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.

Up north, five years ago.

My parents have a cabin way up in the north of Norway, in a beautiful bay, the sea comes right up to the edge of the garden and the view there is wonderful. They go every summer (and more). I have been there a few times, but it's difficult to make it all happen within a summer and with limited financial means. But Ronja has been there a lot, she goes every summer for a week or so, with my folks, and she loves it. It's a paradise for a child (and any human, really): nothing else but nature, nothing else to do but to be in it. She'll be out for hours, getting lost in the wonders of the shore, the pretty shells and stones, the tiny baby fish, the crabs and starfish, the tide washing in and then slowly disappearing again. I am so grateful of this place, and in my heart I promise to go there more often, and to let Falk and Freja experience the same.

In 2008, when Ronja was three and a half years old, I made this little film from up there.

Music credits:

Little Star

by Stina Nordenstam.

The Woobie Tree.

Our new little friend.