Fresh by Bodhi Smith

Jan 01, 2021

"fresh" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"fresh air. a fresh point of view. fresh brewed coffee. fresh legs. fresh squeezed orange juice. being fresh as a mountain's stream. market fresh. fresh chocolate chip cookies. a fresh mind. fresh baked bread. fresh water. fresh fallen snow. a fresh start to a new year" ― bodhinku, fresh
 
"sorrow prepares you for joy. it violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. it shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. it pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far fresher things will take their place" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god  
 
"did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? proving nature's laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. funny, it seems to by keeping it's dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared" ― tupac shakur, the rose that grew from concrete  
 
“where there's hope, there's life. it fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again" ― anne frank, the diary of a young girl 
 
"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, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like fresh falling snow flakes" ― john muir, the mountains of california
 
"on the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward. and on the saddest days, you have to leave your eyes open to let them cry. to then let them dry. to give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again" ― tahereh mafi, unravel me  
 
"sometimes, when we just look at nature and breathe, we often feel excited or unstoppable, and that is how we should also see new beginnings. we should feel good about starting over, refreshed. and never let anything stop us from following our visions and taking the path to our dreams" ― bodhinku, refreshed 
  
today's first song selection, a classic from the mid 1960s by nina simone, is so boldly optimistic, with a fresh message about feeling good about starting something new. the lyrics are sung in such a way, like she's talking to the many entities of nature, telling them that they know how she is feeling. nina also talks of having a new world with all the parts of nature to always enjoy even if she is all alone. nature and her can feel good about their connection. feeling good may not exactly mean happiness in this song, as it simply means being one with nature at peace. this jazzy song is very slow, but there is a buildup as nina sings about her new life, and the instrumental buildup gets any music lover excited, and feeling unstoppable about having a new chapter in their life ...this song is so powerful, reflecting a new hope in the beginning of this new year of 2021....and with its lyrics, it is the perfect accompaniment to connect music with the deeper meaning of my impression and blog today: "feeling good" by nina simone ...(just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....    

"birds flying high, you know how i feel. sun in the sky, you know how i feel. breeze driftin' on by, you know how i feel. it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, yeah...it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, ooh, and i'm feeling good...fish in the sea, you know how i feel. river running free, you know how i feel. blossom on the tree, you know how i feel. it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and i'm feeling good...dragonfly out in the sun you know what i mean, don't you know? butterflies all havin' fun, you know what i mean. sleep in peace when day is done, that's what i mean. and this old world, is a new world. and a bold world for me, yeah-yeah. stars when you shine, you know how i feel. scent of the pine, you know how i feel. oh, freedom is mine and i know how i feel. it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me. i'm feeling good" ― nina simone, feeling good  
 
“this is a new year. a new beginning. and things will change" ― taylor swift  
 
“she is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. 'time' for her isn’t something to fight against. her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water" ― roman payne  
 
"hope. it's like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. it's a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. and it's the only thing in the world keeping me afloat" ― tahereh mafi, unravel me  
 
"i want one moment in time when i'm more than i thought i could be. when all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me. give me one moment in time when i'm racing with destiny. then in that one moment of time, i will feel eternity" ― whitney houston, one moment in time
 
"life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" ― vicki corona, tahitian choreographies  
 
"change is extremely difficult, it is so scary, and it will feel like going through a bleak and never-ending winter. but once you’ve accepted that there is no other way to go but change for the better, you will start to see the world in a brighter way...you will see the snow as being beautiful; the cold as being crisp and refreshing; the gray clouds as being blankets of protection; so embrace the needed changes, your life will be refreshingly refreshed with a fresh new outlook on life...the refreshed feeling of living life as your true self is the valley of life" ― bodhinku, refreshingly fresh     
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MEANING
"fresh is the new hope of a new year, it's like fresh fallen snow blanketing my world with optimism and reassurance, giving faith in a new beginning, and a belief again that anything is possible, anything..." ― bodhinku, fresh new year
 
