Morten Nordstrøm – Weaving timeless stories that evoke emotions

Morten Nordstrøm is a Danish photographer who views himself as a storyteller, influenced by cinematic films and the look and feel of analogue film. Studying old techniques from old masters helps Morten achieve a timeless quality to his work.

When he was a child Morten remembers watching his grandfather documenting their lives with his camcorder, with an excitement that was infectious and really spoke to Morten. Filming the family on a summery beach during sunset is when Morten first became aware of framing; the fact that we are free to decide what to include in the frame – and what to leave out.

One of photographers Morten admires is Vivian Maier, who lived her entire life capturing photos of life as she saw it, without ever showing a single photo to anyone. “A lifetime of documenting in such a stunning way, just for her own sake. That’s really unique and shows that her love for photography was real and came from within,” Morten explains. To him it seems almost surreal in todays photographic society that someone would work for decades, developing and evolving their skills, without getting any acknowledgement from others. While Morten too finds a lot of energy in the things that matter to him on a personal level, sharing those stories with others is a big part of the satisfaction.

Morten likes to keep his gear simple in order to focus more on storytelling and less on the technicalities. “That helps me be more present and focused,” he explains. “The key is to figure out what it is you want to do and then go for it, without thinking too much about the how.” As a practical tip to aspiring photographers, Morten advises sticking to classics rather than following trends: “Invest in high quality equipment that could potentially last a lifetime. Cute, new things can be fun for a while, but it is good to have solid pieces that you trust and always come back to.”

While Morten dreams about shooting magazine covers and creating commercial films for the biggest brands in the world, there is also one specific person he would love to photograph: Her Majesty the Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. “She seems like such a wonderful person! It would be an honour to take her photo”, Morten concludes.