babies". This book isn't about babies in the buff, it's about the tender beauty of newborns. It's little arms, chubby legs, gentle folds of baby fat, and those dimpled baby bottoms.

In response to the other comment about pedophiles buying this book: those kinds of people are going to think what they think regardless of whether they have a book that visually depicts the innocence of babyhood. Deeming the images in this book "inappropriate" outside of the family photo album seems misguided. Bookstores including Amazon.com have stockpiles of books that communicate explicit messages of rape, murder, and other vulgarities that are far more dangerous than glimpses of tender baby skin. The masses should not be deprived of great works of art merely because a few perverts might interpret the message in a perverted way. Seriously, this is a touching book for anyone who loves babies and/or wants to photograph their own baby more artistically.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the mother in your life, September 13, 2002

By 

William Springer (Aurora, CO 80013) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naked Babies (Hardcover)

After reading about this book in the paper, I bought a copy for my mom and she absolutely loved it. I don't know what it is about babies that tends to drive women crazy, but whatever it is, this book has it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Little Babies, February 5, 2001

By 

Walt Dittrich Jr. "Walt D in LV" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Naked Babies (Hardcover)

My wife and I saw this on Oprah and I knew I had to get it for her. We have three kids now aged 8 mos, 3 and 5 years. The wife loves this book, and anyone who likes kids can't help but love the beautiful pictures in here as well.

Similar to the Anne Geddes books and pictures you see all over, except these are not decorated with flowers and stuff. Just babies and parts. Close-ups of a foot, a hand, an ear. It really is amazing to behold.