Celebrating the Ephemeral

We look to the future with trepidation and uncertainty, and we try so hard to "capture" those fleeting moments of beauty, joy, & personal milestones. We fetishly pursue happiness and forget to breathe along the way. We want the perfect photo for social media and forget to really look at what we're photographing. My eldest son got married this month and my next son leaves for the Marines in a month. Promises made, destinies unknown--lots of photos being taken at celebrations big and small. The Cherry Blossom festivals in Japan are days meant to contemplate the ephemeral beauty of these delicate blossoms. I created the basis of this piece on my iPad live on a tatami mat near this famous tree in Maruyama Park, Kyoto, on the peak day for blossoms. People staked out their mats starting at 4am. Tasty picnics, traditional clothing, and fluttering blossoms, contrasted starkly with the prevalence of devices meant to capture the moment. To save what couldn't be saved. A screen will never give you back all of what's out there...celebrate when you can, savour the colours, the textures, the flavours, the giggles, the promises, the hopes and the dreams.