"Raging Fire" by Bodhi Smith

Dec 16, 2022

"raging fire" is my new impression...
 
"...love is...
a burning fire raging unseen;
a wound aching within the in-between...
a contentment that's always discontent;
a confusion that's so clearly meant.
...love is...
a loneliness in the in-crowd;
a silence spoken loud out loud...
a heartbeat within an ever-elusive thought;
a home within my chest forever sought.
...love is...
an oxymoron of both pleasure and pain,
with nothing to lose yet everything to gain...
a shy softness as bold as a sharp knife,
love, the contained raging fire of my life"
 
"hold on to what makes you feel. don't let go, it's what makes you real. if the flame goes out tonight, we live until we die. so come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire" ― phillip phillips, raging fire.
 
"set your life on fire. seek those who fan your flames" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
 
"and where two raging fires meet together, they do consume the thing that feeds them" ― william shakespeare, romeo and juliet
 
"love never loses its way home...it’s still there, with the power to breathe life and fire into once stale lungs" ― c. ara campbell  
 
here's a wonderful tune full of deeper meaning from "the boss" in 1985 to accompany my impression and blog today ... "i'm on fire" by bruce springsteen. ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...
 
"hey little girl, is your daddy home? did he go and leave you all alone? mhmm, i got a bad desire. oh, oh, oh, i'm on fire...tell me now, baby, is he good to you? and can he do to you the things that i do? oh no, i can take you higher. oh, oh, oh, i'm on fire...sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby, edgy and dull, and cut a six inch valley through the middle of my skull. at night i wake up with the sheets soaking wet, and a freight train running through the middle of my head, only you can cool my desire. oh, oh, oh, i'm on fire...oh, oh, oh, i'm on fire..." ― bruce springsteen, i'm on fire.
 
"behind this cold looking mask i wear you'll discover a heart of fire, if you'd only dare to try to get to know me " ― bodhi, raging fire
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MEANING
"remember, sunlight is the most precious gold to be found on  earth" ― bodhi, raging fire
 
"raging" is defined by merriam-webster as:
1. continuing with great force or intensity; running wild
2. tremendous; extraordinary
 
the sun is a tremendous ball of nuclear fusion, an extraordinary power source that warms us and sustains all life on this pale blue dot of a planet. without its raging fire of love, we would all cease to exist...remember, sunlight is the most precious gold to be found on earth...
 
now if i could only find the burning heat of love's raging fire like the sun in another human being...such a deeply passionate love here on earth continues to remain so ever elusive for me. since that time love first felt real over 45 years ago, it has never come my way again...did i blow my chance at happiness all those years ago when i was too young and naive to know that what i had found in her and me was so precious and rare?
 
"love's a burning fire raging unseen; a wound aching in the in-between; it's a contentment that's always discontent; a confusion that's so clearly meant...love is...a loneliness in the in-crowd; a silence spoken loud out loud. it's a heartbeat within an ever-elusive thought; a home within my chest forever sought...an oxymoron of both pleasure and pain, with nothing to lose yet everything to gain; a shy softness as bold as a sharp knife, love's the contained raging fire of my life" ― bodhi, raging fire
 
when i look at this beautiful impression of mine, i see it filled with the sun's passion and energy, all these vibrant orange, yellow, and red hues burning like a raging fire of intense colour. glowing colous fueled by the radiance of our golden star...i long to one day again feel the touch of the girl who, like the sun, turns my soul into a colourful raging fire...
 
not only is this beautiful song named the same as my impression and blog today, but it's the absolutely perfect tune to help evoke the energy and feelings i desire, reflecting the passions of my photo within it's parallel meaning ..."raging fire" by phillip phillips. ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...
 
"we are dead to rights, born and raised. we are thick and thin to our last days. so hold me close and i'll surrender to your heart. you know how to give and how to take. you see every hope i locked away. so pull me close and surrender to my heart before the flame goes out tonight. yeah, we live until we die. so come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out, until we lose control into a raging fire, into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire...you know time will give and time will take. all the memories made will wash away. even though we changed, i'm still here with you. if you listen close, you'll hear the sounds of all the ghosts that bring us down. hold on to what makes you feel. don't let go, it's what makes you real. if the flame goes out tonight, yeah, we live until we die. so come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out until we lose control into a raging fire, into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire...let the world leave us behind. let your heart be next to mine before the flame goes out tonight. we can live until we die. come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out, won't you turn my soul into a raging fire. come out, come out, come out until we lose control into a raging fire. into a raging fire" ― phillip phillips, raging fire.
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NORTH COYOTE BUTTES AND "THE WAVE"
"the wave" is a rock formation located in northern arizona close to the southern utah border. it's essentially the most difficult-to-visit area located on public land in the entire united states. you’ve probably seen photos of it on your computer screensaver, on a variety of magazine covers, or all over instagram

in short, "the wave" is just a really beautiful, perfectly wave-shaped sandstone rock formation. it's a relatively small formation that's in the middle of a large protected area of federal blm land straddling the southern utah-northern arizona border which is named the coyote buttes north.

