cizucu Hosts 'Whispers of Water, Echoes of Time' Award Announcement | Challenge #200

'Whispers of Water, Echoes of Time' is a global online photo contest hosted by cizucu, open to any creator registered with cizucu. The contest curates outstanding works from submissions, aiming to discover new talents as a platform and support the community.

'Nothing lasts forever, which is why each moment is precious.'

This is one of the fundamental concepts of Buddhism and the Japanese philosophy of 'wabi-sabi'.

The theme this time was 'Moments that Feel Historic'. Rusty doorknobs, moss-covered torii gates, and the aged hands of a grandmother. Guided by the traces of time, imagining the great river of history flowing endlessly, and knowing that once a stone is cast into the flow, it never returns.

Before such moments, you may have captured the 'ephemeral nature of time' with your shutter.

Now, let's introduce the submissions and award-winning works.

momo
Kodak PORTRA 400

cizucu Editorial Team
Every day, someone lives somewhere, a continuous scene of life. Perhaps the photographer felt the fleeting nature of the scene before them, a scene they would never visit again, in the moment when the sun shone through. The unadorned composition and motif reveal the photographer's unique perspective.

Tsuki Usagi | Runa
Footprints swallowed by waves and disappearing in an instant. Yet, there are indeed footprints of someone who walked there.

📷 FUJIFILM X-T4

cizucu Editorial Team
In the blink of an eye, the waves rush in and erase what could be called a brief trace of history. But the large and small footprints, perhaps a parent and child, suggest the history and future of those who existed there, akin to the journey of humanity. I was drawn to this contrast.

BIGBEAT

📷 Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

cizucu Editorial Team
The contrast between the low old buildings and the towering modern skyscrapers behind them strongly impresses the transition of the city and the melancholy of what is left behind. The garbage and debris in the foreground also function as elements symbolizing the passage of time, with decay and development coexisting to symbolically express the 'flow of time'.

Keisuke Nishida

📷 SONY ILCE-7M3

cizucu Editorial Team
In the theme of 'Moments that Feel Historic', the existence of the trees themselves along this avenue, grown over many years, symbolizes history. The countless people who have likely passed through this avenue, along with the recurring scenes of seasonal changes, evoke the flow of time and the connection between past and present.

Pocky Fujii

📷 Canon EOS R5

cizucu Editorial Team
This piece skillfully captures the remnants of a once-glorious era and the decline brought by the passage of time in a single image. The still-vividly illuminated, divine stained glass contrasts sharply with the dilapidated interior, leaving a strong impression. The scattered chairs and crumbling interior seem to tell the stories of the people who spent time there, evoking a sense of accumulated time and the weight of history in the silence. It was a wonderful piece that cleverly captured the intersection of past and present.

How was it?
History continues to flow incessantly, and by capturing its moments, we can feel the ephemerality and preciousness of time. The works gathered this time each captured 'Moments that Feel Historic' from their unique perspectives.

We hope that when you encounter moments where the past and present intersect, you will continue to weave new history through your shutter.