Flash #23
Fleeting Moments

Fleeting Moments presents a collection of photographs that invite us to reflect on the ephemeral — those delicate, passing instants that often escape our attention yet linger in memory. The works on view celebrate the beauty and poignancy of life’s transient moments: a fleeting glance, a subtle gesture, a passing shadow, the last rays of light before dusk.

Each image captures something impermanent yet emotionally resonant, inviting us to pause and consider how quickly these moments slip away. Within this collection are scenes that may seem ordinary or quiet at first glance, but together they reveal a deeper truth about the way time shapes our experience — how meaning is often found not in grand events, but in brief, in-between spaces.

In presenting Fleeting Moments, we honor the art of noticing: of seeing and holding close what is fleeting and fragile. This exhibition invites viewers to slow down, look carefully, and appreciate the grace of the moment before it vanishes.

A note from the juror:

When pondering the concept of a “fleeting moment” my mind first went to Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment” with which most photographers have some familiarity. His idea can be seen as capturing the height of action in a given situation but may also point to the precise slice of time when several disparate components within a composition arrange themselves into the most pleasing arrangement. In judging the exhibit, I was looking for good examples of either of these takes on the idea—but I was open to a more expansive notion.

Given a different, non-photographic frame of reference, for example, childhood could be seen as a fleeting period of time. Likewise, an emotion or psychological state could be experienced (and photographed) in a fleeting fashion. Ultimately, since “still” photography generally traffics in small segments of time, nearly any image could be considered appropriate to the theme.

In the end, I’ve chosen forty-four intriguing images here for inclusion in this exhibition. Some of the captures selected might relate to any of what I’ve written above, but others may have simply come from a gut reaction I had while those ideas were floating about in my head—but not necessarily adhered to directly. In any case, to all who entered their works, thank you, and to those whose work I’ve selected, congratulations!

Richard Koenig