Colorado by Bodhi Smith

Oct 08, 2021

"colorado" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"i get so high in colorado, but my high is natural from the elevation and all the colour that fills up my senses...the beautiful glowing golden aspen is my drug of choice" ― bodhinku, colorado
 
"what color is to a picture, enthusiasm is in life" ― vincent van gogh
 
"every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree" ― emily bronte
 
"climb the mountains and get their good tidings. nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. the winds will blow their own freshness into you, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of autumn" ― john muir
 
"when he first came to the mountains, his life was far away on the road and hanging by a song...it keeps changing fast and it don't last for long. but the colorado rocky mountain high. i've seen it rainin' fire in the sky. rocky mountain high (colorado), rocky mountain high (high in colorado)" ― john denver, rocky mountain high  
 
"the clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness" ― john muir
 
"going to the woods is going home...and into the forest i go, to lose my mind and find my soul" ― john muir 
 
"i'm so glad i live in a world where there are octobers" ― l.m. montgomery, anne of green gables
 
"autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" ― albert camus
 
"i felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, all the colours. i thought, "this is what it is to be happy" ― sylvia plath, the bell jar 
 
"autumn is the time when nature takes her colours to the trees" ― laura jaworski 
 
this song is the newest release from the german folk/alternative band, milky chance....since it has the same name as my impression, and with its lyrics, it's the perfect accompaniment to connect music with the meaning of my impression and blog today: "colorado" by milky chance ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...

"i get high like colorado. we had it all but what do i know? i try to push away the sorrow. but today, it's too late, i try tomorrow...i think that you were kind of mean (kind of mean, kind of mean). you just replaced me in the scene (in the scene, in the scene). i thought that we were evergreen (evergreen, evergreen). like a never-ending dream. never been on the tv. scratched me off of your cv, out of your mind, out of your mind. never been so uneasy. jealousy got me freaky, out of my mind. so i get high like colorado. we had it all but what do i know? i try to push away the sorrow. but today, it's too late, i try tomorrow...i'm losing sleep all by myself. i'm wide awake and i just wonder how you put my heart back on the shelf (back on the shelf). well, i'm a be a loner now. never been on the tv. scratched me off of your cv. out of your mind, out of your mind. never been so uneasy. jealousy got me freaky, out of my mind. so i get high like colorado. we had it all but what do i know? i try to push away the sorrow, but today, it's too late, i try tomorrow...drownin' in my sofa with my blood shot red eyes. ridin' rollercoaster 'til i see the sunrise. i get high like colorado. i get high, i get high. we had it all but what do i know? i try to push away the sorrow (i get high, i get high). but today, it's too late, i try tomorrow (yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah). i get high like colorado colorado (yeah), colorado (yeah), colorado. i get high like colorado" ― milky chance, colorado  
 
“the leaves 
are changing, 
art is in the air! 
feel all the colors, 
so breathtaking, 
with nature in 
her season finale, 
painting a true 
masterpiece with flare!" ― bodhinku, art is in the air
  
"they're accepting the changes. no matter what happens, they're letting events unfold naturally, permitting what occurs without worry or regret. the aspens are letting their beauty fade by shedding their colors. letting things go, one by one as their leaves fall to the ground. knowing it is what it is, they let it lie, letting things be as they are meant to be, but still dancing worry-free the whole while. we all need to be more like these trees" ― bodhinku, colorado
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THE INFLUENCE OF VINCENT VAN GOGH
"no single other artist has had a deeper, more of a profound affect on my photography than vincent van gogh...not only his paintings, but also who vincent was as a man, a loving yet troubled and misunderstood man, lost in a tragic world he was trying to express in his artwork..." ― bodhinku, vincent 
 
vincent van gogh is easily the one artist with the greatest influence on me and my artistic expressions. the impact of his artwork can be clearly seen and discovered within all my photo impressions. and his deep influence on me is directly evident in a few of my works, including this one here today...this image of mine, "colorado" was deeply influenced by vincent's "olive trees with a yellow sky" (which you can see below)...
 