because of its delicate nature, only 64 people are allowed to visit the wave on any given day of the year...48 of those permits are obtained via an advanced online lottery and 16 are issued via an in-person lottery located in the town of kanab, utah..

there are two distinct areas of buttes–a north and a south...with both requiring pre-authorized permits to access...coyote buttes north is exponentially more popular and astronomically more difficult to obtain a permit to visit because it contains "the wave" formation. although, it can be argued that the south buttes are just as beautiful and very much easier to obtain a permit to visit.

if you are like just about everybody else and are unsuccessful in obtaining a permit in the daily lottery for the north coyote buttes, you can try your luck for the in-person south buttes drawing. the lottery process works as a walk-in lottery at the kanab center one day before your hike. however, only 10 permits are available daily for the south buttes walk-in lottery and are also increasingly getting harder and harder to obtain with its recent popularity on social media.

for the advanced lottery link permit for the north coyote buttes (and "the wave"), you must apply online four months in advance and on any given day there could be over 1000 people vying for one of the prestigious daily 48 online permits...so, if you put in an application for a permit this month in december 2022, the pass will be for april 2023....link: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/274309

i won my in-person lottery permits for me and my doggie (the dude) back in 2016. since then, the permit process has changed dramatically. so here's all of the latest information from the new permit process.

you'll pick up your "the wave" permits year-round at the grand staircase-escalante national monument visitor center in kanab, utah (745 e. highway 89, phone number: 435-644-1300). as of march 15, 2022, there is a daily online lottery process using a mobile-based geofence system. applicants must download the recreation.gov app to submit the daily lottery application. the process now takes three days....on day 1, applicants submit the daily online lottery application but only if they are within the geofence area of "the wave". you can submit the application between 6am and 6pm. results will arrive on the same day after 7:15 pm via email. if you're lucky and win a permit, you need to log into your recreation.gov account to accept and pay for your permit by 8am mst the next day. otherwise, it will be forfeited...on day 2, you can pick up your permit at the blm office by 8am. the address of this location is kept secret and will be in your email confirmation. then, you need to attend the safety briefing at 8:30am at the same location.. day 3, go on your hiking adventure to the coyote buttes north and "the wave"...

the drawing is for a permit to visit the Wave on the third day. so if you are entering the lottery on monday and you one of the lucky winners, your permit will be valid for use on wednesday. and with that permit, you are able to visit the coyote buttes north at any time of the day on your specified date 12am-11:59pm, as many times as you would like in that 24-hour window. however, keep in mind that the hike out to "the wave" is approximately 3-miles each way from the parking lot at wire pass trailhead.
 
during the low season, the visitor’s center is closed on the weekends, and applications are accepted only from monday to thursday. as such, on thursdays at 6pm, drawings are issued for the following saturday, sunday, and monday. in theory, as it stands now, trying for the wave permit lottery on thursdays during the low season would be the way to go as you’ll presumably have better odds at securing a permit
 
you can only fill out one application per group and it cannot exceed more than six people. there are permits for 16 people and/or four groups issued via the daily lottery. everyone regardless of age must be included in the permit. however, dogs must be included on the permit (but do not count against the quota) and require a fee (added during the permit confirmation process). if a group hires an authorized guide, he/she will not count against the group size or the daily visitor limit. only one guide is allowed per group.

the hike to the north coyote buttes begins at the wire pass trailhead to buckskin gulch which is still in utah close to the utah-arizona state border line.

from kanab, you’ll drive approximately 38.7 miles along us-89 before taking a right on houserock valley road (unpaved gravel/dirt). from there, it’s very bumpy, at times muddy or rutted 8.3 miles to the wire pass trailhead parking lot. you’ll park your car at the parking lot, leave your permit on the dash, and sign the trail register.

if it's raining or has recently rained, this houserock valley road can be incredibly difficult to navigate and at times totally impassable. a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance is ideal for bad conditions, but still will do you no good on this road if it has recently rained...the red mud is heavy and quickly cakes up your tires and wheel wells leaving you with no traction, functionless brakes, and out-of balance tires due to the mud. you could easily get stuck or slide right off the road into a ditch or a rock wall. and at the very least if you make it out and back in wet conditions, it'll be very time consuming washing all the caked-on heavy red mud/rocks from off the sides, back, and underside of your vehicle, plus you will be paying for the costs to have your tires rebalanced somewhere afterwards (all of this info is from my experience in my 4x4 jeep grand cherokee in 2016)... check with the blm office in kanab regarding the condition of houserock valley road prior to heading out...
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
here's another great tune for 55 years ago way back in 1967, it's another perfect song to go along with my impression and blog today ..."light my fire" by the doors. ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ... and here is a wonderful reggae cover by ub40 to start of the new millennium in the year 2000 ..."light my fire" by ub40 (the doors cover). ... 
 