"fresh" is defined by merriam-webster as:
"having its original qualities unimpaired: such as (1) full of or renewed in vigor, (2) not stale, sour, or decayed, (3) not faded, (4) not worn or rumpled, (5) not altered by processing, (6) free from taint, (7) experienced, made, or received newly or anew, (8) pure"
 
all of these defined meanings truly apply to my newest impression...
 
a meaning which came so clearly to me as i was standing on this dock in the eastern sierra just before dawn, with the brisk chill of winter in the air making everything so crisp and fresh. and add the freshly fallen snow and the beautiful reflections of the light playing in the still morning waters of the beautiful lake tahoe...
 
standing out there hovering only a few feet above the water with my doggie, all alone, so at peace, so full of love, and fresh hope in the world as the magic of nature permeates through every fiber of my body and soul...no other word came to my mind except fresh. so refreshing, so beautiful, everything new and fresh waiting for the sunrise to start a new day on the last day of the year, new years eve december 31st, 2020...
 
feeling fresh is a great feeling. and being refreshed is sometimes even better. nature is the best sources of beauty for our eyes, so refreshing. seeing all those colors blend and stand out gives us a feeling nothing else can. sometimes, when we just look at nature and breathe, we often feel excited or unstoppable, and that is how we should also see new beginnings. we should feel good about starting over, refreshed. and never let anything stop us from following our visions and taking the path to our dreams...  
  
fresh is the new hope of a new year, it's like fresh fallen snow blanketing my world with optimism and reassurance, giving faith in a new beginning, and a belief again that anything is possible, anything...

"fresh air. a fresh point of view. fresh brewed coffee. fresh legs. fresh squeezed orange juice. being fresh as a mountain's stream. market fresh. fresh chocolate chip cookies. a fresh mind. fresh baked bread. fresh water. fresh fallen snow. a fresh start to a new year" ― bodhinku, fresh  
 
and here is another beyond beautiful song, another one from the 1960s only sung by the beatles, it's about beginning anew with a positive outlook. it uses the brightest thing in our life, the sun, as a metaphor for the start of the new chapter. it talks about the feeling of finally seeing better days after going through dark, cold, and long winter. feeling better about the new chapter also lets you invite a more positive energy into your life, thus seeing more smiles from people...
 
change is extremely difficult, it is so scary, and it will feel like going through a bleak and never-ending winter. but once you’ve accepted that there is no other way to go but change for the better, you will start to see the world in a brighter way...you will see the snow as being beautiful; the cold as being crisp and refreshing; the gray clouds as being blankets of protection; so embrace the needed changes, your life will be refreshingly refreshed with a fresh new outlook on life...the refreshed feeling of living life as your true self is the valley of life...
 
and with having experienced a positive change in your life, you will attract more positive people in your life, but that doesn’t mean your life will always be happy, as the seasons come and go, along with good and bad times, so will joyful emotions and sadness...the yin and yang of life.

this song is very upbeat and happy, something i always find myself connecting to with the music of the beatles. and that positivity reflects the message of the song with the message of my impression here and blog, quite perfectly matching to bring you good vibes while listening to it as toy view my pictures here. as they both speak volumes about new beginnings...i like to listen to this song at the start of the new year as a great mood boost filled with hope of a refreshing new beginning: 
 
"here comes the sun" by the beatles .and a really great reggae cover as well to give a listen if you choose: "here comes the sun (the beatles cover)" by peter tosh ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and i say it's all right. little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. little darling, it feels like years since it's been here. here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and i say it's all right...little darling, the smiles returning to the faces. little darling, it seems like years since it's been here...here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and i say it's all right...sun, sun, sun, here it comes. sun, sun, sun, here it comes. sun, sun, sun, here it comes. sun, sun, sun, here it comes. sun, sun, sun, here it comes... ittle darling, i feel that ice is slowly melting. little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear. here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right. here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun. it's all right. it's all right" ― the beatles, here comes the sun  
 
"letting go of what we know is so hard, so difficult...but being refreshed by a new beginning is nothing short of magical" ― bodhinku, refreshed again
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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...
 
