A mother of four, photographer, nature lover. Someone trying to make sense of it all, through photos and stories. 

I try to be free in all senses of the word, so I made the leap and now work with what I love doing; taking pictures, storing this life in moments, both for myself and for clients. My heart is in photographing birth and motherhood, but I take on just about any photography job. 
(See my birth photos at www.birth.no and the rest of my work portfolio at www.mariavatne.no.)

I live on a farm in Norway with my man Nik and my children Ronja, Freja, Falk and Ulv, plus a bunch of animals. We grow our own food as far as the seasons allow it, we don't go to kindergarten, the three youngest ones will be homeschooled.

We govern our own lives, we strive for independence, we want to be in this life wild and free and full of love.

In the darkness / On the river.

In the darkness / On the river.

Winter is upon us with its full darkness and silence, a time I often find myself dreading when summer is at its height. But like with most things; the dread of something is worse than the reality of it (and the dream of something is often better), so its proving itself to not be so bad, after all. (You'd think I had learned this after having been Norwegian for almost fourty years!) It feels like this winter I let myself sink into the darkness more, like it it is saturated with more power and magic than ever before. I vision myself as a worm, making tunnels in the darkness of winter and living safely down there in the waiting of lighter times to come. It feels safe and good and important. I think of the lunar phase from full moon to new moon, and to the quiet of the new moon, where the energy creeps down into a rich and loaded darkness. That's where I am now, and it feels good. I work, I read, I do yoga, I hang out with my children. I feel a sense of rest and hibernation. And sometimes, I come along for adventures with the pack - out to play in the few hours of daylight, like making a fire in the woods and playing hockey on the ice. 

Winter solstice.

Winter solstice.

Rascal.

Rascal.