"you know that it would be untrue. you know that i would be a liar. if i was to say to you: girl, we couldn't get much higher. come on, baby, light my fire. come on, baby, light my fire. try to set the night on fire...the time to hesitate is through. no time to wallow in the mire. try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral pyre. come on, baby, light my fire. come on, baby, light my fire. try to set the night on fire, yeah...the time to hesitate is through. no time to wallow in the mire. try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral pyre. come on, baby, light my fire. come on, baby, light my fire. try to set the night on fire, yeah...you know that it would be untrue. you know that I would be a liar. if I was to say to you: girl, we couldn't get much higher. come on, baby, light my fire. come on, baby, light my fire. try to set the night on fire. try to set the night on fire. try to set the night on fire. try to set the night on fire" ― the doors, light my fire.
 
"there is no fire like passion" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha
 
"a great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
 
"love never loses its way home, it’s within us all along; a shining beacon rooted deeply on our shores. it’s always flowing to us and inside of us. unyielding in its power, unwavering in its belief and undying in its devotion, it never dies. our task is to believe in it and not lose faith when darkness rises and it becomes hard to see. it’s still there, with the power to breathe life and fire into once stale lungs...our greatest challenge is to embrace the whole of who we are and love ourselves completely enough to never stop believing in our worthiness of the love we dream of. when we truly embody the knowledge that love is something real that we are born deserving, it’s easier to have faith in its existence and to not sacrifice ourselves or settle for any less. it becomes easier to know deep in our hearts that love can never loses its way home to us, because we are love and this is all an unfolding path of love. that the real love that is meant for us will always find a way and that trusting in it is part of believing in love...and so, onward we go continuing our eternal journey deciphering the language of love. may we travel well" ― c. ara campbell    
 
"one day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65, you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die. however, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find––is they are not always with whom we spend our lives" ― beau taplin
 
"to feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life" ― pablo neruda   
 
"here, fire turns into water; here, the dancing of the rain declares the sun. there's no opposition in existence, no contradiction; everything supports everything else" ― osho, book of wisdom
 
"the day man learns to harness the energy of love, that will be as important as the discovery of fire" ― paulo coelho, eleven minutes  
 
"the best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"they say a good love is one that sits you down, gives you a drink of water, and pats you on top of the head. but i say a good love is one that casts you into the wind, sets you ablaze, makes you burn through the skies and ignite the night like a phoenix; the kind that cuts you loose like a wildfire and you can't stop running simply because you keep on burning everything that you touch! i say that's a good love; one that burns and flies, and you run with it!" ― c. joybell c.
 
"look for the shine in your eyes to remind yourself of the fire in your soul" ― deepak chopra, buddha  
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ABOUT THIS IMPRESSION
"i long to one day again feel the touch of the girl who, like the sun, turns my soul into a colourful raging fire" ― bodhi, raging fire
 
i seldom release images of iconic spots (like this one of the famous "wave") for which there are literally millions of photos circulating the internet, art shows, and stock photo libraries...however, after quite a few years of being thoroughly dissatisfied with the edit of this photo taken in august of 2016, i tried once again...and i'm quite happy with my post-processing effort finally with the result of creating the looks of this location in my own unique style, a style which is very different from any other photo out there of "the wave" by any other artist...
 
comprised of a single exposure, this impression was captured about 10mins after the sunrise at 6:44am on august 1st, 2016 (f/22@14mm for 11 secs, iso-64)... 
 
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...
 
to get the effects and balance i was looking, i used two progreyusa titan filters along with the progrey g-150z holder to secure these filters to my nikon d810 with a nikon nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens ... 
 
first, a 3.0 nd progrey titan filter to bring the light in the image down 10 stops and permit for the long 1 minute and 51 second exposure which naturally saturates all the red, orange, and yellow colors in the image ...
 
combined with the second filter, a 0.9 gnd progrey titan filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the much brighter sunlight in the sky, the post-dawn light, an extra three stops and help permit details in the shadows in the foreground to come out better in the exposure... 
 
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...
 
"you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you?" ― bodhi, blessed 
 
"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" ― bodhi, if 
 
"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" ― bodhi, into my photo
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary " ― bodhi, my diary
 
"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
 
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/bodhi.impressions
http://www.facebook.com/Bodhi.Impressions

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