Jesse Burke : Wild and Precious, Daylight Books

Wild & Precious by American fine art photographer Jesse Burke brings together landscape photographs, portraits, and still lives he made during a series of road trips he took with his daughter Clover from 2010 to 2015 to explore the natural world. To encourage a connection between his child and nature, Burke used these adventures to give Clover an education that he considers essential — one that develops an appreciation and respect for our planet’s wildlife and natural resources, the importance of conservation, and self-confidence.

For five years, the father and daughter team travelled to incredible locations throughout their native New England, as well as to the Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, the Southwestern Sonoran Desert, and the beaches of North Carolina and Florida. At each site, they studied the trees, the land, the sky, and the animals they encountered during their hikes through woods and meadows, climbs up hills and mountains, and treks along rugged shorelines, rivers and through waterfalls. They carefully documented the routes they drove, the landscapes they discovered, and the creatures, great and small, they met along the way — from elks to eagles to raccoons. They even charted the quirky roadside motels they slept in when not camping outdoors. In each location, they collected artifacts that they would bring back home to catalog, study, and photograph.

In his artist statement Burke writes, “I want my children to genuinely understand how magical the world we inhabit is and how we, as humans, are an integral part of the system. I want them to feel a deep connection to every aspect of their surroundings.“

Wild & Precious is a modern-day love story between parent and child, the natural world and civilization. It is a valuable addition to the libraries of parents and the entire family, educators specializing in childhood development, and anyone interested in contemporary photography, the environment, nature and conservation. In his essay, author and environmentalist Ben Hewitt, who wrote Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World, remembers the countless shelters that his sons made in the woods and how they would return home “their skin smelling of leaves, dirt, and woodsmoke, their hands smelling of fish guts.” He stresses the importance of exposing children to nature. “Research shows that children who feel connected to the wild do better in school and have increased self-esteem, that they are more sensitive to the needs of others and to nature itself.”