One day in the summer, my younger cousin came to visit at my parents’ house in the country. She was immediately exploring in the forest and inventing games that you could only conjure up during your childhood. A stick became a tool for traversing through the tall grass and then an axe for cutting down a tree. Eventually, I found her and told her that dinner was ready, and she pleaded for five more minutes because what she was doing was ‘really important to her.’

This made me think about my own upbringing and anyone else who may have shared that same experience. Nature itself seems to be an intrinsic part of people, bringing out the creativity, imagination, and carefree spirit of oneself. It is something that I feel is important and had hoped to share through the images in this book.

Cedar McCullough