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.

Glorious monday.

The littlest monkey is finding it fun to keep her mother awake at night, so this morning I almost fell asleep by the kitchen table. Luckily, I have someone to pull my hair...

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...and put me in place.

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Apart from that, the Paynes have had a very good weekend, slowly coming back to normality (if there is such a thing) after the hustle and bustle of moving. We had the Mrs. Payne-parents for dinner on Friday (they tasted excellent!), and Saturday was spent in kindergarten (we just can't stay away) for a

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(click on the word)

,

eating cakes in a birthday party, and on the sofa with a (?) big glass of wine. Sunday was spent baking bread that never became anything else than porridge (I'll give you the recipe, I'm an expert!) and being generally lethargic. Have a good week, folks! I'm off to bed again...

The girl and the hound.

Early poems.