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.

The first cut.

We're making hay on our fields this year, and a few days ago the first cut was harvested. A bit of a milestone! The grass grew high and beautiful, so we hope the quality of the hay will be equally good. Unfortunately, the harvest in our kitchen garden looks long lost, as the seedlings just won't grow. The soil there is very sandy, so because we didn't mix any compost or manure in, it's almost like planting seeds on the beach. Only the hardy beans and cucumber are coming. Luckily, the greenhouse looks like it's doing its job - the tomatoes and herbs are thriving! So I guess we'll be buying a little more veg in the shop this year than we planned to - but it's all a part of experience, isn't it? You win some and you lose some, and hopefully a little knowledge is picked up on the way.
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What to wear?