"olive trees with a yellow sky" by vincent van gogh
 
and, what you see here is another one of my dreams, a magical realism from the depths of my mind that is heavily inspired by the idea of what i think maybe vincent van gogh dreamed about at night...so this is my third humble attempt to do just that, put together a composition representing both his dreams and mine, and a scene that's so beautiful, i wish everyone could get to experience this glowing golden heaven of aspens high up in the colorado rocky mountains…
 
i also have an image called "starry night" which is named after vincent’s most famous painting (of the same name) and is created in a way that reflects those profound influences he has on my style of photography...
 
plus i have a couple sunflower images, "vincent's dreams" and "illuminada" which are both reminiscent and heavily influenced by vincent's unmatched love of sunflowers...
 
"i experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. i am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters  

many times, people ask that silly question "if you could meet one person in the world and have a conversation with them, who would you chose?" i truly wish that i could have met vincent in person, and talked all night with him about life, art, nature, the stars, and sunflowers...

this impression of mine is totally inspired by vincent, by this beautiful but tormented artist and his story as well. so inspiring even though it is both joyful and sad at times, i can relate to his thoughts, writings, his expressions in his paintings, and how he felt and lived...i can relate to all of it and truly know how he felt, i can empathize as there are so many similarities to my life and his...i have always felt such a deep empathy for vincent...i am very much able to relate to everything i have come to understand about him, and his work will always be a huge influence on my photography...  
"what color is to a picture, enthusiasm is in life" ― vincent van gogh  

"how difficult it is to be simple!" ― vincent van gogh   
 
"art is to console those who are broken by life" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo

"when i have a terrible need of - shall i say the word - religion, then i go out and paint the stars"   ― vincent van gogh 
 
"the only time i really feel alive is when i'm painting" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo   

van gogh was far from being viewed as normal, he walked his own path of eccentricity. vincent was often lost, lonely, and up and down with his emotions and moods. often questioning his artworks and his meaning in the art world, as well as in the world of life (similar to myself)...a person could look into his powder blue eyes and never fully understand what exactly was going on behind those blue eyes (just like me)...but always he had his love of nature around him & his desire to paint that beauty as he saw it with those blue eyes. his passion for his artwork was there for him to turn to, to give him meaning, purpose, and raise his spirits (like me too)...

"normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it " ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters
 
"i thought i would be understood without words" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo     

he had no children (like me), he was seen as a loner (like me as well)...usually misunderstood, and all too often off the beaten path doing his own thing (very much like me as well), regardless of what anyone else said, but he did care about what others thought of him, even though he often wrote that he didn’t (same as me). he was a deeply sensitive being, and so often got his hopes up, only to have them dashed, and he then turned to drinking absinthe all too often in excess to help him cope with his doubts and worries (just like i did for many years with beer). he seemed tormented all too often, but then extremely happy at other times...but even in his deepest melancholy states, he always held his hopes and dreams, and positivity (once again, I can relate!).
 
"i take great care of myself by carefully shutting myself away " ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
 
"it's so easy to love. the only hard thing is to be loved" ― vincent van gogh
 
"what am i in the eyes of most people? i'm a nonentity, an eccentric, or seen as an unpleasant person...somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. all right, then...even if that were absolutely true, then i should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. that is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. though i am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. i see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. and my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters
 
"i try more and more to be myself, caring relatively little whether people approve or disapprove" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters 
 
vincent van gogh was not trying to make an exact copy of reality in his paintings. he did not use his choices of colors merely to imitate nature, but to express emotion...and through his inspirational guidance, this is something that i have also always done in all of my photographic impressions…
 
“exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"i exaggerate, i sometimes make changes to the subject, but still i don’t invent the whole of the painting; on the contrary, i find it ready-made, but to be untangled, in the real world"  ― vincent van gogh   
 
no single other artist has had a deeper, more of a profound affect on my photography than vincent van gogh...not only his paintings, but also who vincent was as a man, a loving yet troubled and misunderstood man, lost in a tragic world he was trying to express in his artwork...
 
"i must continue to follow the path i take now. if i do nothing, if i study nothing, if i cease searching, then, woe is me, i am lost. that is how i look at it...keep going, follow the stars, keep going, come what may, keep going" ― vincent van gogh 
   
it's a shame he lived only 37yrs, just an epic tragedy...no single other artist has had a deeper, more of a profound affect on my photography than vincent van gogh...not only his paintings, but also who vincent was as a man, a loving yet troubled and misunderstood man, lost in a tragic world he was trying to express in his artwork... 
 
