"Opus Nigrum" — 2026 by Psyché Ophiuchus.

This is my first photograph of the year. It bears the name Opus Nigrum, the alchemical stage of darkness, of dissolution, the moment when everything seems lost, yet where everything also begins to transform.

It is also my wish for 2026: to always find the strength to rise again, and to keep moving forward, even from the mud.

This image demanded an immense amount of work. I first discovered this corner of the forest last winter — a place that perfectly embodied cold, dampness, solitude, and mire. Then I had to find a second setting that could echo the first — the same light, the same tension, the same silence. That was one of the most difficult parts.

Before I began, I was filled with doubt. The fear of disappointing myself, of not being able to live up to what I had imagined. But after long, patient, relentless work, I am finally happy with the result — and deeply fulfilled to have brought the image I envisioned into being.