The Whisper of Stars

In the biting ice-cold regions of Eastern Siberia there's a phrase used for the sound made when your breath turns to sparkling crystals in the freezing air.

In the vast winter realms, the native Yakut people call it - 'the whisper of the stars'.

For photographer Bryan Alexander, it was one phenomenon in many that deserved to be captured and frozen in time.

"I first went to the Arctic in 1971, after I'd finished studying photography," said Bryan.

"Up until that time, all the accounts I'd had of the Arctic were all about how cold it was and how it was full of polar bears lurking around.

"But then I went and met the people, and since then it is them who have drawn me back again and again."

Bryan spent his first visit to the region staying within a small Inuit community, living through an experience that would lead to a lifetime documenting the life of the Arctic's indigenous people.

"The people there inspired me to show that there was more to the Arctic than the common opinion," explained Bryan, from his home in the Scottish Highlands.

"The friends I made there are still my friends today. Though I've gone from keeping in touch by Telex to being able to yap on Skype for hours."

Bryan picked up his first box camera at 14 years old, and has seen his chosen medium transition to film and digital.

"I started off in a small cupboard developing film," recalls Bryan with a chuckle.

"I became inspired to take on a more documentary style of photography though after seeing Bill Brandt's London By Moonlight photographs of the city during the Blitz."

Not everywhere has been so welcoming for Bryan and his camera though, particular during his adventures through the Cold War.

"A vast area of the Arctic lies in Russian territory and, of course, during the Cold War it was impossible to get in and do anything particularly meaningful there," said Bryan. "I tried many times to get in but it was only later that I was able to photograph there.

"I couldn't name a favourite image though, I think it's a bit like music I suppose - you hear a great song and you play it to death."

Today, you can view some of Bryan's most spectacular Arctic images in his exhibition 'Whisper of the Stars' at Discovery Point Cafe in Dundee.

The free exhibition runs right up until early January, so you've got plenty time to see it.

In February, Bryan is returning to his beloved Arctic region too, with the promise of more exquisite images to come.

"I'm going to an area I've never been to before in Western Siberia," said Bryan. "You know, it's just something to keep doing until I get a proper job," he jokes.

"If there's one thing I've learned though it's that you shouldn't worry too much about things you can't change or can’t control.

"People can face enormous difficulties, particularly in Russia, but are still be relaxed about life.

"That's one of the more meaningful things I've learned on my adventures."

After all, there's plenty of life advice to gather in one of the most northern regions on earth where all you have is the Aurora dancing in dark skies above you and the silent sparkling whisper of the stars.

First published STV on Sunday 9 November 2014