Metteli Photography by Mette Lindbaek - Abu Dhabi Professional Photographer for Baby, Kids and Family Portraits » Norway

Pictures from winter wonderland

metteli — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:31:47 +0000

I know a lot of people who have visited Norway (and Oslo specifically) and not liked it at all. They say it is depressing, with communist style architecture and of course very expensive. And well, the exspensive is certainly true, and some parts of the city (the most touristy parts conveniently) arent really that nice at all. But there are so many good things about Oslo as well, and during winter when the city is covered with snow and you can put your skis on right outside your house, well at least I find it hard to match. Snow covered trees, the light and the haze you only get when it is really really cold, and the low winter sun is just beautiful. It is all about nature!

Here are some pictures of the Oslo I have grown up with and love so much! A true winter wonderland.

It is funny, I think the palms and the desert here in Abu Dhabi are super exotic, but come to think of it, this kind of winter is kind of exotic too, dont you think?

Summer memories

metteli — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:52:40 +0000

We are JUST getting into some kind of normality down here, which is actually really nice, after many many months of nomadic lifestyle and no routines, it feels good to have some “boring” everyday life again. Sophie’s leg cast is off and she is running around (almost) like normal again. And, she started kindergarten this week! She is such a trooper, she actually spoke English on her first day there even if she doesn’t really know English yet. She told the teacher kindly that her sticker was broken, and then she turned to me and translated it into Norwegian. She learns new words of English every day, and she isn’t afraid of talking at all, so I am sure she will be babbling away in English really soon.

I myself is getting more into the photography business things again after what feels like a looooong time, and that feels great too. We are just settling, so I have a lot of thing to sort out but it is great just to have started. One of the things I have done is (finally!) making a “real” website, not only a blog, check the “portfolio” tag above, or go to www.metteliphotography.com.

While the summer is still very much on here in Abu Dhabi, I am showing some pictures from what is for me “real” summer, lazy summer days in Norway!

Guest blog: Portraits from Peter Clark

metteli — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:46:29 +0000

My grandmother just turned 96 years old. Yes, that is right, 96! And that needs to be celebrated. Unfortunately I couldn’t be there, since I am currently in Abu Dhabi… But luckily the super cool photographer Peter Clark was there, and he took some wonderful pictures, which I am lucky enough to share with you here on the blog. He is a great portrait photographer, you can see more of his images on his site, Peterclarkimages.

Happy Birthday to the most fabulous 96-year old in the world! For sure it was a great party with good food&drink, and lots of singing and even dancing.

Summer portraits

metteli — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 05:05:05 +0000

Here are some more summer portraits! Ah, the beautiful Norwegian summer, there is really nothing like it And of course it helps to have a beautiful young woman in the pictures too!

These days I am settling in in Abu Dhabi, but it is way too hot to go outside to take pictures, so you will need a little bit of patience if you want to see pictures from this part of the world. In the meantime I still have quite a few summer pics from Norway to share.

These pics are a little bit over-sharpened, it seems they have been sharpened twice, both when saving as jpg and then for web later…. Must do something about that later!

Flowers

metteli — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:25:15 +0000

Who doesn’t love flowers? I know I do. A good way to keep up the summer feeling.

All pictures are taken with my 50mm/1.4 and manual focus, no macro gear used, simply because I don’t have any macro gear… I would love to have one of those macro converters, but there are just so many things I would like to have… And anyway, the 50mm is still a wonderful lens!

Kragerø / / Norwegian summer pictures

metteli — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:45:06 +0000

I have taken so so many pictures from China, of all the exciting, exotic things I have seen and found there. Then I realized that Norway might be a bit exotic too, for those of you who haven’t ever been here… So I took a bunch of pictures from Kragerø, a small coastal town where many Norwegians, including myself, spend their summers. It is all about boat life and the sea, and yes, we do go swimming, even if it is really cold!

Oslo pictures

metteli — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:00:27 +0000

I might be a bit homesick this weekend, at least I am thinking everything Norwegian is looking really good. I might even make real Norwegian waffles to get a taste of the Norwegian as well. Anyway, I took a few pictures in Oslo last time I was there and just thought I would share them with you.

Bare winter trees

metteli — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:45:13 +0000

I dont know why I am so fascinated by bare winter trees, but I am. So I take a lot of pictures of them. They are standing there so patiently just waiting for better and warmer days to come so they can go ahead doing there business and grow leaves. No that is not it. I really just like how they look…

Winter wonderland – for real this time

metteli — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:08:51 +0000

I posted a couple of slightly manipulated winter wonderland shots the other day. These ones however are very real. This is how the Norwegian winter looks like at its very best. It might be cold, but I really can’t think of anything more beautiful than this. It is just so clean and pure and quiet. Or maybe us Norwegians are just brain washed? What do you think?

Family party

metteli — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:24:53 +0000

Some pics from back home, celebrating Ellen og Tobias’ 18th birthay (!), a very nice evening!

Winter wonderland

metteli — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:28:35 +0000

Today has been Photoshop-practice-day, I can’ believe how much stuff one can do with this program! Every now and then I feel I need to sit down to learn something new. Obviously taking pictures is where I learn the most, but learning Photoshop is also really interesting!

So today I have been manipulating and editing a couple of photos. In the first one I have added mist, snow, and even a little Sophie-angel, kind of my own little Narnia, as well as done a looong list of adjustments. The picture was taken in the mountains in Norway in Trysil and it was actually quite Narnia-like in real life, but I swill wanted to add more… Just for fun.

Missing you!

metteli — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:53:14 +0000

Started editing the pictures I took in Norway yesterady, and after watching you all for hours I really miss you all! Good thing we have pictures! More to come later, have so many pictures to edit at the moment I am working on some really nice pictures I took in the old part of town yesterday, where I actually got to visit one of the real traditional Chinese homes for a magazine story. Really really interesting.

Not ready to move on just yet

metteli — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:40:43 +0000

I am back home in China, but not completely ready to move on from the days back home in Norway. Yes, I say back home to both, both places are kind of home, each in their own different way. Of course Norway is home home, but China is also home, because that is where my life is. Very confusing I know, but at least I know most of my expat friends will understand my confused way of thinking

Just got back yesterday evening, after a long but realtively smooth trip, so needless to say I havent even started edited pictures just yet. But here is one that I didnt really feel the need to edit too much, of my incredibly handsome nephew, taken while we were out playing with Sophie in the snow, in the beautiful and warm afternoon light. Nothing beats natural light, right?

Carl on a sunny afternoon

Some nice interior details

metteli — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:56:26 +0000

This is NOT a blog about interior design, there are way too many of them as it is, and even if I do like it, I find it very difficult to find the things I like in China, and I also kind of loose interest while living in a rented apartment etc. But every time I get back to Norway I get reminded about all the nice things one can do to make your home look nice(r), and I must admit I really like the style Norwegians have these days (even if I am not even sure what it is called, that is how far away I am from interior design..).

But anyway, here are a couple of pictures of nice interior ideas from Norway.

White and grey design details. I like it very much!

Hearts. I have always liked hearts, and still do. Especially in these color nuances!

Pine cones. What a nice detail!

Waiting for summer….

metteli — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:36:46 +0000

Some more winter pictures. Kind of exotic for people not used to snow; for us Norwegians however, this is nothing really special, just snow…Instead of thinking this is anything special, I am guessing most of us Norwegians are thinking (and dreaming) about summer and bbqs rather than the fact that everything is covered in pretty and white snow… Or not. Snow is cool too! Just a few more of these winter posts…

Waiting for summer… It is going to be a while with all this snow!