Marianna Digioia

As a young girl growing up in coastal Monterey, California, Marianna Digioia longed for something different. Everywhere she turned, all she saw was the ocean—and eventually, she knew that she needed a change in her life. She desired to see the reds of the Mojave Desert, the whites of a Himalayan mountain peak, and the deep yellows of the plains.

“Everyone has heard the old expression, ‘The grass is always greener on the other side.’ Well, I thought that if I left the West Coast, I could experience what nature is truly all about, and I did,” the veteran nature photographer says today. “But what I realized after traveling all over the world is that Mother Nature was with me all along—from the very beginning.”

The globe trotting Marianna Digioia has sought out opportunities to capture the beauty of nature on film for over ten years. Having worked as a freelancer for a variety of travel publications of the course of her career, Digioia has snapped everything from aboriginal Australians to stampeding wildebeests to the Okie Noodling hand-fishing tournament in Oklahoma.

Throughout her extensive travels, Digioia has journeyed from Maine to Southern California in search of the most breathtaking landscapes, animals, waterfalls, and fauna to capture. Her photos of her favorite subject, the great redwoods of Northern California, have consistently earned her recognition and accolades within the photography industry.

But even after all that adventure and excitement, the cultured photojournalist realized that she was a down-home, beach girl all along.

“I spent all of this time trying to get as far away from Monterey as I could, but now I never want to live anywhere else again. Looking up into the night sky over the Pacific Ocean is pure ecstasy—there’s no light pollution, no noise, and no distraction. It’s the most serene place I have ever experienced,” she says fondly.

That newly rediscovered affection for her home town has led the native Californian to base her internationally renowned photography studio in downtown Monterey, rather than opting for expected locales like New York or Paris.

Her studio, Marianna Digioia, Inc., is intended to serve as a multi-purpose art space. Located in the heart of the city’s downtown area, the space will also be used to host rotating art exhibitions with a focus on photography.