It is no mystery that I absolutely love animals. Some terrify me, (like bugs and horses), it's true, but I still love watching and, furthermore, photographing them. So, while spending my endless hours on Facebook, I saw a post from a friend that linked back to Hypeness (in Portuguese), about a photographer named Robin Schwartz, whose daughter Amelia is also an animal lover. Robin's work reflects in pictures her philosophy that animals can be part of our lives (even the wild ones) just as much as we can be part of theirs. In her own words, about her photos, Robin says that "The animals in the photographs are living creatures, participants in the dramas that the photographs capture. The world that my daughter and I explore is one where the line between human and animal overlaps or is blurred, where animals are part of our world and humans are part of theirs." How amazing is that?

I took some time to read and see Robin's website from top to bottom, regarding this project, and found that, unlike me, Amelia was not taught to be afraid of animals. Robin explains: "The first question everyone asks me or Amelia directly is: "Is Amelia afraid?"  My answer is, Amelia was not taught to fear animals, her siblings are animals. She is comfortable with animals as part of her natural world. Amelia's answer is "No," but she does think it sad that other children and adults are afraid of animals." I love this encouragement and life lesson! I became afraid of bugs due to a bad experience when I was about 7 or 8 (a fire ant bit my pinky and it was bleeding. After I came inside I found several more on my clothes, which freaked me out), and, growing up, my relationship with horses was non-existent until I was about 11 (when I first met one and found horses are so tall and unpredictable - at least in my head - and have feared them ever since). I know how unreasonable it is. Unfortunately, it seems much harder for adults to change once a fear (even a silly one like mine) has been established.

Once I immersed myself in the images, it amazed me how Amelia can be so at ease in the presence of such powerful and beautiful animals. The result are surreal images, almost like poetry to me, and I have fallen in love with them.

These above are some of my favorites. Click the slide show to see some more, but make sure to check Robin's website for more info on her work and this beautiful project.