Runner by Bodhi Smith

"runner" is my brand new impression and blog...
 
"i'm simple, driving down the road searching for pictures. searching for adventure. searching for a dream. searching for her. searching for myself. but maybe like the roadrunner in the cartoons, running down the road is just my idea of having fun. i'm simply running down my dream" ― bodhinku, roadrunner
 
"run towards yourself, do not run away. love is the destination. pain is just the middleman, suffering is optional" ― bodhinku, love and pain 
 
"dwell on the beauty of life. watch the stars, and see yourself running with them" ― marcus aurelius, meditations
 
"yeah, runnin' down a dream that never would come to me. working on a mystery, going wherever it leads. i'm runnin' down a dream..." ― tom petty & the heartbreakers, runnin' down a dream
 
"someone who does not run toward the allure of love walks a road where nothing lives" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
 
"if you don’t know what you’re running towards, you won’t find a road to take you there" ― jeff brown, soulshaping
 
"the best runner leaves no tracks" ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
 
"we sit in silence and watch the stars, i suppose because there are no words, not in all the languages on earth, that can properly describe the feeling of being in love. and perhaps those little burning lights out there in the dark, are the closest we come to something that does" ― beau t​aplin
 
"the past can hurt. but the way i see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it" ― walt disney
 
"no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself" ― truman capote, breakfast at tiffany's
 
"lose yourself. escape from the black cloud that surrounds you. then you will see your own light as radiant as the brightest stars. now enter that silence. this is the surest way to lose yourself...what is your life about, anyway? nothing but a struggle to be someone. you're nothing but a runner, running from your own silence" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart
 
"the whole justification for love's existence lies in your love for it. keep running towards it, and then rest a little, but as soon as you can, get up and carry on. because ever since love found out that you were traveling toward it, it has been running to meet you too" ― paulo coelho, manuscript found in accra   
 
"if you are running, then the whole energy moves into the body, there is no possibility for the mind to think. and when you run fast, you breathe deep, you exhale deep, you become just the body" ― osho, the secret of secrets  
 
"i can’t run more than two miles at a time, but when i'm in the car, i become a running machine" ― debasish mridha
 
"this mirror inside me shows. i can’t say what, but i can’t not know. i run from body. i run from spirit. i do not belong anywhere" ― jalaluddin rumi, bridge to the soul 
 
this song was released at the end of 2019 by an up an coming alternative indie rock band from oxford, england. they're like a throwback to sounds of the 1980s, having much the same sound as many of the new wave alternative bands of that decade (especially the talking heads). and this song is a tune with the same title as my impression today, and has an equalling parallel meaning as well with its lyrics, it's simply by far the perfect accompaniment to connect music with the theme of my impression and blog today... "runner" by the foals ... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...

"shadow, see how far i go (step by step i'll keep it up, i won't slow, i gotta go). through the embers, through the rows (every shadow step i take, i'll make sure that i won't break). show them all just what i know (while the years they come and go, i won't let myself get slow). because they all just come and go (every step that i will take, i'll make sure that i won't break)...oh, if i fall down, fall down, then i know to keep on running. oh, if i fall down, fall down, then i know to keep on running...and if it hurts don't let it show (step by step i'll keep it up, i won't slow i gotta go). while the seasons come and go (every shadow step i take, i'll make sure that i won't break). shadow chiaroscuro (while the years they come and go, i won't let myself get slow). when i, when i fall down, fall down, then i know to keep on running. oh, when i fall down, fall down, won't you come to keep me running? yeah, i keep on running. well, i keep on running...loneliness of the long distance runner. shadow, come closer, so i'll go on further. loneliness of the long distance runner. shadow, come closer, so i'll go on further...oh, when i fall down, fall down, then i know to keep on running. oh, if i fall down, fall down, then i know to keep on running...fall down, when i slow down (keep on running) slow down (and we keep on running). oh, slow down (and we keep on running). when i fall down, oh (keep on running), we keep on running and we keep on running and we keep on running"
― the foals, runner    
 