"i hope to depart in no other way than looking back with love and wistfulness and thinking, oh the paintings that i would have made..." ― vincent van gogh, dear theo 
 
“vincent van gogh used to eat yellow paint because he thought it would get the happiness inside him. many people thought he was mad and stupid for doing so because the paint was toxic, never mind that it was obvious that eating paint couldn't possibly have any direct correlation to one's happiness, but i never saw that....because, if you were so unhappy that even the maddest ideas could possibly work, like painting the walls of your internal organs yellow, then you are going to do it. it's really no different than falling in love or taking drugs. there is a greater risk of getting your heart broken or overdosing, but people still do it everyday because there was always that chance it could make things better. everyone has their own yellow paint" ― alexandra timmer    
 
on a side note...almost exactly four years ago in october of 2017, dorota kobiela created a motion picture animated magically using vincent's oil paintings entitled "loving vincent"...the film took 10 years to create the director/writer's vision, and is beyond genius in my humble opinion...it's about vincent's emotions and thoughts at the end of his life, and the controversy surrounding van gogh's mysterious death...it's absolutely a resoundingly beautiful movie, if you ever get the chance to watch it, i would high recommend and encourage it...this link will take you to the movie's trailer: "loving vincent: movie trailer"... 
 
...and if you like to read behind the scenes stuff from  "loving vincent", especially ones related directly to works painted by vincent, this website is nothing less than exceptional: http://lovingvincent.com/the-paintings,2,pl.html   

"if you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"how rich art is, if one can only remember what one has seen, one is never empty of thoughts or truly lonely, never alone" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo  
 
and here is a cover of don maclean's beautiful song, "vincent (starry, starry night)", this was a highlighted song in the movie "loving vincent": "vincent" by ellie goulding ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and grey. look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul. shadows on the hills sketch the trees and the daffodils, catch the breeze and the winter chills in colors on the snowy linen land...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...starry, starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze. swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in vincent's eyes of china blue. colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain, weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...for they could not love you, but still your love was true. and when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night, you took your life, as lovers often do. but i could have told you, vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you...starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls. frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget, like the strangers that you've met. the ragged men in the ragged clothes, the silver thorn, a bloody rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow...now i think i know what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they're not listening still, perhaps they never will" ― ellie goulding, vincent (don maclean cover)  
   
"i have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"i want to touch people with my art. i want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'." ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters 

"everyone said to vincent van gogh, "you can't be a great artist, you only have one ear." and you know what he said? "i can't hear you" ― steve carell, comic 
 
"the night cafe and the starry night still emit such pathos, density, and intensity that they send shivers down the spine. whether vincent [van gogh] thought in color or felt with his intellect, the radical color, dynamic distortion, heart, soul, and part-by-part structure in these paintings make him a bridge to a new vision and the vision itself" ― jerry saltz   
 
"when van gogh painted the starry night as a swirling mass of cosmic energy, he may have been painting what he saw with neurotic eyes, but he was also painting what he saw with transcendent eyes. the first gave his painting mere form, the second gave it formless, universal emotion that connects directly to the viewer" ― amit goswami, quantum creativity
 
"when you see a paul gauguin [painting], you think: this man is living in a dream world. but when you see a vincent van gogh [painting], you think: this dream world is living in a man" ― adam gopnik
 
"if i were the trees, i would have my leaves transform to yellow and let them light up the sky with golden shade at sunset, and then they would circle about your head as they float down, falling in piles at your feet, so that you might know this wonder of falling in love" ― bodhinku 
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MEANING
"just as a leaf know it is time, in the autumn, it embraces change, as it fearlessly lets go of the safety of the tree, falls and dances to where it needs to be...such a beautiful metaphor for all of us... just let go, dance, and fall in love with life's changes" ― bodhinku  
 
this image was captured way up in the rockies of southwestern colorado on a mountain pass close to telluride, co...the area is filled with beautiful golden glowing aspens in the autumn, and it truly a treat for the eyes, real eye-candy. in fact, the scenery of the roadway that leads you into the region from cortez, colorado is gorgeous. mile after mile, the views alongside colorado state route 145 are simply stunning, full of breathtaking colors for as far as the eye can see...
 
this impression was named "colorado" simply for the fact it was taken in the state of colorado, and one of the translations for the word in spanish is to mean "colorful"...colorado is the one state in america that's truly known for its beautiful glowing aspens, and one of its most famous mountain towns and ski resorts is even called "aspen"...getting to see the colorado aspens in the fall when they're in their golden foliage, is truly a site to see, and something everyone should be lucky enough to have the chance to witness with their own eyes someday...
 
