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Lens-Artists Challenge #372—Ephemeral

Dew drops on prairie grass

This week, it’s Tina’s turn to challenge us with both photography and the meaning of the word ephemeral. She quotes Curt Stager, a scientist, author, musician, and professor of natural sciences who says, “We humans are essentially ephemeral – akin as much to wind, water, and fire as to earth.” Fortunately, she does our homework for us by providing the short and simple definition of the word ephemeral – “lasting for a very short time“. You can read her entire challenge post here.

For the opening photo in my response, I found myself walking along the Red River in north Fargo on a chilly, foggy mid-September morning a decade ago. Prairie grasses shimmered with dew, and a lone strand of spider silk, beaded with moisture, stretched delicately from a stem. Even in the subdued light, the droplets sparkled. It was early, but by midday, the forecast promised a warm day. These ephemeral pearls would vanish with the sun.

Foggy autumn scene
Morning fog hides the Red River

The fog hung low over the prairie grass, softening every edge and muffling sound. Yellowing leaves foretold the seasonal shift, their colors muted in the morning haze. Within that haze, the Red River flowed silently north toward Canada. By afternoon, the fog would lift, the grasses would dry, and this quiet stillness would dissolve—another ephemeral breath in the rhythm of the land.

Dessert-1
Ephemeral, on a plate

One of my favorite parts of cruising is the fine dining. In January 2018, I was presented with a fabulous dessert: apple spice cake paired with a small dish of ice cream. Talk about ephemeral—it vanished before the shutter even closed. I suppose I should’ve used a faster shutter speed.

Blood Super Moon
A “blood” moon

On the evening of September 27, 2015, I stood beneath Fargo’s open sky and watched the Moon slip into Earth’s shadow. For just over an hour, it glowed a deep copper red—a blood moon born of refracted sunlight and atmospheric dust. It was a supermoon too, looming larger than usual, yet fading just as quickly. By midnight, the eclipse had passed, the color drained, and the moment dissolved into memory. Ephemeral, indeed.

Double Rainbow-1
A double-rainbow on Kauai

In April and May of this year, we stayed in Kalaheo, Hawaii. From the front porch, we saw rainbows almost daily—often doubles, like this one. Rain fell at some point every day, and the mist created the prisms we associate with rainbows. Most lasted only a few moments, maybe a minute or two—a truly ephemeral sight, often vanishing before we had a chance to notice, let alone photograph them.

PGI 2017-3
A fireworks display in West Fargo

For a time, every three or four years, a pyrotechnics organization held its annual trade show and exhibition in West Fargo, North Dakota. As participants shared their best fireworks displays, the air filled with sound, the night sky with light, and then the hazy glow of smoke. Each shell burst brilliantly, then faded—the ephemeral nature of celebration written in fire and ash. This photo captured the finale of the August 2017 demonstration.

Thanks to Tina for inspiring us to consider how the ephemeral nature of a subject can be captured and made permanent in our photography. Each of my examples lasted but a moment, or at most a few hours, before receding into memory and taking its place in my gallery of photographs. Yet through the lens, each fleeting moment was recorded—preserved not just as an image, but as a reminder of how beauty often lives in the briefest of encounters.

As usual, you can find high-resolution versions of my response to Tina’s challenge this week on my Flickr site, where you can pixel-peep or review the metadata. Last week, Ritva’s Street Details challenge had me walking through New Orleans cemetery scenes, looking for the most unusual features of truly unusual streets. Next week, Egidio shares his challenge theme. Be sure to follow his blog here so you don’t miss his challenge, which will go live on Saturday at noon Eastern Time. To find out more about the Lens-Artists challenge and how you can participate, check here.

John Steiner

40 comments

  4. You’ve made some wonderful choices to illustrate ‘ephemeral’! I smiled at the apple cake one and loved the dew drops and blood moon in particular 🙂

    Reply

  9. Such a beautiful gallery of ephemeral moments John, the way you captured the fireworks display is truly amazing 😊

    Reply

  14. A wonderfull response to the challenge, John.

    The dew drops and fog are particularly appealing to me (as a nature lover).

    ……and now why didn’t I think of food and an empty plate? I’m trying to teach myself to eat slowly at the moment.

    Reply

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