Impressionist Fisherman by Bodhi Smith

May 07, 2021

"impressionist fisherman" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"i'm an impressionist fisherman, looking for the beauty in things surrounding me, but at the same time fishing for inner peace...i'm simply trying to capture nourishment for my soul with my artwork" ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman
 
"we are the early morning ocean filled with glints of light. we are the space between the fish and the moon, while we sit here together" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart
 
"to know that seeing the fish beneath the surface of the water was enough. that it was everything. it was my life...like all lives, mysterious and irrevocable and sacred. so very close, so very present, so very belonging to me. how wild it was, to let it be" ― cheryl strayed, wild
 
“when you fish for what you love, bait with your heart, not your brain" ― mark twain, notebook
 
"i wear the universe backwards. i imagine putting stars in my coffee, and sugar in the sky. i imagine going fishing in clouds, and watching the sun hide behind lakes. i'm too busy dancing with my imagination to even tip toe with reality for a second" ― d. antoinette foy
 
"anyone can be a fisherman in may" ― ernest hemingway, the old man and the sea 
 
"row fisherman row keep on rowing your boat...brotherman brotherman...row fisherman row, we've got to reach on higher grounds" ― the congos, fisherman
 
"a solitary tune by a fisherman can be an invaluable treasure, dusk rain on the ocean, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds; elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night" ― ikkyu
 
"a poor fisherman who knows the beauties of the misty mornings is much richer than a wealthy man who sleeps till noon in his palace" ― mehmet murat ildan
 
perfectly the best song to accompany my impression today is one favorite tunes ever written and sang, so if you only open up and listen to one tune in today's blog, then it should definitely be this tune...the lyrics written by jimmy buffett hold so much inspiring meaning for me and the song is such a beautiful fit for my impression and the profound essence of the deeper message in my blog today...this song i would like you to give a good ear and listen to is  "a pirate looks at forty" by jimmy buffett (original version) ... and i just cannot fathom this song is close to 50 years old being first released was back in 1974...
 
if you would like to listen to an updated version of this most excellent jimmy buffett song, here's a version that's a supper wonderful cover by jack johnson, recorded in 2012... "a pirate at forty" by jack johnson (jimmy buffett cover version) ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"mother, mother ocean, i have heard you call. wanted to sail upon your waters since i was three feet tall. you've seen it all, you've seen it all. watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam. and in your belly, you hold the treasures few have ever seen. most of them dream, most of them dream...yes i am a pirate, two hundred years too late. the cannons don't thunder, there's nothing to plunder. i'm an over-forty victim of fate, arriving too late, arriving too late...i've done a bit of smuggling, i've run my share of grass. i made enough money to buy miami, but i pissed it away so fast. never meant to last, never meant to last...and i've been drunk now for over two weeks. i passed out, and i rallied, and i sprung a few leaks. but i got stop wishing, got to go fishing, down to rock bottom again. just a few friends, just a few friends...i go for younger women, lived with several a while. though i ran them away, they'd come back one day, still could manage to smile. just takes a while, just takes a while...mother, mother ocean, after all the years i've found: my occupational hazard being, my occupation's just not around. i feel like i've drowned, gonna head uptown. i feel like i've drowned, gonna head uptown..." ― jimmy buffett, a pirate looks at forty 
 
"there's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot" ― steven wright
 
"you are the diver's clothes, lying empty on the beach. you are the fish. in the ocean are many bright strands and many dark strands like veins that are seen when a wing is lifted up. your hidden self is blood in those, those veins that are lute strings that make ocean music, not the sad edge of surf, but the sound of no shore" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"so you see, this impression here today is really a metaphor of myself. realize that i'm a fisherman, my father is a fisherman. i'm my father's son..." ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman   
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MEANING
"we were both there, two fishermen, on the morning beach under the magical colors of the upcoming sunrise and setting full moon. he was capturing his meal to nourish himself, and i was capturing my impressions, the food to nourish my soul" ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman  
 
my father has always loved to fish. for him, fishing is his favorite, most enjoyable, most relaxing thing he could ever do. he loves just chilling in a boat, floating on the water somewhere with his line cast out somewhere deep. he's thrilled by the challenge of getting a fish to bite the lure on his line, perpetually driven by the inspiration of catching a "big one" (which he accomplished on so many numerous occasions), yet at the same time, he's loving the relaxing down time of just being, doing nothing at all but enjoying the peace...
 
