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.

Having one of those moments again, just BLAAAAH to wooly sweaters, wet floors from melted snow (equals damp yucky socks), dry winter skin, yellow snow, brown snow, grey snow, slippy roads, frozen fingertips, cold rooms in the morning, putting on hundreds of layers of clothes on the kids, NOT putting on enough clothes on myself, and thus freezing my tootsies off driving to work, grumpy dogs, grumpy chickens, the dream of spring, sigh. I wanna go here:
DSC_0184
My beautiful mother-in-law's phantasmagoric paradise in Portugal. It heals the soul.
DSC_0169

Golden girl.

Nine months.