Here’s what couples look like when they sleep—in surreal time-lapse photos

Paul Maria Schneggenburger has always been fascinated with sleep.”It’s an unconscious state of mind where scientists still haven’t really figured out yet what’s going on,” he says.

Early in his career, Schneggenburger would take pictures of sleeping people where ever he saw them: “On the park bench, trains, at the party.”

In 2010, he had the idea to take six-hour exposures of sleepers: first himself and then couples, families, and anyone else he could convince to come into his Vienna studio. Shot on black sheets in a dimly lit room, the images are intimate and surreal.

“The Sleep of the Beloved” is an ongoing series. Schneggenburger invites anyone who is interested to contact him about recording their own sleep.

Check out a selection below.

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"The Sleep of the Beloved I"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved III"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved IX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LVI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXIV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXVI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXVIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXXI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved LXXIX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved V"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved VI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved VII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved VIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved X"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XIV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XIX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XLIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XLIX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XVI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XVII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXIII"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXIV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXX"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXXI"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXXIV"

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"The Sleep of the Beloved XXXVII"