California Dreaming by Bodhi Smith

Jan 31, 2020

"california dreaming" a new impression from bodhi smith...
 
"i was born and still live here in califonia...and i dream of california every night, dreaming of my childhood memories...to me, a better california when there were so many less people, less noise, less hurry, less ads, less anger, less houses, less homeless, less concrete, less cars, less gasoline stations, less shopping centers, less greed, and so much less madness...instead california had more open spaces, more open minds, more open hearts, more orange groves, more peace and tranquility, more silence, more understanding, more brotherhood, more smiles, more happiness and hope...california was such a beautiful dream with pristine beaches, few footprints, crisp blue pacific waters, refreshing ocean breezes, palm trees and gorgeous sunsets and giggles in the air...iconic parks were not crowed with people trying to make money off nature, people were not just running around taking pictures to put on social media...instead, people care about things besides themselves, they are loving the surroundings, paying attention each other, the trees, the flowers, the birds, the walk, the glow of sunshine, living in the moment..." ― bodhinku, california dreaming
 
“a dream you dream alone is only a dream. a dream you dream together is reality”  ― john lennon, imagine 
 
“hope is a waking dream" ― aristotle
 
“twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. so throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. catch the trade winds in your sails. explore. dream. discover" ― h. jackson brown, jr., p.s. i love you  
 
btw, here is easily the most perfect tune to listen to as you read my blog (just click on the song title, it is a link to the lyric video)... "california dreaming" by sia...from the movie, san andreas in 2015, this is a new, sleek, and soulful updated cover version of the classically famous "the mamas and the papas" original iconic tune from the 1960s (click here for the original: mamas and papas, california dreaming)

"all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey. i've been for a walk on a winter's day. i'd be safe and warm if i was in l.a. california dreaming on such a winter's day...all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey. i've been for a walk on a winter's day. i'd be safe and warm if i was in l.a. california dreaming on such a winter's day...stopped into a church i passed along the way. well, i got down on my knees and i pretend to pray. you know the preacher like the cold, he knows i'm gonna stay california dreaming on such a winter's day...i'd be safe and warm. i'd be safe and warm. i'd be safe and warm. i'd be safe and warm...all the leaves are brown and the sky is gray. i've been for a walk on a winter's day. if i didn't go, i could leave today. california dreaming on such a winter's day, oh such a winter's day, on such a winter's day"
 
“soar like an eagle beyond skies of heavens reach; as wings of dreams dance with winds of reality" 
 
"i choose to hold you in my dreams…for in my dreams, you have no end” 
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MEANING
"my artistic vision is an impression...i dream my photograph, and i photograph my dream" 
 
we need to continue to dream, because inspiration comes from dreams, and hope come from inspiration...if everyone has the same dream, they have the same inspiration, then it becomes reality for all...and this is the inspiration the meaning for this impression's title, "california dreaming"...just like the song where someone is wanting to go back to california away from the gloomy and cold winter of the northeast and see its beauty again...just like i would love to see the beauty of california again like it used to be many years ago...
 
things change...continual change just happens whether we want it to or not, whether we need it to or not, it just happens over and over and over...we must somehow make change a positive in our life, even though sometimes on the surface it is very hard to see how, as i struggle with all the negative changes i perceive happening in california over my lifetime...

perfect example is the location of this image...for so many years, almost nobody knew of the existence of any pier ruins way down below the steep cliffs in the sleepy seaside town of davenport, ca...they drove by going 55mph, high up above on the pacific coast highway #1 (pch1) oblivious to anything else except their own dashboard and the music on the stereo...and the old pier ruins lived peacefully in quiet obscurity and anonymity for many many years, surviving thousands of tides with so few footprints beside them...

and i am glad a few years ago that i got to shoot these pier ruins in davenport before people knew they were there...because now with the explosion of images on instagram, not much is obscured or secret anymore when it comes to locations of beautiful and mystical things...now these pier ruins are no exception, now the beach is riddled with footprints and the negative mark of humans being there...

the tides of human beings coming and going in massive numbers now has changed this place forever, and it is hard for me to see how it is for the better, but i am trying my damnedest to see the hidden positive in the message of this particular change...