"each and every moment is temporary. cherish the moments that take your breath away, live them to the fullest, for they will not last. and do not shutter away the difficult moments, reflect and learn from them, get through them. they are not forever, they too will pass... good or bad, every moment is precious, because they let us know we are living...always be sure to make each moment count" ― bodhinku, each moment 
   
"when i am with her, i want to feel each moment we have together as if it's simultaneously our last and our first" ― bodhinku, last and first
 
"do not just live in the moment, live in all the moments" ― bodhinku, all the moments 
 
"it is better to have loved and lost in a moment, than never to have the moment at all" ― bodhinku, the moment 
 
"so what if you do not hear from a lover for a couple days, or even a week? let them be, they are living their life, or they are leaving you. either way, you are powerless to try to change their will. however, you do have the power to let them go and live your own life, live each moment like it is your last. that is your responsibility to yourself" ― bodhinku, so what?
 
"i know what i want. i badly want the entire fairy tale, like julia roberts in pretty woman desiring to be "cinderf*ckinrella"...no more will i settle for mediocrity, or sacrifice my feelings for broken promises, or compromise for anything less than the extraordinary...i want the complete package: a total happily-ever-after...and in her eyes, i can see hope that maybe i might finally have found a chance to have it all"" ― bodhinku, the entire fairytale
 
"i opened my eyes for the first time when i looked into her eyes...at that very moment, i was instantly awakened, truly alive to everything i was missing in my life" ― bodhinku, at that very moment
 
"reach out while still holding on
simultaneously embracing life and letting go
be wild and still innocent
become drunk without drinking
stay strong, even in weakness...
bind strength to all your fears,
and become courageously scared
reflect the dark in your abyss
and become insanely calm...
maintain faith in your disbelief
be completely incomplete
and significant in insignificance...  
its okay to be, just let it be 
be clearly confused, 
be an eternal moment
inside the outside" ― bodhinku, oxymoron   
  
"yesterday is nothing but today's memory... and tomorrow is nothing but today's dream...so live today like nothing else matters" ― bodhinku, live today 
  
"even though he
knew not how to swim, he
jumped into the deep end,
hoping she would follow, and
save him from drowning in mediocrity,
because one day of something wonderful,
is better than a forever of nothing special" ― bodhinku, a better one day  
 
"have courage to embrace life, make every moment count no matter what, especially at times when everything seems to be falling down around you, reach out and hold on simultaneously, to your rock with all your strength, wrap a smile around a giggle, persevere through, and you feel more alive than ever, trust me...” ― bodhinku, strength and courage
 
"being alive is not just simply living, it is being awake here and now, making every moment count with peace, love, and hope" ― bodhinku, making every moment count
 
"i meditate every morning. i breathe in, i breathe out...a wise person once reminded me that life is not measured by the breaths that you take, but by the moments that take your breath away...a moment in time can mean a lifetime" ― bodhinku, a moment in time 
 
"i survived this year. i'm still alive. i'm breathing, enjoying each breath i get to take, each moment i get. my artwork improved throughout the year. i've had many great experiences and wonderful travels with my pup. my life keeps getting better even though life in this covid world is frustrating and restrictive. so another year comes to an end. it's a beautiful ending and i cannot wait for new beginning filled with love, adventure, and hope in 2021" ― bodhinku, i'm still breathing    

"they say hindsight is 20-20. and in hindsight with the year 2020 coming to an end, it's truly a beautiful ending for me. so much immeasurable happiness came for me in small-little precious moments because of slowing my life down to notice them. and as i type this last blog of 2020, i have to smile and be thankful with what i have rather than regretting the things i did not get" ― bodhinku, i happy with what i have   
 
