A sea creature with a pink shell stands upright on a sandy beach.

A sea creature with a pink shell stands upright on a sandy beach.

A fossilized bone.

A fossilized bone.

A nude person lays in the middle of vast, white landscape.

A nude person lays in the middle of vast, white landscape.

Someone stands in a vast landscape and covers their face and body with a multi-colored tunic.

Someone stands in a vast landscape and covers their face and body with a multi-colored tunic.

A lone person traverses the paths of a sandy mountain.

A lone person traverses the paths of a sandy mountain.

someone's legs are dressed in adorned stockings as their feet sink into the soft sand.

someone's legs are dressed in adorned stockings as their feet sink into the soft sand.

a pearly white shell lays on a pink background.

a pearly white shell lays on a pink background.

A rusty nail lays on a white table surrounded by small rocks of different shapes and colors.

A rusty nail lays on a white table surrounded by small rocks of different shapes and colors.

A person holds a large shell between their forearm and torso, below the water surface.

A person holds a large shell between their forearm and torso, below the water surface.

Sandy dunes.

Sandy dunes.

Skinny white and green roots grow from the bulb of a plant.

Skinny white and green roots grow from the bulb of a plant.

A person with long brown hairs wears a pink hat as they face away from the camera.

A person with long brown hairs wears a pink hat as they face away from the camera.

A seashell with a spiral on it lays along the seabed floor.

A seashell with a spiral on it lays along the seabed floor.

A cactus in front of a pink background.

A cactus in front of a pink background.

A person with long brown hair wears a tunic with sunflowers on the back as they stand among the mountains.

A person with long brown hair wears a tunic with sunflowers on the back as they stand among the mountains.

Someone holds the inside of a large, reflective shell above the water surface.

Someone holds the inside of a large, reflective shell above the water surface.

Mountain dunes.

Mountain dunes.

A large black ant is surrounded by 4 small bones.

A large black ant is surrounded by 4 small bones.

A lone pink feather against a pink background.

A lone pink feather against a pink background.

Someone wearing a colorful, fringed tunic walks away from the camera along the sandy ground.

Someone wearing a colorful, fringed tunic walks away from the camera along the sandy ground.

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Photography

Wild Relics: How Shells, Stones, and Bones Carry Stories of Home

06.18.2025

Photographs by Ben Toms

Styling by Robbie Spencer

Whatever form they take, the bits of the natural world we collect and carry with us connect us back to the landscapes we call home.

Talent Amy Gwatkin and Urara Tsuchiya Makeup Crystabel Efemena Riley (Julian Watson Agency) Set Design Janina Pedan (The Magnet Agency) Production Amy Gallagher (We Folk) Styling Assistant Isabella Damazio Set Design Assistant Olga Pedan Post Production The Hand of God Printing and Processing Artful Dodgers Imaging

This story first appeared in Atmos Volume 11: Micro/Macro with the title, “Wild Relics.”

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