and as a result of this change, i have regrets that i can no longer go there and take this beautiful picture again, it is gone forever...you see, these old pier ruins used to be very beautiful to photograph...but 3.5 years ago, some people severely tagged the front ruin on the beach, coating it with panels (bright pink, yellow and blue) of unsightly graffiti/art,plus they hung a metal chain swing from it as well, and severely tagged the cliffs behind the beach with all sorts of crazy ugly and random graffiti...this video link: current davenport pier-2019, shows in a video what the pier now looks like, as of 01/2019. you can really see how badly painted and tagged the front ruin is even from way up on the cliffs above the beach--so sad if you compare it to how much more beautiful this old pier was in my images from this spot in 2014...and then to add insult to injury, weathering did its natural thing with erosion, and the fourth pier ruin out in the water succumbed to the elements (again, you can really see this in the video), and collapsed into the sea forever a couple years ago too...

you can see how much the pier and this area has changed only 5 years later since i took my image you see before you in early october of 2014...with the way this spot looks now, i have no desire to even climb down on the beach and stand in front of this once beautiful pier ruin, let alone capture any more impressions of this spot...big bummer for me...

as i have seen, i am sure you have seen as well, that no matter what, even good things will fall apart... so enjoy the moment now, enjoy your life and the things you have, the passions that inspire you and bring joy, enjoy the people and pets who love you, all those right before your eyes...live in this moment, live and live...

"travel to that place you always wanted to see, go see it, only excuses are stopping you. say all those things you wanted to say to those people you never said them to, only pride is keeping you from it. learn to do that thing you always wanted to do, and do it, only fear is holding you back...do not instead make up a list of all the stuff you want to do before you die, just start doing it, and do it now. do not wait for 'one day.' experience what you can right here, right now, before it all changes...because it will change. the tides of change are as constant as time itself. as buddha once said, ' nothing is forever except change'...so take nothing for granted, nothing is guaranteed except that it will all change one day..."― bodhinku, tides of change 
 
“everyone has someone: a friend, a lover, some skill or work...but i am alone with the dream of my beloved, hidden in the corner of my heart” ― jalaluddin rumi, a year with rumi    
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STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE
"california has always been a place where dreams go to live, or die" ― madeline ashby, company town
 
“there has always been something slightly bipolar about california. it was either utopia or dystopia, a dream or a nightmare, a hope or a broken promise...and too infrequently anything in between" ― kevin starr, california: a history
 
the old pier on davendort beach was used by the concrete company in the town of davenport to help carry concrete from the factory way up on the cliffs above down to the beach below to be loaded onto ship to take to san francisco and other parts of the world...

but settlement in the area of today’s davenport got its start in 1868 when captain john davenport, a sea-based whaler by trade, built a 450 foot wharf off what became to be known as davenport’s landing. the wharf was used to export local timber by boat to san francisco. the original town was about a mile to the north of the present location near el jarro point, in the beautiful cove at the mouth of agua puerca creek

captain davenport also used a practice developed in the azores islands of portugal called shore-based whaling. scouts on the bluffs would alert men to go out from shore in a boat, kill the whale, and tow it back to shore for processing. it allowed the crew to stay with their families and was easier than processing the blubber at sea. by 1880 the high costs of operation of the wharf forced capt. davenport and all his workers to give up his business and abandon the landing and move to santa cruz.

the history of the modern town of davenport is wholly wrapped up with the davenport cement plant. in 1905, an east coast cement businessman named william dingee began the santa cruz lime company on the banks of san vicente creek, two miles south of davenport landing. in the following year, the santa cruz portland cement company was built nearby. the town was built in 1905 by the coast dairies and land company to house workers for the cement plant on the shores of san vicente creek, the town was originally called san vicente, but when the post office was moved from davenport landing south to the new town in 1907, it retained the name of davenport. in those days, the power of the post was great, so san vicente slowly faded away as a name, to be officially replaced by davenport.

by 1915 davenport had a population of about 1800 people, with 60 homes, two hotels, a school, a hospital, and a church. the cement from the plant was used to rebuild san francisco after the 1906 quake, build one of the panama canal locks, the golden gate bridge in the mid-1930s, and even construct the dry docks in pearl harbor, hawaii. though it was bought and sold by several different companies over the decades, the plant continued to supply cement for major construction projects up and down the west coast. it was the main employer in davenport for over 100 years.

in 2005, cemex, a mexican company, acquired the plant and kept it operational until 2010, when a bad economy, high operation costs (the highest of its 14 cement plants in the US), and fears of chromium 6 poisoning similar to hinkley, ca (of erin brockovich fame) forced it to close. at the time it employed about 120 people. its closure was a big blow to the town in loss of jobs and other services. for example, cemex was paying about $185,000 annually for operation and maintenance of the local water and sewage treatment facilities. after the closure, the community had to absorb those costs, on top of the many job losses in a weak economy.  

