Footprints in the snow. A lonely path toward a journey in the mountains. I took this shot during a solitary walk across an off-season ski slope, where the infrastructure rests in suspended animation. The snow was untouched but for a single trail—mine—cutting through the soft silence. What drew me to stop and lift the camera wasn’t the cold or the scale of the landscape, but the purity of the composition: a line, a light source, and an expanse. Technically, the exposure required some compromise. Shooting directly into the sun flattens the highlights, but I wasn’t after tonal perfection. I wanted the viewer’s eye to follow the footprints without distraction, and…