Capturing the Ephemeral

How do you capture the ephemeral?  You can't.  I tried today.  The best I could do was photograph a fleeting moment, trying to freeze it in time.  I came to the realization that a photograph can only do so much.  It can capture a visual of the moment, perhaps hold some visual cues which set off an emotional reaction later, but there is no way to totally recapture an experience once it is gone. 

After sleeping in for a bit, my flatmate Elizabeth and I rode the tube to Kew Gardens.  I was overjoyed to learn that there was a butterfly exhibition - something I have always wanted to see, but never got around to.  I was also excited to learn about a water lily pond, which also excited me since they are such gorgeous flowers.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots from today:

Sunflowers.

Dangerous, but lovely.

Drinking in the sun.

A magnificent purple water lily.

At day's end, I know that these flowers will not look as they do here.  Perhaps they will lose a few petals, tatter at the edges a bit, or close up as if saying good night forever.  These pictures are a great reminder of their beauty, but they will not bring back as strong of an emotion that I felt when I first laid eyes on them.  The same goes with these lovely butterflies:

 

I have just recently started feeling a closeness to butterflies because I learned that they are pictured on my family's mon, or Japanese family crest. Each mon is given a description - according to my Great Aunty Aiko, ours is "ageha no chou". According to the Internet, this translates into "swallowtail butterfly" (which it is), but according to Aunty Aiko it describes the position in which the butterfly is posed. Here's my older sister Lauren and I after first realizing that the picture that has been hanging on Aunty's wall forever was actually our mon:

 

Asking about the mon

   

There it is - a little difficult to see.

If you search for the image "ageha chou", a similar picture will pop up. Although, I learned that each family mon was easily altered, so it's difficult to know yours unless a family member kept track of it. Thank you Aunty Aiko! 

Although I did not spot any swallowtails today, this little guy - a leaf butterfly, snuck up on me and landed on my shoulder.  I wasn't able to capture the shot (obviously because he was behind me), but I remember every detail about how it felt as he took refuge on me.  Closed up, he's trying to hide from the world, but believe me, his open wings are beautiful.  I equated that moment with the song below, which is wonderful because I also have fond memories of this song and my boyfriend (who I am missing dearly).  Please pardon the cheezy CGI butterfly and horrible music video - the song is really good, though:

I cannot capture every moment of this trip in its fullest - it is completely impossible because the trip itself is ephemeral.  I must savor each as it comes and "take it all in" as I have been advised by numerous people.  I know I am very fortunate.