in the first third of the 20th century getting into and out of davenport was a big deal. there were over 700 turns on the road from davenport to santa cruz. as such, the town was isolated and developed a close-knit community. it was made up of a very culturally diverse group of people. most of the managers were swiss, because the coast dairies and land company was owned by four swiss families, but the workers were from all over the world. italian and greek families were very prominent but workers apparently came from all over europe and the middle east. prior to world war one, over 20 different languages were spoken in the town.

by the 1930s the roads and cars had improved such that many people moved to santa cruz and commuted to davenport to work at the cement plant. the cement plant apparently chartered with greyhound to bus workers back and forth daily. by the 1940s it was a much smaller town with a population less than five hundred.

during world war two, the united states government brought in mexican workers, under the bracero program, to do agricultural work. many worked in the davenport area. after the war, several mexican workers came back and the town’s cultural makeup began to include more people of mexican decent and lose the influence of previous italian and greek cultures.

alverda orlando, a davenport resident from 1945-1975, tells a story about one mexican man, known as pancho, who walked up the stairs of the cement plant one day looking for work. at the same moment a shift worker, an italian-american was walking down having just quit. the superintendent hired pancho on the spot. pancho went on to work at the cement plant for years, brought his whole family up from mexico, and bought seven homes, eventually giving one to each child of his...

of a historical note..the st. vincent depaul church, in davenport, was built entirely of cement from the local cement factory in 1914 and is the subject of a famous photograph by ansel adams.

also of historical interest is the davenport jail. it has two cells, and was used only twice from the time of its construction in 1914 until its decommissioning in 1936. today it is a museum featuring coastal history supported by volunteers from the santa cruz museum of art and history.

the southern portion of the ocean shore railroad operated between davenport and santa cruz from 1907-1920. now the southern pacific freight line between the two communities is still in place, running directly through davenport along the cliffside, eventually tracing the entire california coast.

davenport is also home to american a, which is a producer of farm raised california red abalone. california farm raised abalone has been selected by the monterey bay aquarium’s sea watch program as an excellent choice for environmentally conscious seafood consumers.

and there you have a nice history of the small little community of davenport, its concrete factory, and its concrete pier ruins...
 
"we live in an era of great metamorphosis. the old rules of the past are crumbling and we hunger for change. we are tired of the oppression and the limiting boxes that we have been taught we need to exist within. we grow weary of a society that teaches us that we need to adhere to their regulations and keep our eyes closed to our talents and our gifts" ― c. ara campbell  

"it is not selfish to be into loving yourself, and be into doing what you love, nor is it selfish to protect those things your love flows into...if anyone questions and doesn't support your methods and reasons for protecting your loves, then they are seriously the true selfish ones..." ― bodhinku, into love
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MORE MEANINGFUL QUOTES
here is jack johnson, imagine (john lennon cover), another perfectly beautiful and meaningful song to listen to to convey the mood of this blog today as you contine to read the following quotes, give it a listen...just imagine...(you can also click on this link, john lennon, imagine,  and listen to the john lennon original verson too if you prefer...) 
 
"imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try. no hell below us and above us is only sky. imagine all the people living for today...you may say that i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. i hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one...imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do. nothing to kill or die for, no religion too. imagine all the people living life for peace...you may say that i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. i hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one...imagine no possessions, i wonder if you can. no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. imagine all the people sharing all the world...you may say that i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. i hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one" ― john lennon, imagine   
 
“do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. the way is not in the sky. the way is in the heart" ― gautama buddha, sayings of buddha
 
“there are no ordinary moments”― dan millman, way of the peaceful warrior
 
"the memory of you drifts in on the breeze and glides along my skin awakening a sleeping ember in my soul and bursting it into flames. my body holds the memories of your dance with mine penetrating my every sense; raw and open wide we merge, nothing left unfelt, unseen or unsaid. my armor evaporates into the ether and the barriers standing guard around my longing heart dissolve; all that is left for me to do is feel. no matter how far out my tide goes, i always return to kiss the sands of your shore. my heartbeat calls to you echoing your name across the pages of time. i can feel you moving through my soul even though you are a million miles away. such a spell of love you weave upon this heart of mine as we swim eternally deeper into these sacred seas" ― c. ara campbell

“the difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary life is only a matter of perspective. pull the blinds. look around you. it is a weird, wonderful world and you do not require a ten digit savings account to immerse yourself in it. travel down long winding roads without a destination in mind, climb the nearest mountain and scream your heart out into the void, kiss strangers, make love, skinny dip in a lake, get lost and lose yourself (these are two separate things), explore the wilderness (particularly the one within), think less of destiny and more of the moment right here. because in the end, as you reflect back on your life in that hospital bed, fame won’t matter, nor will the extent of your wealth. you are only the sum of the stories you can tell”― beau taplin, an extraordinary life
 