my dad is truly a fisherman through and through....he always had a boat, but not for joyriding, a boat for fishing. boats were not meant to cruise around in and get a tan, they were meant to be used to catch big fish.  i've had the pleasure to join my dad many times on many lakes, rivers, streams, and the ocean...fishing...
 
although i never really caught the bug for catching a fish (hard to enjoy the catch when you are allergic to them, seafood, and pretty much anything that swims), i enjoyed spending the quiet times one-on-one with my father, floating around on liquid somewhere out in nature. although i'm never inspired to land a fish, i truly enjoy fishing. i enjoy the process and the idyllic times spent relaxing and finding inner peace, all the while waiting for that lucky break of capturing what i wanted...however instead of fishing for fish, my motivation is that i fish for pictures...
 
this scene before you today is such a relaxing and favorite place to be, and i'm ultimately lucky to be able to visit similar places as this any day i wish...a full moon setting over the ocean, the gorgeous soft purple and pink tones of dawn in the sky above, tranquil powder blue waters sparkling in the diffused light, soft sugary sand under my bare feet, the sound of waves kissing the beach, the smell of sea salt in the air on a warm ocean breeze...i'm a fisherman, and this is my lucky catch...
 
so you see, this impression here today is really a metaphor of myself. realize that i'm a fisherman, my father is a fisherman. i'm my father's son... 
 
merriam-webster defines the word "fisherman" as: one who engages in fishing as an occupation or for pleasure...

and just like my dad, pictured here today within my catch is also an impression of a true fisherman...here in this photograph is a beautiful snowy egret fishing in the teal waters next to the fishing pier that stretches out into the gulf of mexico in naples, florida...he's graceful. he's fast and silent, and probably the most effective of all the fisherman on the beach and pier...
 
and seeing this bird reminded me of my father, so similar in their patterns and actions as fishermen, silent and calm, until a fish is on their radar and electricity permeates the air with their excitement...and then achieving results of catching fish when no others around are catching anything...
 
on this beautiful morning, i was simply there to shoot the soft pastel colors of the dawn as the full moon was setting over the pier, like the bird, i too was fishing. only trying instead to capture an impressionistic picture to match the vision i saw in my head of this beautiful morning on the beach...
 
then he lands in the beach breakers amongst the waves...
 
it's me and this snowy egret, i see him, he sees me. we're respecting each other for who we are...we're sharing the beach, each doing our thing. we're just two fishermen going about our day, doing what we need to do to survive and enjoy our lives...he was catching fish, i was catching images...
 
i'm an impressionist fisherman, looking for the beauty in things surrounding me, but at the same time fishing for inner peace...i'm simply trying to capture nourishment for my soul with my artwork  
 
the snowy egret is a fisherman in the truest meaning of the word. feeding himself and his family somewhere close by...me, i'm feeding my creative needs for expressing myself...we are both fishermen, one the same...
 
and after spending the morning with this snowy egret, and this graceful bird reminding me of my father and memories spent with him from eons ago, i finally realize now, my dad will be so proud to know that i consider myself a fisherman too, just like him...
 
"this snowy egret before me is my father. it's clear to me that he was here to remind me of all beautiful times i've spent with my dad fishing unknown waters, times hidden in my memories just below the surface, like an elusive fish, memories that i needed to reel in again and bring back into my lifeboat"
 
this next song is one of my all-time favorite reggae tunes...released about 5 years ago, it's emotionally beautiful with its soft rhythmic flow (literally it's like the sound of the sea) and the powerful message of its heartfelt lyrics, this reggae tune easily makes another perfect fit to listen to and accompany my impression and blog today, "sound of the sea" by stick figure ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  
 
