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.

Family.

Maria Vatne

As the years move along, as we grow in both size and number, it is a wonderful thing to do a family photo every year. Being a photographer does not make it any easier - I would probably say the opposite - because I'm a control freak and would want to both be in front of and behind the camera in those shots. Alas, I am not the yogini I wish (you know, some of them can be on more places than one simultaneously), so I have to settle for being in front of the camera this time. Luckily Grandy is visiting this week, so she was hired to push the button - and after the normal caffufle to get everyone in place, we actually managed to get two good ones!

So here we are, the Paynes of 2014. 

Morning walk with Falk.

Preparations and harmony.