"Desires At Sunrise" by Bodhi Smith

Jul 14, 2023

 

desires at sunrise
smiles, giggles, sighs
our universe aligned
two bodies entwined
lips, kisses, pink
all moving in sync
blessings from above
passion, flowing love
a dream come true
though we always knew
sunrise and desires
never old, never tires
no better way
​to ​begin a day
 
 
MY THOUGHTS
​when you desire something so badly, you can almost taste it in your mouth...and when you dream of that desire, you wake up with a soaked pillow at sunrise ​― bodhi, ​desires at sunrise​
 
This is Boneyard Beach, as locals call it for the resemblance of a small grove of trees that stand like dancing skeletons among the breaking waves. These are lovely trees that have been swallowed up by the sands and waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Botany Island along the southern coast of South Carolina...The trees of this fascinating still continue to hold their ground,​ and combined with an early morning Gulf Stream electrical show, they ​creat​e​ a striking scene that's absolutely beautiful to me and my desires as a long exposure specialist in photography. And as you know, I love the beach, I love clouds, I love storms, and I love trees...what a great combination here--my "Desires At Sunrise"
 
​And...this image with its dreamy qualities​, clearly illustrates the influences which the Master Surrealist Painter, Salvador Dali has had on my photography...the title of the image is partially drawn from my inspirations of the creative names he gave his paintings...
 
​Of course, I have an alternative deeper meaning of this image, other than what's on the surface...​
 
When I sleep restfully during the night, I think my truest of emotions come out and all the things that I want, and hope for in my life are there in my dreams. And when I wake up, all those desires subconsciously give me my drive and focus for the day, even though when I’m awake, I’m not 100% aware of that…
 
So what is it exactly that ​I ​desire now when I wake up? 
 
I’m always desiring to have my soulmate laying there right next to me as the sun rises—the day’s first light rays coming in through the window, beaming across the room a beautiful soft violet pink hue…
 
​buddha said to liberate yourself from desires, but he was totally wrong imho...because how can i let go of my desires, when my only desire is to hold her? ​― bodhi, ​desires at sunrise​
 
And her and I are laying together, as close as can be, the two of us spooning—her in front of me, me cradling her with my left arm around her waist and my lips on her neck…
 
Then she rolls over to face me, and we smile as our eyes open and the first thing each of us sees to start our day is the other’s eyes filled with a universe of love and desire…
 
Do I have that right now? nope, not currently. But I’m a hopeless romantic, and all I can do is hope and continue to dream and have faith and believe in my one day, that beautiful day when all my desires will be fulfilled for real…
 
When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
Until then, I’m more than happy. Me and my pup, Besos, have a great time…it’s just him and me doing what we do…floating around the country taking pictures, stargazing all night, hiking, climbing mountains, walking on the beach, laying under a tree, or just sitting around writing, thinking, watching a movie, reading a book—he’s always there beside me, and I cherish those moments that I have with him…
 
However, Besos is just a doggy. I still miss the touch of a lady, the human contact…the one thing missing in my life right now…I know she is out there, dreaming of me too, I know she is trying to find her way to me with all the same desires in her heart…
 
So, I continue to carry ​my ​desir​e​ of that pretty lady coming in my life, being with me each morning, all afternoon, and all night…desir​ing​ that there she’ll be​,​ in my arms when I awaken, and my desires at sunrise will only ​be ​her…
 
I once had a thousand desires. But in my one desire to know you, all else melted away ― jalaluddin rumi, bridge to the soul
 
 
​Released almost 8 years ago in 2015, here'​s ​a deeply passionate song about desire from one of my own personal favorite female voices--the lyrics talk about how it's impossible to give up your desires, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to ignore them, your desires will always find you--you cannot run from them, you cannot hide them, kill them, or bury them, because desires will come back to you, you will give in to them eventually no matter what, always and forever with a positive certainty... ​Desire​ by ​Meg Myer​s. ...

