When photographer Robin Chavez went through a divorce, she and her son spent a lot of time healing outside in nature — with him in his beloved wolf costume. “Documenting my son’s love of pretend play and his love of the world around him meant spending a lot of quality time together and we actually strengthened our bond while healing,” Chavez told SheKnows.
“My goal in this series was not just to capture the spirit of a young boy and his love of nature as a child,” she added. “It is also to urge people to think on a deeper level of what we consider ‘wild.’ Is wild the peaceful nature around us and the optimistic spirit of a young boy, or is ‘wild’ actually the very societal norms that attempt to tame us as human beings? In my son’s life during my documentation of him, his world was being flipped upside down to which he had no control, while the trees, the rocks, the seasons all were predictable and constant.”
For her stunning photo series “The Wild Child,” Chavez drew inspiration from the scenery around their home in Spokane Valley, Washington, as well as one of their favorite children’s books, Where the Wild Things Are, and the lost boys of Peter Pan and Lord of the Flies.
Sinking sun
“He watched intently as the sun sank lower behind the hills and observed the way that it altered the world around him in hues of golds and then pinks. Each day, the sun seemed to burn a little brighter and the ground began to thaw and the leaves unfolded outstretched, reaching toward the sun. He determined that love worked the same way.”
Waves
“He listened to the waves endlessly crashing along the shore and then drifting back out to sea in a continuous rhythm and he wondered if they were like the earth’s heartbeat.”
Infinity
“The wind embraced him as the waves tossed wildly and he could imagine himself being rocked by them, held for an infinity, as far as he could see.”
When you gotta go…
“A wolf’s gotta do what a wolf’s gotta do.”
Patience
“The ground, the trees, the grass were all brown and glowed red from the sun. It was soft like velvet, no longer cold and jagged like the ice that once formed over it all. He patiently waited for the blooms and the leaves that would transform the world around him and sighed. Broken hearts were much like that. Time took hold and made its changes and love would flood back in again.”
Reflection
“He felt the pressure of the world and all of its rules and expectations heavy upon his shoulders even as a young boy. It was only in the quiet moments that were just between him and the nature around him that he could see his true reflection. It was in those moments that he could let go of the societal norms that chased him and just be himself and it was then that he felt most at ease.”
Spring
“He rejoiced that spring had finally come.”
Ferns
“He loved the ferns. Ferns meant water and life and healing. He looked all around him and felt alive.”
Redwood
“He climbed inside of the heart of the redwood tree and nestled in between its exposed roots and pondered over the generations it had gifted the world. He decided that although he was just a small speck in that contrast of time, that he could still do great things.”
Sand
“As he sprawled across the wet sand, he thought of each tiny grain that formed underneath him and across as far as his eye could see. He thought about the way that each of those tiny grains had a purpose, how each one was needed to create that beach. He wondered what it would be like if people were like grains of sand, if they chose to come together to create something so beautiful.”
Frogs
“He listened to the frogs belching in the pond beside him and the way that the breeze rustled through the ferns with the occasional splash from the ducks beating their feathered wings against the water and it was music to his ears, a lullaby only nature could create.”
Flowers
“The flowers shone like gold in a sea of green, rolling in waves with the breeze.”
Rock
“He wondered what it might be like to be a rock, to be firm and solid and just watch the world go by, so he slid into the rock, becoming an extension of its edges and waited.”
Animals
“He loved animals. Animals were loyal and predictable, just as the trees.”
Ocean
“There was something about the ocean that made him feel alive.”
Crystal forest
“The child stood in the crystal forest and felt numb to the cold. Divorce was a tragedy he couldn’t control and he knew his life would never be the same. It was chilling and harsh like the snow that crusted over the branches around him, creeping over his world. He found comfort in the forest though because he knew spring would come. The snow would slowly but surely drip away into the ground and the blossoms would come again.”
Raw and free
“He was raw and free in his wildness as he wandered, nothing holding him back. No walls. No chains. No rules. There was just wide open space and unlimited choices to explore and cover. He could do it all. Conquer it all. The world unfolded in front of him and then he stopped and turned back for just a moment and he felt it deep inside his chest, his soul, calming the wildness. The memories and the love pulled him back like strings. He was a balloon on a ribbon grasped inside a hand that he loved so. The need was within him to float and be free, yet he was always connected by love.”
Howling
“Ow-ow-owoooooooo!”
Light
“Whenever he felt lonely, he knew to look to the light and he felt comfort once again.”
Rest
“He paused for a moment and the tree opened her arms and invited him to sit. The boy nestled inside of her encircling limbs as she whispered, ‘Rest, Child and share your dreams with me.'”
Home
“He decided that Home really didn’t actually have much to do with shelter at all. Home was the place that love was. The world called to him to explore it, but he would always return to where he felt most loved.”
Fierce
“He was fierce and not the kind that was threatening or intimidating, but the kind of fierce that inspires, that leaders are made of. He was just the right amount of fierce, peppered with untamed wildness.”
Mist
“The mist rolled in and out of the forest like a familiar visitor and the child met it with both fascination and curiosity.”
Path
“He searched for the path in front of him and though he was wild, he was cautious for just a moment.”
Forest friends
“Forest friends.”
Ready for anything
“He faced the big, wide world and decided he was ready for anything.”
Greeting the moon
“He howled as the sun tucked itself in between the hills and drifted off to sleep. He wished the sun a good night and prepared himself to greet the moon.”
Letting it out
“Sometimes there was just something in him that would boil over and had to be let out. He needed to howl to share it with the world.”
Going up
“He decided that the best way to go was up.”
Running
“He liked to run because it made him feel free while still having the earth under his feet.”
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