Nice to meet you,I am Mara.

A session begins two weeks prior. I need to get to know the person — not their poses, but their music, the scars they wear with pride, the coffee they drink in the morning. Without that initial conversation, it's just scenery.

I shoot almost entirely with natural light and analog film for intimate portraits. The digital camera comes out when speed is needed — campaigns, fashion editorials, film sets. Every format demands its own tempo.

I do not retouch skin. I don't remove beauty marks, grey hair, or wrinkles. If someone is looking for that, there are better photographers; I prefer to capture what is truly there.

"A good photograph doesn't show what the photographer saw, but what the subject was keeping inside. My job, most of the time, is simply to wait."