winter wonderland | a wedding preview | video

a couple of weeks ago i got in my car and drove up into the mountains here in norway to document the wedding of a sweet, young couple. the temperature outside was freezing...it was about about -23º celsius...but inside there was a roaring fireplace, great food and good times to be had.

i've put together a little slideshow with images from the night before the wedding. the bride and groom had invited their families and closest friends for a little pre-wedding fun.

all images except the first one were shot with the leica m9 and the 35mm summilux wide open.

enjoy.

Renate & Erlend - a preview. from stereosaint on Vimeo.

 

[bryllupsfotograf] [bryllupsfotografering] [morgan sikkerboel] [vinterbryllup] [geilo] [vestlia resort]

the best albums | 2011 | personal selection

 

i've been really bad at blogging this year, but i'm going to make up for it over the next couple of weeks. there's been a few posts, sure, but i haven't been consistent. sorry about that. maybe i'll make frequent quality posts my resolution for the new year? i should because i've got loads of unposted material. loads. 

did i make you curious? ;)

anyway - this post is about music and many of you know that music was my first love. i started playing the guitar back when i was 12-13 years old and about the same time i got into sound engineering. music was my life way into my 20s. i lived it, breathed it and it was basically what i did all the time. *seriously*. 24/7.

then, of course, photography came into my life and the rest is history - or so they say. i'm kidding of course. i do, however, try and juggle the two and right now i guess i love them both. they're two sides of the same story to me and just as music inspires my images, images inspire my music. #winning

but on with the show. these are my 12 favorite albums of the past year in no particular order. they make just as great gifts for yourself as for your loved ones. especially on vinyl. ;)

be safe,

morgan.

bon iver - bon iver

this album is a nice blend of modern sounds, 80s synths and honest emotions. the lyrics are very well written and is both accentuated and accentuates the music.

adele - 21

girl has a hard time. girl writes songs about the hard times. girl can sing. girl sings said songs. girl wins.

raphael saadiq - stone rollin'

this is a cool dude. while i didn't really dig this album at first, give it some time and it will most definitely grow on you.

dawes - nothing is wrong

this is a band i came across by chance. don't you just love that? you come across a band and it turns out they're really good and their album has just come out? did i mention they sound like something outta brooklyn? at least to me.

florence and the machine - ceremonials

she's got attitude. gotta love that. a lot of the same vibes and emotions you get from listening to adele, but totally different still.

the black keys - el camino

i love this album. the songs are great and the production is retro. it came out late in 2011, but man did it come out strong. play it loud, play it often and - play it in your car at night.

tom waits - bad as me

tom waits is a man that's often cited as a reference for many different bands, but i'm never sure why. they never sound like him. they never bring one of his greatest assets to the table - storytelling. whenever tom waits sings or screams or talks or barks, stories just pour out of him. truth, lies and everything in between blends into a cohesive whole that is better than most movies. enough said.

foo fighters - wasting light

while not the best album they've put out, it's a rocker and one of few good rockers to come out in 2011. butch vig produced it (he did a better job on green day's latest), but it sounds darker than what they've been up to lately and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

death cab for cutie - codes and keys

this is an album i didn't really get until i heard it on vinyl (same story with kid a by radiohead). but when i really *heard* it i was sold. great feeling throughout, really nice sounds and you get the feeling they put a lot of effort into making such a solid body of work.

radiohead - the king of limbs

not radiohead's best album by a long shot, but there are gems on here if you don't mind looking for them…and when you say gem and radiohead in the same sentence, you know you're in for a good time.

switchfoot - vice verses

this album caught me by surprise. i often use spotify for discovering new music. i rarely use it to listen to music. i buy it. it feels better, plus i get the cover art and i love that experience of not just listen to something in the background, but really putting some time into exploring the creative work that's put into the music. you should too. ;) the first track, afterlife, is very cool. restless, track four i think, is soothing with a great build-up. it goes on.