"looking into the mirror, you need to be happy with what reflects back...happy for that special moment in time that makes you feel alive. hoping that with your next breath, the moment will take your breath away" ― bodhinku, a moment's reflection  
 
"when i see something so special, it's instead the picture that captures me, and i unknowingly hold my breath while i capture the moment through my lens. these moments in time literally take my breath away..." ― bodhinku, a moment's reflection 
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STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"feeling fresh is a great feeling. and being refreshed is sometimes even better. nature is the best sources of beauty for our eyes, so refreshing. seeing all those colors blend and stand out gives us a feeling nothing else can" ― bodhinku, feeling fresh
   
pictured here in the pre-dawn light is a dock on lake tahoe high up in the eastern sierra mountains after 4 inches of fresh fallen snow happened overnight...
 
the night before i saw that a small weather system was coming in and a few inches of fresh powder was predicted for lake tahoe. so i decided to stay close by this pier, and car camp only a few hundred meter away.
 
i awaken to my jeep grand cherokee being covered in fresh snow, so fluffy, so sparkling, so magical. the storm had cleared too, giving me unbelievable conditions, and such beautiful light in which to shoot pictures...predawn and nobody is out and about, seemed the world is still all asleep, leaving me the only truly awaken soul to see this all and experience nature to her fullest perfection...
 
reminded me of my old days being a backcountry snowboarder, and car camping at the trailhead so i could do dawn patrol and hike up a mountain and get the most freshest of first tracks in new fallen snow...and taking pictures on this morning was such a similar feeling, one that brought back such a rush of wonderful memories that i feel come out in the emotions of my impression here....  
 
 and as soon as  i walked out onto the pier, my breath was taken away by something so simple, and so beautiful as this wintery scene before me. i feel this might be my best image of 2020, taken on the last day of the year too...magical moments spent with nature and my doggie. i was meant to be at this  place, at this time, at this very moment to take this picture. i know and believe this with all my heart.
 
i'm lucky to be me. i'm lucky to get the blessing of breathing and living another day, of starting a new year, one filled with more hope than any other in recent memory....
 
this next tune is a famous reggae tune by jimmy cliff...it tells of being in the brighter days. the lyrics are written in a first-person point of view, where jimmy joyfully tells of finding clarity and readiness for change to anyone who will listen. it's as if he was in a dark place, but now that the rain is gone, he can finally enjoy all the beauty and color life must give him. painful experiences can bring us to dark, dark times, and in that time, nothing ever seems to go our way and everything feels hopeless. nonetheless, we should just treat that as another chapter in our lives that we can’t skip. after all who would skip chapters in a book, right? this song basically tells us that things do get better, and having a refreshing new beginning can start with a bright, sunshiny day

this is one of my alltime favorite songs, of any genre...the song has such a groovy happy feel to it, as most reggae songs do. the way the music was composed perfectly matches the lyrics, as seeing brighter days should be accompanied by happiness: "i can see clearly now" by jimmy cliff ...(just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....    

"i can see clearly now the rain is gone. i can see all obstacles in my way. gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day. it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day..oh, yes i can make it now the pain is gone. all of the bad feelings have disappeared. here is that rainbow i've been praying for. it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day...look all around, there's nothing but blue skies. look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies. i can see clearly now the rain is gone. i can see all obstacles in my way. here is that rainbow i've been praying for. it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day. it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day. it's going to be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day...." ― jimmy cliff, i can see clearly now   
 
