Boarding Pass – Marte Marie Forsberg

Norwegian photographer and stylist Marte Marie Forsberg (aka Le Voyage Creatif) has been living abroad on and off for the past 15 years in places like Tokyo, Japan, Switzerland, The Dominican Republic, Italy and America. Her love of travel has always influenced her studies, work and living, and she calls herself a "visual story maker." She has an incredible home and studio in the Oslo Fjord in Norway (check out her stunning D*S "sneak peek" here) that serves as a refuge from all her work and travels. These days she's been spending a lot of time in Rome working on an exciting book project relating to Rome, food and travel where she packs together all the things she loves. And this week she's launching the project #60daysoflunch on Instagram (psst. her photos are always amazing!). It's a love for food and travel instagram-only-project, which you'll have to stay tuned for to find out how to get the recipes. Happy travels! Thanks, Marte Marie! –Anne

home town:
Moss, Norway
where you live now:
In Rome and mon petite studio on a fjord island in Norway.last trip taken:
Tuscany! It was a surprise weekend by a friend who thought I needed to be swept away from the summer heat in Rome to my favorite place in Tuscany…And yes, that was indeed exactly what I needed;) (when do you not need a bit of Tuscany?)
next trip on deck:
Besides some traveling in Norway and then back to Milano and Rome the next month, the trip I’m really looking forward to is sailing in the Mediterranean in August. Some friends of mine have rented a sailboat that takes off from Sicily. It will be one week on deck, with wind in our hair, dinner served in the sunset, and I’m so excited!
one place you would go back to again and again:
One place! Really? Hmm…I do return to Tuscany again and again, but I think I must say Switzerland, the alps have a way with me that few other places can reproduce. The fresh air, the majestic alps, the lush and green forests, the lakes, the food, the people and the most beautiful train rides in the world!
place you'd most likely recommend a friend go visit:
Sail along the coast of Sweden, road trip through Norway to see the lush fjords that makes you weep with its majestic beauty, Tokyo for it’s juxtaposing beauty with old and new side by side in a crazy mix, take the train through Switzerland, road trip on highway one from L.A to San Francisco, spend a weekend in Rome and just eat, and rent motorcycles and ride through the northern part of the Dominican Republic. Or just come stay with me at my little island cottage in the Oslo fjord;)

Shot with 8mm App

preferred method of transportation:
Train! Always train. If I have the choice I take the train in Europe. I even land in Geneva when I need to go to Milano so I can take the train along the Genf lake and through the alps before “landing” in Milano;)
place you've never been but dying to go:
The list is so long! Where to begin… Australia, Kina and perhaps Russia…oh and Island and the Faroe islands… Can I add everything in between too…?

place you'd never go back:
Very few places throw me off no matter the bad food, horrible accommodations, delays or travel sickness experienced in a place, and as soon as I say “I'd never go there again, somehow I get a job there or someone asks me to go there on a vacation, and I give in…but maybe I don’t need to go back to…Sarpsborg, a dinky town in Norway ;)
most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
Rome two years ago. I went there with a person that was very dear to me and we spent 4 days wandering the streets of Rome hand in hand with only a little purse and our cameras. We ate, walked, talked about art, life and future plans, it was heavenly indeed. No stress, no agenda, only great company and a fantastic city to kill time in.
how do you prepare for a trip?
I always end up staying up on the last night packing, no matter how long in advance I know about the trip. However, I’ve luckily become quite the efficient packer. I always make sure I have full camera batteries; all my gadgets and cords are in a little travel purse with adapters for every part of the world. Cameras, iPhone, clean soft socks for the airplane ride, a cashmere shawl to wrap my body in, a great book, pillow, eye mask, pen, sketchbook and sunglasses, passport and my visa cards, oh and snacks because I’ll get hungry no matter how often I eat. Most of my planning is summed up in butterflies rummaging wild in my very excited travel heart, google-ing the place, looking at images, facts, and what people say about it and then daydreaming, lots of daydreaming.
how do you record your travels when you're traveling?
I always bring a sketchbook that I scribble down ideas, sketch and write down my thoughts, like a journal. I also save tickets, receipts, business cards etc in it. My cameras are with me, usually one digital and one film. My iPhone has become a trusted travel companion that I use excessively. I have an instagram account (@marte_marie_forsberg) where I daily bring my followers along through my world of travel and of food. It’s a place for me to record my travels as well. I also film with an 8mm app on my iPhone, tweet, and blog from my trips.
what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
People, food, little details that to me sum up the place but that oftentimes gets overlooked, and I try to capture how I feel about the place through the lens.
on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
Oh, that’s tricky. Too many!
what's in your "designer travel kit" ?
Sketchbook, a black leather on from the Swedish brand Ordning & Reda, black ball tip pens, and pencils, Cameras, I use a Canon 5D mark 2, an old film camera from Nikon, a Holga and my iPhone, a leather case for my passport that I got from a friend filled with all my awards cards with different airlines neatly organized.
what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
As soon as I get home I upload all my photos unto Lightroom where I keyword them and organize them. I organize all the business cards from restaurants, shops, cafes and hotels that I’ve gathered on the trip unto folders and categories. Toss all my clothes in the washer and lay down on my bed smiling while delightful travel memories re-play in front of my eyes. I’m usually completely exhausted at this point and fall asleep happy as a clam of being home again.
favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
I buy food, vintage finds and art cards from galleries and museums that I visit that make it to my mood board at home, to inspire me in my work and remind me of good times on the road.


A little video by Matthew Turley of Marte Marie Forsberg on perusing a street in Valetta.

LINKS
portfolio: mmforsberg.com
blog: le voyage creatif
etsy shop: levoyagecreatif
twitter @levoyagecreatif

Marte Marie's favorite travel posts:
A desert
The Lake district
A Norwegian island in the fog
San Francisco
A green garden
Milano


Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel. Don't miss all the amazing participants.