Baby, I wanna touch you. I wanna breathe into your will. See, I gotta hunt you, I gotta bring you to my hell. Baby, I wanna fuck you, I wanna feel you in my bones. Boy, I'm gonna love you, I'm gonna tear into your soul...Desire, I'm hungry, and I hope you feed me. How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me?...Honey, I wanna break you, I wanna throw you to the hounds. Yeah, I gotta hurt you, I gotta hear it from your mouth. Boy, I wanna taste you, I wanna skin you with my tongue. I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna lay you in the ground.​ ​Desire, I'm hungry, and I hope you feed me. How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? I wanna feel you, I want it all. I wanna feel you, I want it all...How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me? How do you want me, how do you want me?​ ​― Meg ​M​yers, ​Desire​.
 
 
I desire you
more than food
and drink

My body
my senses
my mind
hunger for your taste

I can sense your presence
in my heart
although you 
are not with me

I wait
with silent passion
for one gesture
one glance
from you”
― jalaluddin rumi, desire: the love poems of rumi
 
 
 
A COUPLE MORE SONGS
​From over 10 years ago, released in 2012, ​here​'​s ​another uber passionate song about desire from another favorite female voice of mine... Burning Desire by Lana Del Rey. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs) 

Every Saturday night I get dressed up to ride for you, baby​. ​Cruising down the street on Hollywood and Vine for you, baby​. ​I drive fast, wind in my hair, push it to the limits 'cause I just don't care​. ​You ask me where I've been?​ ​I been everywhere​. ​I don't wanna be no where but here​ ​(Come on tell me boy)​ ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​ ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​...​I drive fast, wind in my hair, push it to the limits 'cause I just don't care​. ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire)​ ​Every Saturday night I seem to come alive for you, baby​. ​Santa Monica, I'm racing in the lights for you, baby​. ​I drive fast, radio blares, have to touch myself to pretend you're there​. ​Your hands were on my hips, your name is on my lips​. ​Over over again, like my only prayer​ ​(Come on tell me boy)​ ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​ ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​ ​I drive fast, wind in my hair, push it to the limits 'cause I just don't care​. ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire)​ ​I'm driving fast, flash, everyone knows it​. ​I'm trying to get to you, baby​. ​I'm feeling scared and you know it​. ​I'm driving fast, flash, everyone knows it​. ​I'm trying to get to you, baby​. ​I'm feeling scared and you know it​. ​I'm driving fast, flash, everyone knows it​. ​I'm trying to get to you, baby​. ​I'm feeling scared and you know it​. ​I'm driving fast, flash, everyone knows it​. ​I'm trying to get to you, baby​. ​I'm feeling scared and you know it​. ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​ ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire, come on tell me boy)​. ​I drive fast, wind in my hair, push it to the limits 'cause I just don't care​. ​I've got a burning desire for you, baby​ ​(I've got a burning desire) ― Lana Del Rey, Burning Desir​e.​
 
 
another tune ​from 2015 ​to listen to,​ it's another beautiful alternative song with deep meaning about desire ... Desire by ​​Years and Years (ft. Tove Lo)​. ...
 
I must be tough​. ​I must behav​e. ​I must keep fighting​, ​don't give it up​. ​I want to keep us compromising​. Open your arms and pray​ t​o the truth that you're denying​. ​Give into the game​, t​o the sense that you've been hiding​. ​Where are you taking me?​ ​I can't be blamed​. ​I want you to want me again​. ​Is it desire?​ ​Or is it love that I'm feeling for you?​ ​I want desire​, bec​ause your love only gets me abused​. ​Give me that rush​, ​I want to show you what you've been missing​. ​Am I enough?​ ​To keep your other lovers hidden?​ ​Where are you taking me?​ ​I can't be blamed​. ​I want you to want me again​. ​Is it desire?​ ​Or is it love that I'm feeling for you?​ ​I want desire​, bec​ause your love only gets me abused​. I​s it desire​, o​r is it love that I'm feeling for you?​ ​I want desire​. ​I wanna see what you're willing to lose​. ​You know that you've got me​. ​You've locked me down​. ​You tell me you want me​. ​You need it now​. ​You know that you've got me​. ​You've locked me down. ​You tell me you want me now​. ​Is it desire​, o​r is it love that I'm feeling for you?​ ​I want desire​, bec​ause your love only gets me abused​. ​Is it desire​, o​r is it love that I'm feeling for you?​ ​I want desire​. ​I wanna see what you're willing to lose​. ​Oh, what you're willing to lose ― Years & Years, Desire (with Tove Lo)​.
 
