Frost-covered birches during a quiet winter walk — a short return of winter near the frozen lake
Winter returned for a few days — just enough to quietly reshape the landscape once again. When the frost settled overnight and the trees turned pale and white, I picked up the camera and headed out to a few of my favorite nearby locations. Places I return to often, in different seasons, knowing that even a small change in weather can completely alter their mood.
A winter roadside shrine hidden among old trees — quiet, cared for, and shaped by the season
In summer, roadside shrines in Poland often announce themselves — bright flowers, ribbons catching the light, colours that draw the eye. You notice them almost by accident while moving through the landscape.
A young roe deer buck pauses in a snowy field, surprised by an unexpected encounter on a winter walk
Winter arrived suddenly this week — the kind of winter I remember from childhood. Not the hesitant, half-hearted versions we’ve had lately, with mud instead of snow and temperatures that never really commit. This one came quietly but decisively: frost in the mornings, fields turning white overnight, and that familiar crunch underfoot.
Warm December sunset over snowy fields and wind turbines — a fleeting winter moment captured during a bike ride
This snowy winter didn’t last long — barely two weeks — yet it managed to completely reshape the familiar landscapes along my favourite cycling routes. And now, even in mid-December, the cold already feels distant. Today was so warm and bright that I went out for a bike ride in just a cycling jersey, feeling the soft breeze on my face and catching that unexpected smell of damp soil warming under the sun — something you rarely sense at this time of year.
A winter sunrise over my favourite roadside tree — always different, no matter how many times I visit
There’s a small stretch of countryside I ride through often — open fields, a wide horizon, and a quiet group of trees guarding a little roadside shrine. I never plan to stop here, but somehow I always do.
I’ve photographed this tree in fog, in summer heat, in autumn wind, and in deep winter stillness. I even spent a whole year capturing it across the seasons — the story became my four-seasons study of this very place. And still, every time I return, it surprises me.
Early snow and a quiet November sunrise — the first sign that winter arrived ahead of time
This year, winter didn’t bother knocking. It simply walked in — quietly, unexpectedly — on a cold November morning.
The first snow arrived much earlier than anyone around here was ready for. While last year I waited until the end of December to see even a dusting of white, this November greeted me with a thin, crisp layer of snow softening the entire landscape. The air felt different, too — sharper, stiller — as if the world was holding its breath before the true start of winter. Even the sound seemed muted, wrapped in that familiar snowy hush, with only the faint crunch of my boots breaking the silence.