My very first exhibition...

I haven’t even arrived home, yet here I am standing at a huge milestone. I’m experiencing another “very first” in my life, this time, my very first exhibition. I can hardly believe my own eyes. Just a year ago, I was still questioning whether I was good enough as a photographer. And now, I’m holding my own prints, taken during my seven-month journey, preparing to showcase them. It’s an incredible honor to be invited for such an opportunity, especially in my hometown a place where I haven’t even taken a single photo before. The whole preparation process was beautiful in itself: choosing which photos to exhibit, deciding the size, material, paper, surface, and sequence. Every step felt special. I truly believe every photographer should experience printing their work at least once in life. Seeing your photos large, holding them in your hands, and arranging them physically is a completely different feeling than just scrolling on a small screen. Suddenly, those decisive moments come alive, you can relive the fragments of those seconds again.

Up until I held the prints, it didn’t feel real. But once I did, it was. And then came the next challenge: the installation. Like any “first,” it wasn’t perfect. The space wasn’t wide enough for my original plan, so I had to reduce four sequences to three. The heat made things difficult, and later we had to rearrange everything since it was an outdoor, three-day event. These obstacles came from my lack of experience, but without them, I wouldn’t have learned anything. In the end, though, everything turned out just right. So many visitors came to see my photos. Some even bought prints, while others returned on multiple days to engage with the work more deeply. I also had my very first stage appearance, where I spoke about my past four years, the struggles I’ve gone through, and how I evolved both as a person and as a photographer. And on top of everything, I had the unbelievable honor of exhibiting my work alongside the great artist Martin Wanda. All in all, it was a warm, exciting, and unforgettable three days. My very first exhibition, and it’s only the beginning.