paul simon - so beautiful so what

his best album in years. he's sort of like the woody allen of music. sort of. there's jsut so many references but new york is the common denominator.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

halloween - 2011 | trick or treat?

it's that time of year again. the darkness is creeping in and here in norway we've just turned our watches an hour back in order to save ourselves some more of the precious daylight - the sun is setting at about 4pm now, so that's a downer, but at least we get to see it rising in the wee hours of morning. those of us who manages to get up early, that is. not sure i can include myself in that particular group...hehe.

trick or treat - which is it? here in norway halloween is a new tradition and so far the kids seem more reluctant and/or scared when they ring the doorbell than anything else. which is a good thing, by all means. no need for me to bring out the baseball bat just yet. kidding.

in a way i feel this tradition is a bit forced over here. it seems it's more beneficial to the commercial vendors than it is the people. much like valentine's actually. who needs a day a year of romance when there's 364 more to do the most of?

dunno what that says about halloween, though. why make one day scary, when there's 364 more that's as scary as ever. trick or treat...

- morgan -

Sivert Hoyem | release concert [preview] | fine art prints

last friday i was fortunate enough to be able to shoot the norwegian artist sivert hoyem's guest list-only release concert at a small club in downtown oslo. he just released his third album 'under administration' and 250 fans were lucky enough to experience the new album first hand.

i shot the concert using a leica m9 with (mostly) a leica summilux-m 50mm pre-asph lens and i can't wait to show you guys my results. look out for a post with a slew of images from the show in a day or two.

in the mean time, please enjoy these images of some pretty exclusive fine art prints i made earlier tonight. the epson 4900 in combination with hahnemühle paper is killer to say the least.

as always: click like, click share and help me spread the word - and thanks for stopping by!

empire state of mind | september 11th

flag of heroes, ground zero

ten years ago i was sitting in my studio recording some tracks when a text message ticked in and told me to go online. i did and what i witnessed was the world spinning out of control - in real time.

three months earlier - june 11th - at about 9am i was standing on the observation deck of the world trade center looking out at the statue of liberty. it was my first visit to new york and my second visit to the states. i remember seeing all the things i'd only heard about or watched in movies and, like countless others coming to the big apple for the first time, walked around with my head tilted backwards and my eyes aiming for the skyskrapers high above. the world trade center, empire state, rockefeller, madison square guarden, brooklyn bridge, moma, coney island, central park, 5th avenue, broadway, times square, washington square park, chelsea, the village...i was going to take them all in.

obviously i didn't get to do all of it on that first trip, even though i spent 10 days there. new york is the kind of city that invites you to hang out. the spirit of the city is an attraction in itself.  in the words of alicia keys: 'if i can make it there, i can make it anywhere...that's what they say'. no need to chase around town. the energy elevates you when you're there.

speaking of elevation - the reason for my visit in the first place was a u2 show in madison square guarden. i think springsteen is the only one who's able to get new yorkers to go completely bonkers apart from u2. the power of that show has stayed with me ever since...people were singing along from the first line of 'beautiful day' and they knew every word by heart. with hands raised the crowd almost drowned out the band. at least that's what it felt like from where i was standing in row 22. by the time the band got to the hallalujah-part of 'walk on', people were crying. that show was off the chart as far as emtions go. i haven't experienced anything like it - only in new york. the line 'but you've got an unquenchable thirst for new york' from the song 'new york' suddenly took on a whole nother meaning for me...

this post is not about me, though. it's about how the world changed that day. it's about the people who lost their lives, the pepole who lost their loved ones and about the people that lose their lives today in a war against ghosts of present, past and future terror. i salute you.

it's hard to write something about a city that almost everyone wants as their hometown without getting personal. in the days following 9/11 - everyone was a new yorker. i know that i still aspire to that - i want to be a new yorker.

in my heart i know i am.

remember, remember...the eleventh of september.

blurred skyline, nyc