/ɪˌmæn·səˈpeɪ·ʃən/ - the act of freeing a person from another person's control - I couldn’t have found a better title for what this image represents.

2022 saw me emancipate myself from a system designed to steal all my hope and joy.

This image is taken from my first hike after the lockdowns were finally abandoned. To say this trip was one of healing and restoring hope would be as accurate a statement as there ever was.

The 3.5 hour hike drew on all my strength and ability to reach camp. It was brutal and hot in the height of the summer heat, but I knew magic awaited me.

As I set up camp, it was just a matter of waiting for night to fall and the familiar sight of the milky-way core to rise above this disappearing glacier.

This moment meant more to me than anything in the world, the joy and freedom of hiking again and being one with nature and then to capture what I love most, the night sky.

This is the only milky-way image I edited in 2022 so it's the most meaningful to me!