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InspirationPhotography

Mother documents what her children get up to without TV or electronic devices

Imagine a childhood without TV or electronic devices. Running around the local fields, climbing trees and making best use of surrounding nature for playtime – instead of staying indoors and staring at flashing screens. For photographer Niki Boon, she provides a simple life for her children in rural New Zealand.

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Two children sit barefoot in a doorway of a wooden house, with a boy in the foreground playing with a stick

Living on a 10 acre property surrounded by rivers, coastline, bush and hills – her children are unschooled and live without TV or modern electronic devises, a lifestyle that may seem unconventional to some, but is deemed normal for her. She enjoys documenting what they get up to, without any modern technology or devices.

She explains: "I document their days, together, in an environment full of nature and uninhibited play. I photograph as physical record of their childhood, life as it is… the real… but also as a reflection of a childhood rooted deep in my own past – a most sincere place of freedom – a childhood I now pass on to my own children. Although deeply personal, I believe that others will also connect to some aspect of their own childhood.

"I believe my children are right where they belong covered in mud, running and living through nature. They belong here wild and free and earth connected in a way where the landscape begins and their little souls end."

Niki is a former physiotherapist, mother and self-taught photographer, living with her family in rural Marlborough, New Zealand. Her photography focuses on her family and the environment. Discover more at www.nikiboonphotos.com.

All images courtesy of Niki Boon

Two young children embrace in a river, looking towards the camera in black and white photography
Young children play barefoot in a grassy rural field, one crouching near mushrooms whilst the other stands holding foraged items, in black and white
Child sitting in muddy water covered in mud, looking at the camera with another child visible in the background by a river in rural New Zealand
A young boy in dark clothing holds a small white lamb while standing against a weathered wooden fence in a rural setting
Child playing in mud outdoors, covered in dirt while engaged in unstructured nature play in black and white
Two children playing indoors near a window in black and white, one standing and one crouching on a wet floor
Child holding a large cardboard box over their head while standing in a grassy field in black and white
Child and adult stacking stones together on dark earth, with two figures playing in the blurred background under an overcast sky
Bare-chested child holding a large animal skull in front of their face in black and white photography
Young girl hugging herself in a rural field, with another child visible in the blurred background, in black and white
Three shirtless children run along a dirt track through tall grass in a black and white photograph by Niki Boon
Young boy smiling whilst holding a vintage television screen around his torso in black and white photograph
Black and white photograph of a child's legs dangling from a hammock strung between wooden posts
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