Photography Old — Stef Van Alsenoy

Photography

01 - 物の哀れ - ‘Mono No Aware’

Cloud Photography and time lapses

The Japanese expression Mono no aware describes an intense awareness of the transience and impermanence of life.
This world view allows for cherishing both the beauty and fragility of the temporary, as well as the melancholy of the ephemeral. Hanami – the admiration and appreciation of the sakura (the cherry blossom) and its transience - is an example of this. Mono no aware also reflects the circle of life.

For me all these elements are to be found in the dynamics and beauty of clouds: in how they are formed, how they evolve and how they eventually dissipate into nothing. In these cloud photography series there is only room for the essence, the power and the finiteness of clouds.

Below are links to five series of cloud photography and time lapses

02 - 間 - 'Ma'

Minimalist photography

The Japanese concept of Ma can roughly be translated as ‘the space in between’, ‘interval’ or ’gap’ in time or space.
It is the silence between notes that makes the music, the pause in a conversation that conveys feeling and meaning.
It is the dynamic balance between action and inaction, between movement and rest, between object and empty space.
In Western music and arts, minimalism would probably be its closest counterpart.

Below are links to five series of minimalist photography