"this boat is sinking, down to the ocean floor. we're still drinking, drinking from the night before. i'm wishing, i'm wishing right now i was fishing i'm thinking, i'm thinking, but my mind's not listening. i never felt so far away. i never lived before today. it's been a while since i've seen your face. it's been a while, time to turn the page. i wanna go home, i wanna go home. i wanna feel the way i did. i wanna go home, i wanna go home. back, back to the way it was...i got a feeling, and this feeling won't go away. i'm not leaving, i'm waiting for a brighter day. i'm not leaving, and good things are coming my way. so keep dreaming, i'm feeling like i'm dreaming always. it never felt so strange to me. and my guitar is all i need. it's been a while, since i've been down this road. and it's been a while, and good things come and go. if the sun is getting closer, then why does it feel so cold? and in the eyes of the world, i'm older. and i can't take it much longer...i wanna go home, i wanna go home. i wanna feel the way i did. i wanna go home, i wanna go home, back, back to the way it was...i'm just a little bit longer, the music making us stronger. i'm just a little bit longer, my music making us stronger. i'm just a little bit longer. my music making us stronger . i'm just a little bit longer, in the eyes of the world" ― stick figure, sound of the sea
 
"fishin' hope's really for the birds
inner peace confounded by words
so, no worries about fishin'
capturin' what i'm wishin'
can never be up too soon
catchin' the morning moon, 
with the ocean breeze
swayin' the palm trees
waves calm and caress me
connectin' beach sands to sea
and with each single breath
i continue to push away death
so, every day i wake is a good day
i keep my life simple that way" ― bodhinku, i'm a fisherman
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STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"the snowy egret is a fisherman in the truest meaning of the word. feeding himself and his family somewhere close by...me, i'm feeding my creative needs for expressing myself...we are both fishermen, one the same " ― bodhinku, fishermen  
 
i see so many wonderful animals while i'm out and about on my adventures taking pictures and walking my path through nature's majestic kingdom. i enjoy sharing time with them, most of them anyway--i'm not a fan of snakes, racoons, alligators, scorpions, mosquitos or black flies...i love spending time with creatures in their natural habitats within the beautiful landscapes i get to witness and experience...in my travels, i've seen dolphins, turtles, manatees, otters, tortoises, foxes, bobcats, black bears, marmots, mountain goats, deer, elk, moose, wild horses, wild burros, big horn sheep, antelope, coyotes, and mountain lions (my favorite), as well as penguins (another favorite), puffins, peacocks, cardinals, hawks, eagles, blue birds, and so many other species of birds...
 
i see them, i meet them. i spend time with them, but i so rarely ever have them in any of my images...
 
being a long exposure specialist, i seldon, if ever, have any impressions of wildlife. for you see, living things need to stay still for a pretty long time in my exposures, or else they are blurred or ghosted. most animals end up moving constantly and are not stationary for more than a couple seconds...it's quite difficult for me to remain true to my style of photography plus have animals in my compositions at the same time. so consequently, i have very few images of any living beings in my body of artwork...
 
still despite this, and coupled with me having a deeply profound love of my feathered friends, i have managed to take a few images of birds through the years, as they seem to have periods where they will stay still and i can remain true to myself artistically...i have successfully captured impressions of pelicans, sea gulls, and now this a lovely snowy egret... and i have a special affinity for birdies, i truly envy their freedom of flight, being able to float and soar on the breeze, above trees and through the clouds...and i love their songs, their gracefulness, and their playfulness. but they're also survivors and do what they need to do to continue to thrive and exist...
 
pictured here is a graceful snowy egret fishing in the breaking waves on the beach under a setting near-full moon alongside the pier in naples florida on a warm spring gulf coast morning...
 
this elegant birdie is a master fisherman...and on this morning, he was most definitely happy with his efforts as he managed to catch a couple fish...and lucky for me, as he was working, he really did not seem to mind me being as close to him as i was...i guess he instinctively knew that i did not pose a threat to him...
 
we were both there, two fishermen, on the morning beach under the magical colors of the upcoming sunrise and setting full moon. he was capturing his meal to nourish himself, and i was capturing my impressions, the food to nourish my soul...
 
he would stand perfectly still for a bit and then run and catch his breakfast in the foam after a wave would crash. i never heard an egret make any bird calls before, as they are seemingly stoic and silent. but it almost seemed like this guy was singing as he fished, making a series of really cool chirping raspy noises as he went about his business...
 
and for this image, he even calmly posed for a couple seconds so i could catch his impression relatively cleanly and not compromise my uncompromising use of longer exposures to create my unique mood within the style of impressionist photography which i embrace with all of my works...
 
