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“One day he sent word: ‘Maple trees of the mountain are very beautiful. Come! let us go together to see them.’ She answered, ‘I shall be glad to do it.’ But the appointed day came and his Highness wrote: ‘To-day I must confine myself for a religious service.’ But that night it stormed, and the leaves were all gone from the trees. She waked and wrote to the Prince how sorry she was that they could not have gone the previous day.

His answer:

In the Godless month it stormed– 
To-day I dream and dream 
And wonder if the storm was within my heart.

horsetooth reservoir now vs horsetooth reservoir then

She returned: 

Was it a rainstorm? How my sleeves are wet! 
I cannot tell–but muse profoundly.

After the night storm there are no more maple leaves. O that we could have gone to the mountain yesterday!”

~The Diary of Izumi Shikibu (cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

Amy’s (The World is a Book) Lens-Artist’s challenge this week is to share our perspective of now vs then

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horsetooth reservoir winterwalk

on the water

a clear image of blossoms

death close by*

~Katsura Nobuko

Cited: Makoto Ueda, Far Beyond the Field

*’Death is close by, because the mirror image of the cherry blossoms, clearer than the actual flowers, will disappear with the slightest breath of wind.

Nikon D750 f/5 1/2000s 85mm 200 ISO

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the sound of waves

drawing near, I become part

of the winter scene

Kuroda Momoko

cited: Makoto Ueda, Far Beyond the Field

winterwalk… Horsetooth Reservoir

Nikon D750 f/5 1/1000 85mm 800 ISO

dark figure on light ground… 8 of 10

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An original image of Horsetooth Reservoir

edited in Photoshop and finalized in Nik’s Color Efex Pro 4.

A third image finalized in Photoshop creating a cinematic effect.

Nikon D750 f/5 1/2000s 82mm 1000 ISO)