"colorado" is a spanish word that translates to "colored with red" and also can mean simply "colorful"...the name was applied to the colorado river originally because of the reddish sandstone soil of the region made the river look like it was colored red, and came into use for the entire territory after the discovery of gold in the pike's peak region. in 1861 congress chose colorado as the name for the territory. in 1876 colorado became the 38th state. one of colorado's nicknames is "colorful colorado" because of the magnificent scenery of mountains, aspen trees, rivers, and plains...
 
and in colorado, up in the rocky mountains, way up high where the air is thin, the aspens are glowing pure gold, and breathing it all in literally takes your breath away...and the trees are so carefree and happy. they're dancing, twisting and shouting, throwing their branches into the air like they just don't care, and letting their leaves fall where they may... 
 
going out in style, these vibrant trees are celebrating the coming winter. they're accepting the changes. no matter what happens, they're letting events unfold naturally, permitting what occurs without worry or regret. the aspens are letting their beauty fade by shedding their colors. letting things go, one by one as their leaves fall to the ground. knowing it is what it is, they let it lie, letting things be as they are meant to be, but still dancing worry-free the whole while. we all need to be more like these trees...
 
"i get so high in colorado, but my high is natural from the elevation and all the colour that fills up my senses...the beautiful glowing golden aspen is my drug of choice" ― bodhinku, colorado
 
i wish i could have spent more time in the aspen forests up in the mountains, but i needed to be back in california to teach photography to my students in san diego county, and because of my upcoming photo shows, sadly i will not be able to visit them again this season before all of the golden leaves fall to the ground...but, my god the wonderful memories i have of spending the time i had in the glowing trees with my pup, besos! even if it was a shorter amount of time than i would have liked, we made the most of it as you have to do in life (and life is too short too)...
 
and what better song to include in my blog today for meaning than a song about the beauty of colorado and the problems of mankind trying to spoil that beauty, sung by a man with the last name the same as the capital of colorado, denver... "rocky mountain high" by john denver 

"he was born in the summer of his 27th year. coming home to a place he'd never been before. he left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again. you might say he found a key for every door. when he first came to the mountains, his life was far away on the road and hanging by a song. but the string's already broken and he doesn't really care, it keeps changing fast and it don't last for long. but the colorado rocky mountain high. i've seen it rainin' fire in the sky. the shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye. rocky mountain high (colorado), rocky mountain high (high in colorado)...he climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below. he saw everything as far as you can see, and they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun. and he lost a friend, but kept the memory. now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams seeking grace in every step he takes. his sight has turned inside himself to try and understand the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake. and the colorado rocky mountain high. i've seen it raining fire in the sky. talk to god and listen to the casual reply. rocky mountain high (colorado), rocky mountain high (high in colorado)...now his life is full of wonder, but his heart still knows some fear of a simple thing he cannot comprehend. why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more, more people, more scars upon the land. and the colorado rocky mountain high. i've seen it rainin' fire in the sky. i know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly. rocky mountain high, it's a colorado rocky mountain high. and i've seen it rainin' fire in the sky. friends around the campfire and everybody's high. rocky mountain high (colorado), rocky mountain high (high in colorado)..." ― john denver, rocky mountain high  
 
"who cares if you're over 50, live and be alive like the trees. breathe it all in as you listen to autumn speak to you, letting go like every falling leaf, floating in the hues of all these watercolours reflecting your life, and moments lived" ― bodhinku
 
"and in colorado, way up high where the air is thin, the aspens are glowing pure gold...breathing it all in literally takes your breath away" ― bodhinku, colorado
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MORE BODHIKU QUOTES
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"just as a autumn transforms a beautiful tree, fully ablaze in only its best colors, and blooming in full wisdom from all the seasons, so will the words well spoken bring out the best in the one who puts them into practice" ― bodhinku, ablaze in practice
 
