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.

Pumpkin patch kids.

Maria Vatne

I could go on and on about how great our gardens have been this year, because it really has been overwhelming. I wrote in a blog post here sometime about what sort of magic dust someone had sprinkled on our soil, and when Mr. Payne read that, he dryly reminded me of all the horse/cow/chicken muck he spent hours spreading around the farm in autumn and spring. That is magic dust, actually. (Although I wouldn't go so far as to say a fairy sprinkled it on the soil.)

So yes, the pumpkins were due their harvest yesterday, and a good pile of them and the remaining courgettes/squashes, were taken out of the field. Any great pumpkin recipes are now welcomed!

Farm kids collected.

Fall.