Luke Shimpeno_Final Presentation_Dave Engledow_"The Worlds Best Dad Series"

Dave Engledow is not your typical father that posts pictures of his child to Facebook, but instead uses his degree in photojournalism from the University of Austin Texas to create artistic narratives that document his daughter, Alice Bee’s, life. Dave Engledow did a Q&A with “The Baltimore Sun” to tell his viewers why he started such a project. Dave was quoted in his interview stating "I had not originally intended to insert myself into the images, but soon after Alice Bee was born, I was inspired (probably due to lack of sleep) to portray what new fatherhood felt like to me at the time—I wanted to show the cluelessness and exhaustion felt as a new father, while poking fun at myself” (‘Confessions of the world’s best father’: A Q&A with Dave Engledow, The Baltimore Sun).

 Moving On Up, 2012

 Engledow isn’t just documenting his daughters life, he is giving her a childhood at the same creating a parody for himself that is an alter ego of the father he never wants to be. His photo’s are highly involved, taking one to two hours worth of photos of his daughter to capture the right one. Hismethod besides the fruit snacks he bribes his daughter to sit still with, is to  take pictures of himself by setting his camera to take 6 pictures at a time over a duration of around 30 minutes until he get’s the right expression. From there Engledow spends another 5-15 hours editing his pictures in Photoshop.

 Fathers Day Breakfast, 2012

 Worlds Best Father, 2012

 Worlds Best Father, 2013

 Worlds Best Father,2014

Like the photo above and many other pictures he uses Photoshop to put multiple images of his daughter in the frame. His mug that provides the label for his them “Worlds Greatest Dad” is the motif for each picture. His content is always specific in each picture that symbolizes the struggles parents, especially new parents face when raising children. Through his photography he is able to express his worries of becoming a neglectful father as he explains, “I think the shots that show me being distracted (reading the Sports page, absorbed in my laptop/ iPad) are the ones that hit closest to home and portray my biggest fear as a father—a tendency to get absorbed in things and not pay enough attention to those around me” (‘Confessions of the world’s best father’: A Q&A with Dave Engledow, The Baltimore Sun).

 Giving Thanks, 2013

 Gagnam Style, 2013

What started out three years ago in 2011 as a way to document Alice Bee’s life turned into a huge internet success. Dave has now published a book titled “Confessions of the Worlds Best Father” showcasing his work above and is also in the process of creating a calendar series. According to Engledow this was not what he intended for the project which was supposed to be more gritty and satirical, but what was discovered by viewers was the complete opposite, “Ironically, what a lot of people tell me they take away from these images is the obvious love that I have for Alice Bee—people see beyond the silly, satirical character I portray in these images and instead see a father who has decided to spend his precious free-time creating something special and unique for his daughter. I guess that’s pretty cool, if unintended and unexpected” (‘Confessions of the world’s best father’: A Q&A with Dave Engledow, The Baltimore Sun).

 Pumpkinhead, 2013

 Waiting for the Ferry, 2011

Although Engledow is best known for his photos as “The Worlds Best Dad”, he takes beautiful photos with a wide range of techniques and methods that are astounding and well composed. One of these interesting well composed photos in black and white is right above.