"the tree tops whisper your name when i'm missing you the most. your shadow is observing me... it all reminds me how much more my life glows in your presence" ― bodhinku, glows
 
"listen to a colorful leaf as it lets go and falls slowly down. listen as it softyly lands in the stillness of the pond below. listen as it float in all the reflections of all the colors of all the other leaves. the sound is beautiful, the silence is perfect. you can hear the watercolour, listen to its lesson" ― bodhinku, colourful silence
 
"the sun shines down upon us, the lucky ones...you're the radiant autumn leaves, so bright and vibrant, so vivid and ablaze with warming colors...i am your reflection in the river, only just a bit darker, and hazy opaque, and slightly blurred, more cooled by the watercolours...we're complimentary mirrors, such beautiful simplicity, two incomplete parts of the perfect whole, we are together one the same...one love in the glowing light" ― bodhinku, the lucky ones  
 
"my therapy is found somewhere out in nature, behind the lens of a camera...each time the shutter opens and closes, i am breathing in, and breathing out" ― bodhinku, my therapy 
 
"falling into the mist
through colourful trees
on wings of love

becoming a part
of colours ablaze
in autumn's leaves

holding each colour
with floating kisses
on sighs of feathers" ― bodhinku, colours
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
"true change is within; leave the outside as it is" ― gautama buddha, sayings of buddha
 
"as the leaves in the fall let go of their resistance to the changing seasons, to their branches, to their pasts and fly into the fall air, so do we all in the autumn and this one is especially so with a vibrant changing tapestry during this time which has the power to bring about an entirely new landscape into our lives....the energy of the autumn mirrors this inward journey as we shift our attention from the external world and begin to make our descent into the darkness once more. this is not a time to mourn the end of summer, but to embrace the changing of the tides; the death and rebirth in the seasons, and of the self in a colorful and vibrant way. autumn leaves tumble to the earth below and show no fear in the dance from branch to ground. they know the time has come, they feel it deep within; the time to evolve with the changing season is here. in the coming twilight, we open to the transformation that flows and surrender to this time of celebrating what was, grieving what has ended and opening to all that has yet to be. so they let go of the branch and fly into the unknown embracing the icy winds and uncertain horizons. the time to surrender to the fall has come once more. i wish you much love and light upon your colorful journey" ― c. ara campbell 
 
"what does autumn go on paying for 
with so much yellow money?" ― pablo neruda 
 
"take hold of your own life. see that the whole existence is celebrating.. these trees are not serious, and everywhere there is fun, everywhere there is joy and delight. watch existence, listen to the existence and become part of it" ― osho, the secret of secrets  
 
"sometimes sit by the side of a tree, just feel" ― osho, book of wisdom
 
"just by your touch, love can be transferred to a tree. without saying a single word...it can be conveyed in absolute silence. it need not be said, it declares itself. it has its own ways of reaching into the very depths, into your being. first be full of love, then the sharing happens" ― osho, the responsibility of being oneself
 
"there is no better time than the autumn to begin forgetting the things that trouble us, allowing them to fall away like dried leaves. there is no better time to dance again, to make the most of every crumb of sunlight and warm body and soul with its rays before it falls asleep and becomes only a dim light bulb in the skies" ― paulo coelho, adultery
 
"he especially liked to look at the trees and their reflections in the river. trees are beautiful in deep autumn: greens, yellows, reds, oranges, every shade in between, their dazzling colours glowing with the sun" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"there is no envy, jealousy, or hatred between the different colors of the leaves in the autumn. and no fear either. because each one exists to make the others’ love more beautiful..." ― aberjhani
 
"i think that i shall never see
a poem lovely as a tree.

a tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

a tree that looks at god all day
and lifts her leafy arms to pray;

a tree that may in summer wear
a nest of robins in her hair;

upon whose bosom snow has lain;
who intimately lives with rain.

poems are made by fools like me,
but only god can make a tree." ― joyce kilmer
 
"how beautifully leaves grow old. how full of light and color are their last days." ― george burns  
 
