At an altitude of 1300 meters (4300 feet), the snowy landscape of the Black Forest in Southern Germany was enshrouded in dense fog, with the peaks covered in a blanket of clouds. During a disoriented hike through the contourless white-out, isolated trees appeared like diffuse ghosts, only to get lost in the mist again.

The temperature dropped to a frosty -4 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) while the high humidity in the air crystallized into a delicate hoarfrost that lay like frozen breath on the gnarled branches of the oaks emerging from the fog. Deeply rooted in the frozen ground, they stood in the diffuse light – surrounded by a carpet of untouched snow that dissolved the landscape into light and silence, enveloped in flowing white.

Only the black lines of the trunks and branches stood out – as if painted with ink. The impression was reminiscent of Japanese sumi-e painting – the art form in which minimal brushstrokes are used to create maximum expression.

This scene appeared as if time had stopped breathing. In the midst of this icy coldness, a level of beauty was revealed that only communicates itself to those who are prepared to lose themselves in nothingness and contemplate in silence.