Yep, the girls are fine, but I'm more worried about his posture. Either they took that picture at the exact wrong time or he is doing it wrong.

Looking at the girls, the oldest could probably start chopping wood herself. Not, much, but she looks close to big enough.

It could also be the net effect of the photographer directing them so that he could get what he wanted to show in one shot.

The axe is moving, but it could be moving up. Shutter time might tell us something of its speed.

That's my thought too. Looks like terrible technique. Hands together on the end far too early in the swing.

And standing square on. Where did he swing it from?!

Yeah, its like he learned his technique from cartoons about people hitting the high striker (strongman) at a carnival.

I would argue she is much closer than 7 feet. She is likely 4 feet tall and it appears as if she laid down, she would be a few inches away.

Considering that when splitting wood you should at a minimum be wearing safety glasses, I'm pretty sure this can all be done much safer.

Nobody wears safety glasses to split wood. It's not like there are wood chips flying everywhere.

I could maybe see it if you're hammering in wedges or something.

Weigh your options... wear safety glasses or lose vision. You can't say it never happens.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23311802

I take it you're not from a rural area. I was splitting wood when I was the age of those girls. It's not as dangerous as you make it out to be.

I may not be from a rural area, but it doesn't take a genius to know that wearing safety glasses is simply a smart thing to do.

>SUMMARY: Wood chopping is still present in many homes in rural regions. In some cases, it may lead to serious ocular injury and potential loss of vision.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23311802