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.

Back to paradise!

Back to paradise!

With both of us being self-employed and very busy in the summertime, it is vital to grab the chance to go on trips whenever there is a window for it in the calendar. So this week I packed our camp stuff and took the three smallest monkeys to our favourite place (Ronja is still in school so unfortunately she had to stay behind). Summer has kicked in fully, the sea was so warm and WE HAD THE PLACE TO OURSELVES. It was so weird! I guess that's one of the goodies about homeschooling; you can go camping mid-week and everyone else will be doing their normal lives. When the kids were asleep in the lavvo in the evenings, I sat and looked over the ocean, and I was alone in that magical place, just me and that pink moon over the horizon. It was so lovely. 
Going camping alone with three kiddos (and being under the weather with sinusitis and a bad cough) probably sounds like somewhat of a kamikaze mission, but honestly, these kids are such great companions and so helpful. And I guess we have to get used to this camp lifestyle, because we have plans... More on that in another post!

So thankful for my children and for summer and nature and this wild life that we have chosen.

When the dust settles / Into the wild.

When the dust settles / Into the wild.

Family session: Love & chaos captured!

Family session: Love & chaos captured!