The vague and almost wholly personal appreciation of what is, or indeed what isn’t, wabi-sabi, was perfectly (or should that be imperfectly?) played out in my previous post on the topic, with its definition much more down to the individual rather than any particular directive.
On the whole, however, the images I offered were considered a little too much on the stark side to attain true wabi-sabi status, so, with this in mind, here’s another attempt at this wonderfully hard to nail down notion.
Which inevitably begs the question, is it wabi-sabi, or once again am I way off?
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmmmmmm, I’m no expert (but as it’s subjective who is?) but I’d say you are pretty darn close. But I would like to have seen some moss. Then I would have been 100% behind you.
Yeah, I must admit I’d have been a lot happier if there had been some moss. Preferably quite a lot of it too.
As far as i know, this is wabi-sabi.
Thanks, it’s good to know somebody else agrees!
Even after reading the linked article, I can’t say for sure. I do know I like it, though. Would you be terribly offended if I used this as my desktop image?
No, not at all, be my guest.
When I first saw the image I thought it was the water half pipe where noodles slide down and people pick it up to eat lol. The ripples coming from the center makes it a very tranquil looking picture.
This seems closer than the previous post, as this is actually a snapshot of something in motion – water in motion, on wood that will eventually decay.
Thanks. Yeah, whilst I’m not sure about the necessity of motion, I do think I’m a lot nearer this time.
Oh, I have to say you got it this time. To me that epitomizes the idea of imperfect beauty. I love it. Rather than a perfectly smooth wood spout, the spout is perfectly, naturally rough and uneven.
Lee, the ripples are almost perfectly imperfect. I wish you never reach the perfection. I like it just as it is.
Neither. (It’s a wiener)
I always follow your blog..
your picture is always great
i’m a newbie in photography can you share some tips for taking great photos?
I think you nailed it this time. They key difference (in my opinion) between this and your last set of wabi-sabi shots is that this shows an object still in use, rather than abandoned and dilapidated. It’s an object that continues to be used with care, despite its unavoidable slide into decay. Also, the water ripples give it a perfect sense of mono no aware.