this next song is a love song, with its lyrics, it is another lovely accompaniment to my impression and blog today: "fishin in the dark" by the nitty gritty dirt band ... (just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"lazy yellow moon comin' up tonite, shinin' thru the trees, crickets are singin' and lightning bugs are floatin on the breeze. baby get ready...across the field where the creek turns back by the ole stump road, i'm gonna take you to a special place that nobody knows. baby get ready...you and me going fishing in the dark, lying on our backs and counting the stars where the cool grass grows. down by the river in the full moon light, we'll be fallin' in love in the middle of the night. just movin' slow...stayin' the whole night thru, feels so good to be with you...spring is almost over and the summer's come. and the days are gettin' long waited all winter for the time to be right, just to take you along. baby get ready...and it don't matter if we sit forever and the fish don't bite. jump in the river and cool ourselves from the heat of the night. baby get ready...you and me going fishin in the dark" ― nitty gritty dirt band, fishin in the dark 
 
"it's me and this snowy egret, i see him, he sees me. we're respecting each other for who we are...we're sharing the beach, each doing our thing. we're just two fishermen going about our day, doing what we need to do to survive and enjoy our lives...he was catching fish, i was catching images..." ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman   
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MORE ABOUT SNOWY EGRETS
"after spending the morning with this snowy egret, and the bird reminding me of my father and memories spent with him from eons ago, i finally realize now, my dad will be so proud to know that i consider myself a fisherman too, just like him..." ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman
 
among the most elegant of the herons, the slender snowy egret sets off immaculate white plumage with black legs and brilliant yellow feet. those feet seem to play a role in stirring up or herding small aquatic animals as the egret forages...
 
snowy egrets wade in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals. while they may employ a sit-and-wait technique to capture their food, sometimes they are much more animated, running back and forth through the water with their wings spread, chasing their prey.
 
snowy egrets are usually quiet except on breeding sites, where they give raspy or nasal calls, including loud, harsh squawks to signal aggression, and often make clicking sounds by snapping their bills closed during aggressive displays.
 
adult snowy egrets have greenish-yellow feet for most of the year, but at the height of the breeding season their feet take on a much richer, orange-yellow hue. the bare skin on their face also changes color, from yellow to reddish.
 
during the breeding season, adult snowy egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads, these are gorgeous flowing and curving plumes. in 1886, these elogant plumes once fetched astronomical prices in the fashion industry, they were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. sadly as a result, plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed thousands of snowy egrets, endangering the species. early conservationists rallied to protect egrets, fighting to get reforms passed to protect these graceful birds in the early twentieth century. the recovery of shorebird populations through the work of concerned citizens was an early triumph and helped give birth to other conservation movements. and now for the past hundred years, the snowy egret is once again a common sight in shallow coastal wetlands...
 
the male and female of the species take turns incubating their eggs. as one mate takes over for the other, it sometimes presents a stick, almost as if passing a baton. both parents continue caring for the young when they hatch.  
 
snowy egrets sometimes mate with other heron species and produce hybrid offspring. they have been known to hybridize with tricolored herons, little blue herons, and cattle egrets...
 
the oldest snowy egret on record was at least 17 years, 7 months old. it was banded in Colorado in 1970 and found in Mexico in 1988...
 
 
"i enjoyed spending the quiet times one-on-one with my father, floating around on liquid somewhere out in nature. although i'm not inspired to land a fish, i truly enjoy fishing. i enjoy the process and the idyllic times spent relaxing and finding inner peace, all the while waiting for that lucky break of capturing what i wanted...however instead of fishing for fish, my motivation is that i fish for pictures... " ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman     
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
and here is another extremely lovely song, one from an odd source of music for me...read the lyrics and you will be able to connect this tune to my impression today...a song sung boldly with a profound meaning very dear to my heart, vocalized so strongly, yet softly, by a larger than life rock band of mystic proportions from the 1970s..: "gone fishin" by lynyrd skynyrd ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...
 