"when you are letting go of the old you, the tears you cry will cleanse, let them flow and glow freely. they will refresh your true vision, enlighten you by letting you see exactly what you need to see more clearly" ― bodhinku, refresh and enlighten    
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HISTORY
"when you are going through changes, you must let go of all you know even though you are scared of the unknown that will befall you...it's like when jumping out of an airplane, it is so scary, but you have faith and still you just let go, your parachute opens and saves you, and the newness you experience is a feeling of exhilaration and floating...in life, you must let go of what is holding you down, what will save you is the new beginning you jump into, refreshing you with the excitement of discovering your true self as you fall" ― bodhinku, refreshing fall
 
lake tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the eastern sierra nevada mountains of the united states. lying at 6,225 ft (1,897 m), it straddles the state line between california and nevada. lake tahoe is the largest alpine lake in north america,and trails only the five great lakes as the largest lake by volume in the united states. its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the united states after crater lake in oregon (1,949 ft or 594 m)
 
the lake was formed about two million years ago as part of the lake tahoe basin, with the modern extent being shaped during the ice ages. it is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. the area surrounding the lake is also referred to as lake tahoe, or simply tahoe. more than 75% of the lake's watershed is national forest land, part of the united states forest service
 
"as we begin a new year, my only problem is that i'm still me, but my biggest blessing is that i'm still me...new year, same me" ― bodhinku, i'm still me
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
this next song reminds me that no matter what comes our way, we can still win in the end if we keep the faith in ourselves and each other...this song is about an unwavering relationship that just keeps getting stronger no matter the obstacles coming a couple’s way and an unchallenged love in both the good and bad times. it covers moving forward and trying even if we experience shortcomings. “dusk” signifies hardships in life, while “dawn” symbolizes hope (the sun will rise again): "dusk till dawn" by zayn and sia ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"not tryna be indie. not tryna be cool. just tryna be in this. tell me, are you too? can you feel where the wind is? can you feel it through all of the windows inside this room? 'cause i wanna touch you baby and i wanna feel you too. i wanna see the sunrise on your sins just me and you...light it up, on the run. let's make love tonight, make it up, fall in love, try. baby, i am right here. but you'll never be alone. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here. i'll hold you when things go wrong. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn, baby, I am right here, i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here...your life in the daytime is over. there's eyes on you everywhere. you know that, right? i'm watching you. my crew's watching you. you know your little homies? they are pissed off. they are mad at you, bro. your name is mud on the streets. oh, i know who you are...but you don't know me. we were shut like a jacket, so do your zip. we would roll down the rapids to find a wave that fits. can you feel where the wind is? can you feel it through all of the windows inside this room? 'cause i wanna touch you baby. and i wanna feel you too. i wanna see the sunrise on your sins just me and you. light it up, on the run. let's make love tonight, make it up, fall in love, try. baby, i am right here but you'll never be alone. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here. i'll hold you when things go wrong. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn, baby, I am right here, i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here...go, give love to your body. it's only you that can stop it. go, give love to your body. it's only you that can stop it. go, give love to your body. it's only you that can stop it. go, give love to your body. go, give love to your body...but you'll never be alone. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here. i'll hold you when things go wrong. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. i'll be with you from dusk till dawn, baby, I am right here, i'll be with you from dusk till dawn. baby, I am right here" ― zayn and sia, dusk till dawn    
 
here is another song, a classic  from the mid 1980s, is much more optimistic, with a message that new love is so "fresh" and exciting...this song is upbeat, reflecting a new hope in the beginning of this new year of 2021....and with its lyrics, it is the perfect accompaniment to connect music with my impression and blog today: "fresh" by kool and the gang ...(just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....  

