About
Maria Riley–you can call her Riley–is an outdoor photographer and award-winning writer based on the East Coast. Embracing the Atlantic Ocean as a natural backdrop for much of her work, Riley documents coastal living in New York City. Shooting on land and in the water creates space for unique images: whales and dolphins swimming with surfers, shorebirds raising their babies on the same beaches every year, Osprey diving for fish, hurricane waves, and unmatched sunrise and sunset over the ocean. This rare side of NYC speaks to the wild nature of Riley’s photography.
Travel plays a large role in her work as well. Whether returning to favorite locations, like the coasts of Portugal and Spain, or exploring exciting new destinations, like a recent trip to Indonesia, there’s an instinctive search with her coastal street photography to capture those special moments that have a way of connecting us all. She’s available for shoots locally and around the globe.
Riley’s work has appeared in Oceans Magazine Tokyo, STAB Magazine, Downtown Magazine NYC, Design Milk, Daughters of the Sea Magazine, CNN, AM New York, and Women & Nature: Healing Practices for Body and Soul book. Clients include YMCA, Eddie Bauer, Yacht Rock Charters, and Locals Surf School. She’s been a featured artist with DIFFA and Bailey House. A gallery of Riley’s surf and water photography can be found on the walls of Locals Collective in Rockaway Beach, New York City.
