Sacrificing human contact for the uncompromised beauty of nature comes with the territory for a photographer who prefers the majesty of night. Øystein Aspelund finds his creative groove blanketed in darkness, a state which the self-taught creative can breathe new life into the landscapes of Norway, Iceland, and Bulgaria.The series, titled Hibernation II moves along a contrasting pattern of stoic, opaque land masses against hazy night sky. His photographs exude the chill of standing alone in a desolate location. Nevertheless, the thrill of reveling in such expansive landscapes is worth the loneliness. Aspelund tells The Creators Project, “Based upon real places and events, this series intends to catch moments when our daily reality and our subconscious world sometimes strike each other. It can be seen as a stream of frozen moments, where the story between each frame is as important as the frame itself.”
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As an architect by trade, Aspelund discovered an interest in photography while taking part in another past time: traveling the world. The hobby developed into a fascination when the photographer acquired his first DSLR camera and began shooting with it in 2009.
In addition to focusing on the natural, the photography of Hibernation II is exclusively filled with nighttime shots. Aspelund describes why he prefers the allure of dark environments, “I have a fascination for the dark hours, when the world appears very different. This series is largely shot at night, when most people sleep. Sleep can be seen as a kind of hibernation, which is a subject that I find rather fascinating."
“Normally animals hibernate,” he continues, “but also humans can hibernate, in several different ways. We have a lot of artificial lightning in Norway, and the winter season here where I live is rather dark. Many people say that they enter a kind of hibernation state of mind during these winter months."
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