"i'm a runner in the fog, clouded by all the thoughts and noise in my head. i need to run down the road and hear the silence, journey into the peace. yet through all my foggy visions, i'm crystal clear in my confusion. i know i want to find her, my dream, my beloved, my one day, my fairy tale happy beginning― bodhinku, runner
 
"i'm a runner. i travel the world, escaping my life for a while, running away into the middle of nowhere, but i know i'm not going anywhere. no matter where i go, there i am. and the most important fact i know is that i know nothing" ― bodhinku, runner   
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MEANING
"i'm running but i'm standing still
flying with my feet on the ground
running in a direction with no direction
my darkness lights my path
as the stars glow in my sunshine
i'm holding on while i let go
maintaining faith in my disbelief
courageously scared
insanely calm
completely incomplete
as i run away directly to her
she's there, though i cannot see her
i know her, though we've not met
running in the infinity of a mere second
i'm dreaming with my eyes wide awake
all i know is that i know nothing
i'm but a runner standing still" ― bodhinku, runner
 
"runner" is defined by merriam-webster as:
1. a person who runs, especially in a specified way.
2. a messenger.
 
"i don't know if we have a destiny, or if we're all just floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze...but i...i think maybe it's both...maybe both is happening at the same time" ― winston groom, forrest gump
 
i think back to one of my favorite movies of all time, forrest gump, which is an academy award winning film from 1994 with a message about the journeys we all need take in our life down our chosen path to get to where we need to go, even though we might not see the reason for the journey at the time. an idea so well articulated by one of the greatest quotes of all time from any movie:
 
“mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get” ― winston groom, forrest gump
 
yet as we move forward, we can better understand the full meaning as we look back and reflect upon where we've been, and all of our experiences, and how they help to point us in the direction we need to go next.
 
but the movie has another strong thematic undercurrent as well, one prevalent throughout the movie in forrest's journeys, a theme about running in relation to life's problems. but forrest is not running away from his problems. instead running creates a positive thing in his life, something he is really good at doing. although he is not the smartest man, running is something he excels at better than anyone. running is used to soothe and help him meditate; allow for time to help sort out, understand, and solve problems...it's a wonderful message for all of us
 
"that day, for no particular reason, i decided to go for a little run. so i ran to the end of the road. and when i got there, i thought maybe i'd run to the end of the town. and when i got there, i thought maybe i'd just run across greenbow county. and i figured, since run this far, maybe i'd just run across the great state of alabama. and that's what i did. i ran clear across Alabama. for no particular reason i just kept on goin'. i ran clear to the ocean. and when i got there, i figured, since i'd gone this far, i might as well turn around, just keep on goin'. when i got to another ocean, i figured, since i'd gone this far, i might as well just turn back, keep right on goin'. when i got tired, i slept. when i got hungry, i ate. when i had to go, you know, i went...i had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours" ― winston groom, forrest gump  
 
i feel like in my life right now, i'm like forrest gump running though he knows not why. i'm a runner. i'm running and running, yet standing still. i'm here surrounding myself all alone. i travel the world, escaping my life for a while, running away into the middle of nowhere, but i know i'm not going anywhere. no matter where i go, there i am. my only problem is that i'm still me. however, that's also my biggest gift. the most important fact i know is: that i know nothing. i breathe, and therefore i am, i am because i breathe. maybe, i'm just an out-of-breath runner...
 
i'm just a clearly confused oxymoron. i'm a runner in the fog, clouded by all the thoughts and noise in my head. i need to run down the road and hear the silence, journey into the peace. yet through all my foggy visions, i'm crystal clear in my confusion. i know i want to find her, my dream, my beloved, my one day, my fairy tale happy beginning...but each morning i find myself waking up alone to begin the new day, to begin the search again...
 