“i loved to be alone in the woods, especially in the late fall when everything is crisp and golden, the leaves the color of fire, and it smells like things turning into earth. i loved the silence..." ― lauren oliver, before i fall
 
"you know what autumn looks like...the trees go all red and blazing orange and gold, and wood fires burn at night so everything smells of crisp branches. the world rolls about delightedly in a heap of cider and candy and apples and pumpkins and cold stars rush by through wispy, ragged clouds, past a moon like a bony knee...to feel the mellow, golden sun on your skin, more gentle and cozier and more golden than even the light of your favorite reading nook at the close of the day." ― catherynne m. valente, the girl who circumnavigated fairyland
 
"fall colors are funny. they’re so bright and intense and beautiful. it’s like nature is trying to fill you up with color, to saturate you so you can stockpile it before winter turns everything muted and dreary" ― siobhan vivian, same difference
 
"in october, the sun filled the world with mellow warmth...the maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. the oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. the fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet. everywhere she walked the color shouted and sang around her...in october, any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible" ― elizabeth george speare, the witch of blackbird pond
 
"cyrano: the leaves...
roxane: what color...perfect venetian red! look at them fall.
cyrano: yes...they know how to die. a little way from the branch to the earth, a little fear of mingling with the common dust....and yet they go down gracefully, in a fall that seems like flying!" ― edmond rostand, cyrano de bergerac
 
“love what you have, enjoy what the world gives you. like the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. the leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world's oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter" ― shauna niequist, bittersweet: thoughts on change, grace, and learning the hard way 
 
"as we crossed the colorado-utah border, i saw god in the sky in the form of huge gold sunburning clouds above the desert that seemed to point a finger at me and say, "pass here and go on, you're on the road to heaven" ― jack kerouac, on the road
 
"walk out as a lion, as a rose. inhale autumn, long for spring" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing

"how long
can i remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves

the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony

how long can i
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire

how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy

with a broken heart
how much more
can i take the message
from body to soul

i believe in love
i swear by love
believe me my love" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved
 
"inside each of us, there’s continual autumn. our leaves fall and are blown out over the water. a crow sits in the blackened limbs and talks about what’s gone. then your generosity returns: spring, moisture, intelligence, the scent of hyacinth and rose and cypress" ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi
 
"don't flounder in the preambles of the past, wounded with regrets; don't let autumnal nostalgia blind you to the sounds and scents of the present's spring; make it infinite beyond the curving snake of passing time and space. learn to die in the infinitely elusive moment" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"don’t ask what love can make or do! look at the colors of the world" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god 
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"the aspens are so carefree and happy. they're dancing, twisting and shouting, throwing their branches into the air like they just don't care, and letting their leaves fall where they may" ― bodhinku, colorado 
 
this impression was captured during a hail and rain storm in the mountains as a few random stray rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and lit up the scene for a couple minutes (painting moving light into my long exposure) mins on october 2nd, 2021...this composition is comprised entirely of one long exposure (f/11 @24mm for 111secs, iso-64)...and this single frame was not merged with any other exposures like i often do with my photography to achieve the perfect lighting of the entire scene...  
 
in my photography, i always use filters to create longer exposure effects, saturate colors naturally, and 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 in my completed impressions...
 
for this exposure, to get the effects and balance i was looking for, i used two progreyusa filters in the capture of this composition, a 3.0nd progrey antarctica filter to bring the light in the image down 10 stops to create this dreamy effect with a slight motion blur of the leaves and grass, plus naturally saturate all the yellows and reds in the image, and a 0.9gnd progrey aurora filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the light in the sky at the top of the image an extra three stops and help permit details in the aspens and background shadows of the image to come out better...
 
i also used the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold the filters and secure them to my nikon d810 with a nikon nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8... 
 
and with this being a long exposure of 111 seconds, a stable and sturdy tripod is an absolute necessity in order to keep the image sharp...i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my induro phq3 series 5-way panhead with an induro stealth carbon fiber tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i hope, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else
 
"i do not want you to just be into my photography, instead, i'd much rather you take a journey into my pictures, and feel the impression i have created, feel it with all your senses" ― bodhinku, into my photography
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty. stop the world. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary" ― bodhinku, my diary  
 
i leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters...   
 
and above all else,
i hope this message and impression 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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