In 2016, my photograph Solitude was awarded First Prize in the Behind the Lens photography competition. The image was later featured in The Beast magazine in Sydney.

The photograph was taken during a quiet summer afternoon in Karlsborg, Sweden. As I walked among the trees, the stillness of the surroundings evoked a deep sense of solitude and peace. The trees seemed almost like giant angels standing around me, and that impression stayed with me as I photographed the scene.

This is how I often approach photography: I respond first to what I see and feel, rather than setting out with a predetermined image in mind. A photograph can begin with an atmosphere, a feeling or a fleeting moment, and sometimes the meaning of the image emerges only afterwards.

Winning the Behind the Lens 2016 competition was an important moment in my photographic journey. It was my first photography competition win, and it gave me confidence in the way I see and interpret the world through photography.