On the night of 2nd February 2019, Kuopio was freezing. It was -30°C and windy. I went to this place near my home, where I had been a few times before.

I chose this spot as it had a little less light pollution than other nearby places and had lots of snow.

Once I arrived there alone, after my dad wasn’t willing to step out of the car because of the cold, I was excited to try to get this photo for the second time, failing just the day before. It was my second time using a lens dedicated to astrophotography.

After I completed making the path for the composition, I started taking photos with my phone working as a remote controller, and since I didn’t have gloves that worked with a touch screen, I couldn’t wear them.

I kept taking exposures. I always had to stay still for 15 seconds in a row. If I had moved even a bit, the camera would’ve captured the shift. It was painful, but it was worth it.

This photograph became my most-known art piece to date. The first time I posted it on Instagram, it went viral, at least to my standards back then. It got nearly 60,000 views which was crazy to me.

At that time, I was getting bullied at school, and there weren’t things I was truly proud of apart from photography. Photography was my secret.

When this photograph went viral, it changed everything for me.

I was amazed that in spite of being a bullied kid, I made a creative piece like this. I also got the most meaningful comment to this date. A person told me she had sorrows and griefs. However, once her eyes landed on the photograph, she forgot them and felt at peace & relaxed.

I hadn’t ever imagined I could affect someone’s life with my art. This made me emotional yet powerful and sparked a new fire within me, that still drives me today.