#1. The Circle of Life

This photo, which I have titled The Circle of Life, marks a turning point in my photographic development. Here you can see decayed leaves trapped in a thin layer of ice. The bloom has passed, and what remains is a phase of stillness. To me, they are frozen memories. They still carry their color, but the movement is gone, as if they have been captured in time.

The soft light falling over the ice on the right side feels comforting to me. It reminds me that grief and light can exist side by side. This photo helped me acknowledge and allow my own mourning. I discovered that grief is not only pain, but also a form of love that gives space to memory, resilience, and gentleness. The image connected me to silence and absence, and through that, I was able to experience these feelings more consciously. Photography became a way for me to pause with sorrow while still noticing the small points of light.

When creating this photo, I paid careful attention to the composition. In the lower left, the eye rests on what once was, now present only as a memory. On the right, the eye can leave the scene via the light, creating a gentle transition toward hope. Loss and hope, it seems, naturally belong together in nature, as in life. This image reminded me that moments of stillness make room for clarity, meaning, and recovery.