"conversation is going 'round people talking 'bout the girl who's come to town. lovely lady, pretty as can be, no one knows her name, she's just a mystery. i have seen her maybe once or twice. one thing i can say, ouh she's very nice. she's a lady. one i really want to know. somehow, i've got to let my feeling show (she's fresh, fresh) exciting. she's so exciting to me (she's fresh, fresh) exciting. she's so inviting to me, yeah..i've been thinking about the way you walk. baby (ouh) i like the way you talk. tell you something i really can't hide, heaven must have sent you to be by my side, fresh and lovely (fresh) like a dream come true. i'll give anything to spend the night with you. what a feeling and i can't stop it baby. miss frisky lady take me away (she's fresh, fresh) exciting. she's so exciting to me (she's fresh, fresh) exciting. so inviting to me, yeah. fresh as a summer breeze, she'll take you by surprise. she means so much to me. i'll do whatever to make her mine, baby. she's fresh (she's fresh, she's so fresh). fresh as a summer breeze (she's so fresh, she's so fresh. she's fresh, she's so fresh)...she means so much to me, yeah (she's so fresh, she's so fresh). i wanna take her her hand (she's so fresh, she's so fresh) and pray she'll understand (she's so fresh, she's so fresh). beause i love the way she walks (she's fresh, she's so fresh) and ooh baby i love the way she talks (she's so fresh, she's so fresh). i've got something and i hope she'll understand (she's fresh, she's so fresh) miss frisky lady (she's so fresh, she's so fresh) (she's fresh, she's so fresh). she's so fancy and i love that lady (she's so fresh, she's so fresh) oh how i love her so...she's so fresh, she's so fresh..." ― kool and the gang, fresh
 
"we're not scared to lose it all, security thrown through the wall, future dreams we have to realize. a thousand skeptic hands won't keep us from the things we plan unless we're clinging to the things we prize. and do you feel scared? i do. but i won't stop and falter. and if we throw it all away, things can only get better...treating today as though it was the last, the final show. get to 60 and feel no regret. it may take a little time, a lonely path, an uphill climb, success or failure will not alter it...and do you feel scared? i do. but i won't stop and falter and if we throw it all away, things can only get better... and do you feel scared? i do. but i won't stop and falter and if we throw it all away, things can only get better..." ― howard jones, things can only get better 
  
"each day means a new twenty-four hours. each day means everything's possible again. you live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time" ― marie lu, legend 
 
"breathe. let go. and remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure...doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment" ― oprah winfrey
 
"synchronize each breath with the present moment and become intertwined with happiness. breathing in, we are grateful for the opportunities that are given to us; breathing out, we let go of the depression and anxiety that hold us back" ― forrest curran, purple buddha project
 
"a moment's reflection that nobody thought it could be done, so nobody had tried before. standing with one foot in the abyss and the other with a foothold in his dreams, he stood on the edge of a cliff. he took one look behind and with one last deep breath, he leapt with reckless certainty and decisive confidence. blurring through the sky, for a moment he looked like he would fade into darkness, but in the very last moment when everyone else had given up on him, from his back spread wings. with a leap of faith, he learned to fly" ― forrest curran, purple buddha project
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"sometimes, when we just look at nature and breathe, we often feel excited or unstoppable, and that is how we should also see new beginnings. we should feel good about starting over, refreshed. and never let anything stop us from following our visions and taking the path to our dreams" ― bodhinku, refreshed
 
captured 33 mins before sunrise at 6:47am on december 31, 2020, the light and clouds were reflecting in lake tahoe surrounding s snow covered dock, all further sourrounded by the eastern sierra peaks, truly a dreamy composition...
 
this is comprised entirely of one long exposure (f/11 @33mm for 33secs, 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...  
 
and for this impression, i had to do so very little editing, as this image looks very close to the raw file image that first appeared to me on my lcd screen on the back of my camera after capturing the photo...and i feel this image to be one of my favorites of the entire year, and quite possibly my best photograph of the entire 2020 year (and it was captured on the last sunrise and final day of the year too)...
 
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...
 
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 3.0 nd progrey antarctica filter to bring the light in the image down 10 stops to create this dreamy effect with motion blur of the water and clouds and naturally saturate all the blues, yellows, and reds in the image, and a 0.9 gnd 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 and clouds at the top of the image an extra three stops and help permit details in the fresh fallen snow on the dock come out better in the exposure...
 
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 quasi-long exposure of 33 seconds, a stable and sturdy tripod is an absolute necessity in order to keep the image sharp...for this i used my faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" carbon fiber tripod, because it is sturdy, tall, and perfectly compact for travelling  
 
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 faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" 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 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
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty. stop the world. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. 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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