He works as a picture editor at VG Helg, the weekend magazine of daily Norwegian newspaper, VG. He is represented by Panos Pictures
Espen has won numerous awards for his work, including two prizes from World Press Photo, several in the Picture of the Year international (POYi) and 41 awards in the Norwegian Picture of the Year, including Photographer of the Year in 2015 and 2016 as well as the main prize, Picture of the Year in 2004 and 2016.
In 2007, Espen received $60,000 from the Freedom of Expression Foundation to continue his long-term project on refugees and IDPs around the world, which was published as the book TRANSIT in 2011 by Dewi Lewis, as well as a major exhibition.
He is a freelance lecturer in photography and he also frequently gives presentations at photo festivals and for a wide range of other audiences. For the last seven years, he has been one of three editors/mentors at Norwegian Journal of Photography (NJP).
His work has been exhibited at the Nobel Peace Center (Oslo), The Humanity House (The Hague) and the UNHCR headquarter (Geneva) among other places.
Clients include the New York Times, MSF (Doctors Without Borders), NRC (The Norwegian Refugee Council) and UNHCR.
His work has appeared in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, New Republic, L’Espresso, Der Spiegel and the Economist and newspapers such as The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph and New York Times.