 
 
A COUPLE MORE QUOTES
Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 
Profound desire, true desire is the desire to be close to someone ― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes
 
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours ― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
 
My sweet heart, you have aroused my passion, your touch has filled me with desire. I am no longer separate from you, these are precious moments, I beseech you, don’t let me wait ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing 
 
People who repress desires often turn, suddenly, into hypocrites ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
let's get away from all the clever humans who put words in our mouth...let's only say what our hearts desire ― jalaluddin rumi, bridge to the soul
 
 
 
SPECIFICS ABOUT THIS PHOTO
i continue to carry ​my ​desir​e​ of that pretty lady coming into my life, being with me each morning…desir​ing​ that there she’ll be​,​ in my arms when i awaken, and my desires at sunrise will only ​be ​her ​― bodhi, ​desires at sunrise

So, here's a photo of mine take exactly 7 years ago on July 15th,2016 during a humid morning with storms over the Gulf Stream at sunrise. Image was captured on the Atlantic Coast at Boneyard Beach on Botany Island just south of Charleston, South Carolina. This is my own personal favorite impression from the summer of 2016, and I easily feel the best image I took on my month long trip to the eastern USA on a photographic study of trees that year.

I had desired to take an image, in my own unique style, of this location for quite some time. In fact, well over a year leading up to the date I actually made the trip to the east coast with a 4-day window to do this beach justice for its beauty, magic, and mystique. A miracle needed to happen with the alignment of many different elements in nature and the heavens was required...a lot of luck in other words. And oh-boy did I ever get lucky on my third morning! Fate and destiny were more than synonyms to each other. Fireworks and Lightning struck me at the same time (you'd think figuratively--but in some crazy ways it was literally). Everything I ever wanted, desired deeply, hoped and patiently waited for, I received in gifts from mother nature at sunrise...I fell in love. How could I not with this beauty I saw before me?!

In the pitch black, I got up at 3am and began to make my way down to the Botany Plantation from Charleston. The humidity of the night, combined with the extra warm summer waters of the gulf stream just off-shore, helped to build up these storms that were just sparkling with lightning over and over as dawn's light drew closer. Even though the radar from my weather app on my phone had the system moving parallel to the beach to the NNE, it was none-the-less still quite a bit unnerving walking all alone in the unknown of the darkness with all the electricity in the air. But as soon as I made the commitment and walked out onto this gorgeous beach, I was "all in"...

I have to admit the situation did have my attention and I was a bit unnerved wondering if I could get seriously hurt. I wondered if the storms were going to roll in on-shore and nail me, or have a bolt of lightning zap me from the distance. But when the pre-dawn glow started enlightening things for me, I could see there was nothing to fear...

So I never looked back. I trusted my senses...senses that were being filled up by everything striking my eyes, ears, nose, and skin simultaneously...man, I was excited--excited allot. I adored everything that was right there before me. I knew in my heart this was going to be special, and it turned out to be just that--and "Desires at Sunrise" you see here was the beautiful result...

Multiple exposures were merged and blended into creating this composition. All images were taken on July 15, 2016 within an hour of each other. Camera settings:

To get the effects and balance i was looking for in this composition, i used two ProgreyUSA Filters. along with the Progrey G-120Z Antarctic Magnetic Holder. to secure these filters to my Nikon D850 with a Nikon Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens. ... 

Lightning: 
ISO-64, 36mm at f/4 for 4 seconds using no filters. Image taken about one hour before sunrise at 5:30am
Clouds, Trees, and Sun: 
ISO-64, 36mm at f/8 for 1/5th second using one  Progreyusa 1.2GND Aurora Filter. to bring down the sky 4 stops. Image taken at sunrise at 6:24am
Water and Sun Reflection: 
ISO-64, 36mm at f/8 for 30 seconds using one Progreyusa 1.8ND Aurora Filter. to smooth the water down 6 stops. Image taken consecutively at 6:24am.

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...
 
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 (now Benro) Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod. in combination with the Progreyusa Filters. which I use with every photo I take...
 
contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty, content to be completely incomplete. stop the rush. slow down time. breathe and notice. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this higher moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colours 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! ― bodhi, my world
 
you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you? ― bodhi, blessed
 
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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