"yeah ooh ooh...the only time i get up early is to met my mules at the fishin' hole. i wanna catch the one that got away. i wanna feel my pole bending in that way. since i was a kid, i felt this way. i fell hook, line and sinker...gone fishin' yeah. saint john's river runs north not south. smart enough to have a large mouth. if you can hook 'em you can mount 'em. you can keep 'em around. but if they break your line, they're gonna go back down...since i was a kid, i felt this way. i fell hook, line and sinker. gone fishin' yeah...oh, ain't nothing like sunrise on the lake. or when the moon comes up at night. there's things out there that can take your life. you might just die of fright. but i'll be there come rain or shine. because see it's what i like to do. only thing better than settin' my hook, is settin' my hook in you. i fell hook, line and sinker. gone fishin' oh oh...i've been everywhere, tried everything. but there ain't nothin' that feels the same, when you find the right one, it's a magical thing. next thing you know, it's a diamond ring. she hooked me and took my name. i fell hook line and sinker. gone fishin' yeah. gone, gone fishin'. she hooked me. gone, gone fishin', yeah yeah, gone, gone, gone fishin', yeah, she's my baby. gone, gone, gone fishin" ― lynyrd skynyrd, gone fishin
 
"anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. it is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness  
  
"we have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers" ― martin luther king, jr., strength to love 

"i’m not asking you to wait for me. live your life fully until i'm able to catch up and live it by your side. choose to celebrate each day and make the most of each moment. embrace the wild creativity that flows in your veins, laugh out loud at all the silly things that tickle you and go on tons of adventures. i want to hear all about them when i find you and we are on the path to forging new ones. until then, i'll be loving you from afar and knowing in my heart that one day, i'll be able to choose to live that life with you fully...i know we get what we are ready for, and i’m not ready for you yet. if i’m not by your side right now it means i've dove deeper in my own seas, so i can dive endlessly into yours one day soon...don't give up on me, my love. i'll see you soon"― c. ara campbell     
 
"in those joyless moments when loving yourself feels impossible, close your eyes, visualize your arms extending forward through time, and gently embrace the person you could be" ― beau taplin, remedy 
 
"i walked around as you do, investigating
the endless star,
and in my net, during the night,
i woke up naked,
the only thing caught,
a fish trapped inside the wind" ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets
 
"if you cannot catch a fish, don't blame the sea" ― atticus, love her wild    
 
"the pilot of a new jet plane says: when i was a barefoot kid, i used to sit in a flat-bottomed rowboat down there, fishing. every time a plane flew by, i would look up and dream i was piloting it. now, i look down and dream i am fishing." ― osho, awareness
 
"i love you more than there are fishes in the sea and higher than the moon" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"ever wonder what the water feels like to a fish? to the fish, the sea is the air" ― dan millman, way of the peaceful warrior    
 
"the fish in the water are silent, the animals on the earth are noisy, the bird in the air is singing...but man has in him the silence of the sea, the noise of the earth, and the music of the air" ― rabindranath tagore, stray birds  
  
"teach all men to fish, but first teach all men to be fair. take less, give more. give more of yourself, take less from the world. nobody owes you anything, you owe the world everything" ― suzy kassem, rise up and salute the sun 
 
"a photographer is like a salmon, which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity" ― george bernard shaw 
 
"a famous japanese zen master said that unless you can explain zen in words that a fisherman will comprehend, you don’t know what you’re talking about. some fifty years ago a ucla professor told me the same thing about applied mathematics. we like to hide from the truth behind foreign-sounding words or mathematical lingo. there’s a saying: the truth is always encountered but rarely perceived. if we don’t perceive it, we can’t help ourselves and we can’t much help anyone else" ― jeff bridges, the dude and the zen master
 
"ting. tingle, tingle, tremble toes,
she’s as a good fisherman knows, 
catches hens, puts ‘em inna pens
wire blier, limber lock, 
three geese in a flock
one flew east, one flew west
one flew over the cuckoo’s nest" ― ken kesey, one flew over the cuckoo's nest
 
"a man fishes for two reasons: he’s either sport fishing or fishing to eat, which means he’s either going to try to catch the biggest fish he can, take a picture of it, admire it with his buddies and toss it back to sea, or he’s going to take that fish on home, scale it, fillet it, toss it in some cornmeal, fry it up, and put it on his plate. this, i think, is a great analogy for how men seek out women" ― steve harvey, act like a lady, think like a man
 