“to harden the earth
the rocks took charge:
instantly
they grew wings:
the rocks
that soared:
the survivors
flew up
the lightning bolt,
screamed in the night,
a watermark,
a violet sword,
a meteor.

the succulent
sky
had not only clouds,
not only space smelling of oxygen,
but an earthly stone
flashing here and there
changed into a dove,
changed into a bell,
into immensity, into a piercing
wind:
into a phosphorescent arrow,
into salt of the sky.”" ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets
 
“it's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting” ― paulo coelho, the alchemist

“there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure"  ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second encounter with divinity and eternity" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist  
 
“yes: i am a dreamer. for a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world" ― oscar wilde, the critic as artist
 
“all that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream”― edgar allan poe
 
“those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night" ― edgar allan poe, eleonora
 
“i have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind" ― emily bronte, wuthering heights
 
“laughter is timeless. imagination has no age. and dreams are forever” ― walt disney
 
“i think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. if we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time" ― a.a. milne, winnie-the-pooh  
 
“we all have our time machines, don't we? those that take us back are memories...and those that carry us forward, are dreams” ― h.g. wells
 
“i dream my painting and i paint my dream" ― vincent van gogh
 
“you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. i hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one" ― john lennon, imagine      
 
“somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true" ― e.y. harburg
 
“to the people who look at the stars and wish, a toast, to the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered" ― sarah j. maas, court of mist and fury
 
“live...live the life of your dreams: be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose, instead of the expectations and opinions of others" ― roy t. bennett, the light in the heart
 
“your visions will become clear only when you can look inside your own heart. those who looks outside, dream; those who looks inside, awaken" ― carl g. jung
 
“sometimes you wake up from a dream. sometimes you wake up in a dream. and sometimes, every once in a while, you wake up in someone else's dream" ― richelle mead, succubus blues
 
“dreams have to be made real, not reality changed into dreams" ― osho, next time you feel lonely...
 
“you are, and always have been, my dream” ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
“i love you. i am who i am because of you. you are every reason, every hope, and every dream i've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. i will always be yours" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
“you are the answer to every prayer i've offered. you are a song, a dream, a whisper, and i don't know how i could have lived without you for as long as i have" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"we began as a mineral. we emerged into plant life and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again...humankind is being led along an evolving course, through this migration of intelligences, and though we seem to be sleeping, there is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream, and that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"the transition of twilight is so unique, that time we call blue hour...it's where i find my peace under the light of a billion stars, glowing and flickering as if they were fireflies rising up in the night sky after the sun sets..." ― bodhinku, my peace    
 
and just pointing out something i find totally cool...if you look really closely, you will see three birds in this impression...they are all three on the second ruin, and the one sea gull sitting on top with his head into the stars, (i have named him jonathan livingston), literally managed to move not one iota at all during the 333 second exposure, i find that utterly amazing...and the other two birds below him on the same pier are also quite sharp for such a long exposure and moved almost zero as well...i was very close to naming this impression instead after another favorite song of mine, "three little birds" because of these three birdies...
 
this is two frame image composition ...and since both exposures are long exposures, a stable and sturdy tripod was an absolute necessity in order to keep the image sharp in the places i wanted sharpness (i use selective focus on most of my images, similar to the way our eyes see things)...for this i used a dolica 70" carbon fiber tripod, because it is sturdy, tall, and perfectly compact....for me, this shot would never have been possible without my friends daniel and april at dolica tripods.

in my photography i always use filters to create longer exposure effects and to balance the light in my composition in camera...i often use as many as four filters at time, and i always use at least one filter...no filters were used in the milky way/star exposure part of this composition, but for the seascape image, two filters were used, 3.0nd filter to permit for extra saturation of the blues and tans throughout the image and slow down light 10-stops and allow for the effects you see of the smooth pacific ocean and white shore break, plus a 1.2gnd to stop down the much brighter dawn sky (just before sunrise) 4 stops...
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this ultra long exposure would not be possible without the use of my trusty dolica tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"contemplate without thinking. stop the world. slow down everything. shut off the noise. breathe in. breathe out. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light that envelope you. see the melody and harmony that floats about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence within your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith. this is my world. awaken." ― bodhinku, my world
 
above all else as always, i hope this message and image find you well.

namaste,
bodhi
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please visit me at:
http://www.bodhismith.com
http://www.instagram.com/bodhismith
http://www.facebook.com/Bodhi.Impressions
 
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