Winter silence reflected in a circular window

■Shooting location
Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel "Light Cave", Niigata Prefecture

■Background and thoughts behind the work
I have long been deeply interested in contemporary architecture and geometric form, and I wanted to capture this space by architect Ma Yansong through my own lens.

In the severe cold of February, a silver world spread beyond the tunnel. What I aimed to express in this image was the contrast between the clinical stainless steel walls, the rugged snow-covered mountains of nature, and the water-mirror that blurs the boundary between them.

I paid particular attention to the placement of the figure and the balance of symmetry. In the quiet, blue space, a single human step adds a moment when a "story" is born within frozen time. My fingertips felt numb in the subzero air, but when the perfect circle and its reflection aligned through the viewfinder, I felt an indescribable exhilaration.

This photograph is a precious memory from a winter trip that closed my study abroad life in Japan, taken while confronting my own sensibility.