“ideas are like fish. if you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. but if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. they’re huge and abstract. and they’re very beautiful" ― david lynch, catching the big fish
 
"in the summer
i stretch out on the shore
and think of you. had i told the sea
what i felt for you,
it would have left its shores,
its shells,
its fish,
and followed me" ― nizar qabbani
 
"the creative act is a letting down of the net of human imagination into the ocean of chaos on which we are suspended, and the attempt to bring out of it ideas...it is the night sea journey, the lone fisherman on a tropical sea with his nets, and you let these nets down, and sometimes, something tears through them that leaves them in shreds and you just row for shore, and put your head under your bed and pray...at other times what slips through are the minutiae, the minnows of this fishing metaphor of idea chasing...but, sometimes, you can actually bring home something that is food, food for the human community that we can sustain ourselves on and go forward" ― terence mckenna
 
"it's like a fisherman casting a net into the water. he keeps only the one or two fish that he needs to feed himself and puts the rest back in the water, thinking that their lives will go back to normal. but no one forgets that they were once captive, even if they are now free. but still, you have to let yourself be free" ― yaa gysai, homegoing
 
"writers fish for the right words like fishermen fish for, um, whatever those aquatic creatures with fins and gills are called" ― jarod kintz, this is the best book i've ever written, and it still sucks
 
"a fish and a bird may indeed fall in love, but where shall they live??"― elizabeth gilbert, committed
 
"chance is always powerful. let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish" ― ovid, heroides
 
"let's go fishing in the morning, just like we've always gone. you can come inside and wake me up, we'll pack and leave by dawn. we will pack and leave by dawn. and you'll say i'll hear something, and i'll say never you mind, it's just our two poles knocking in the back seat, and your truck is doing fine today, and everything is fine...and your truck will climb up slowly, and we'll see how far we've gone, and the hills will stretch before us, they're rolling on and on, they are rolling on and on...and the fish will look up at our boat, with envy and with fear, because we will live forever, and our days are slow and dear, and our days are slow and dear...and we'll go fishing in the morning, even though we've never gone, we're two fishing poles in the backseat, we're the rolling on and on, we're the rolling on and on" ― dar williams, fishing in the morning
 
"as long as you are crawling like a snake on this earth, do not hope to swim like fish in the sea of spirit" ― jalaluddin rumi, a year with rumi  
 
"are you jealous of the ocean’s generosity? why would you refuse to give this joy to anyone? fish don’t hold the sacred liquid in cups! they swim the huge fluid freedom." ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi
 
"you are the diver's clothes, lying empty on the beach. you are the fish. in the ocean are many bright strands and many dark strands like veins that are seen when a wing is lifted up. your hidden self is blood in those, those veins that are lute strings that make ocean music, not the sad edge of surf, but the sound of no shore" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"i am a fish. you are the moon. you cannot touch me, but your light can fill the ocean where i live" ― jalaluddin rumi, whispers of the beloved   
 
"have you ever seen any lover who was satiated with this passion? have you ever seen any fish that had become satiated with this sea? in separation, the lover is like a name empty of meaning; but a meaning such as belovedness has no need of names. you are the sea, i am a fish—hold me as you desire; show compassion, exercise kingly power—without you, i remain alone. without you, the world is a torment; may it not be without you for a single instant; by your life i implore this, for life without you is a torture and an agony to me" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"on this beautiful morning, i was simply there to shoot the soft pastel colors of the dawn as the full moon was setting over the pier, like the bird, i too was fishing. only trying instead to capture an impressionistic picture to match the vision i saw in my head of this beautiful morning on the beach" ― bodhinku, impressionist fisherman 
   
captured about 15 mins before sunrise at the pier in naples, florida at 7:07am on march 30, 2021...this composition is comprised entirely of one quasi-long exposure (f/8 @37mm for 2 secs, 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 1.6 nd progrey antarctica filter to bring the light in the image down 6 stops to create this dreamy effect with a slight motion blur of the waves, ocean water and clouds and naturally saturate all the teals, and pinks in the image...combining that filter with 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 extremly bright moon light in the sky and clouds at the top of the image an extra three stops and help permit details in the shadows under the pier 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
 
"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. 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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