"she's there with me
in all i see
her luminosity
 
though we've never met
no worry, no fret
because i know her yet

all that's me
all that will ever be
floats in her memory

her eyes awaken eternity;
opening the light of we
in both her and me" ― bodhinku, her 
 
what does it all mean? i just need to keep running down the road and figure it all out. and if i do not? who cares, because my life has been a wonderful journey so far. it's all been about the experience of living life on my chosen path for me...
 
like forrest, i have been a runner all over this country. but instead of using my legs (though i do allot of hiking), i drive alongside my aussie shepherd pup in my 2020 grand cherokee, which now has 80,000 miles on it in only two years. back and forth across the country coast to coast, north to south and south to north, many times in the past couple years...
 
i'm a simple dude, driving down the road searching for pictures. searching for adventure. searching for a dream. searching for her. searching for myself. but maybe like the roadrunner in the cartoons, running down the road is just my idea of having fun. i'm simply running down my dream...
 
"i'm dreaming awake...for even when i'm dreaming, i'm awake because of my dream. i'm awake because of her" ― bodhinku, dreaming awake 
 
and here is another beyond beautiful song, one of my all-time favorite and inspirational rock tunes because of my love of driving down the road, truly a great song to have in your playlist of driving tunes...read the lyrics and you will be able to connect the music to my current feelings and the deeper meaning of this blog and impression today...a song sung so harmoniously and vocalized so hopefully, with a historic guitar riff by a rock-n-roll legend we all miss dearly since his passing. i sincerely hope he is running down his dreams out there in those stars somewhere beyond the horizon ... "runnin' down a dream" by tom petty & the heartbreakers 

"it was a beautiful day, the sun beat down. i had the radio on, i was driving. trees flew by, me and del were singing little runaway, i was flying. yeah, runnin' down a dream that never would come to me. working on a mystery, going wherever it leads. i'm runnin' down a dream...i felt so good like anything was possible. hit cruise control and rubbed my eyes. the last three days, the rain was unstoppable. it was always cold, no sunshine. yeah, runnin' down a dream that never would come to me. working on a mystery, going wherever it leads. i'm runnin' down a dream...i rolled on, the sky grew dark. i put the pedal down to make some time. there's something good waiting down this road. i'm picking up whatever's mine. and i'm runnin' down a dream that never would come to me. working on a mystery, going wherever it leads, runnin' down a dream...yeah, i'm runnin' down a dream that never would come to me. working on a mystery, going wherever it leads. i'm runnin' down a dream"
 ― tom petty & the heartbreakers, runnin' down a dream 
 
"run down the road and feel the freedom. do not wait for a heaven. awaken and become alive now. dream with your eyes open. believe in life before death" ― bodhinku, life before death
 
"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 & courage
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
and here is: "born to run" by bruce springsteen ... (just click on any of words in the powder blue links to listen to the musical selection) ...
 
"in the day, we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway american dream. at night, we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines. sprung from cages out on highway nine, chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line. oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back. it's a death trap, it's a suicide rap. we gotta get out while we're young, cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run (yes, girl, we were)...wendy let me in, i wanna be your friend. i want to guard your dreams and visions. just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims and strap your hands across my engines. together we could break this trap, we'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back. oh, will you walk with me out on the wire? cause baby i'm just a scared and lonely rider. but i gotta know how it feels. i want to know if love is wild, babe. i want to know if love is real. oh, can you show me?...beyond the palace, hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard. the girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors and the boys try to look so hard. the amusement park rises bold and stark, kids are huddled on the beach in a mist. i wanna die with you, wendy, on the streets tonight in an everlasting kiss...the highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. everybody's out on the run tonight, but there's no place left to hide. together, wendy, we can live with the sadness. i'll love you with all the madness in my soul. oh, someday girl, i don't know when, we're gonna get to that place where we really want to go, and we'll walk in the sun. but till then, tramps like us, baby, we were born to run. oh honey, tramps like us, baby, we were born to run. come on with me, tramps like us, baby, we were born to run" ― bruce springsteen, born to run    
 
"few among men are they who cross to the further shore. the others merely run up and down the bank on this side" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha
 
"stop leaving and you will arrive. stop searching and you will see. stop running away and you will be found" ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
 
"find me under the milky way, soul bare and heart open. let me swim in your spirit past the sentry of time and space that stands in the way and let me love you...pull away the unworthiness etched upon your shores by those too blind to see your value and let me breathe you into the depths of myself in appreciation of all that you are. show me your solitude as i show you mine; all the parts that ache and yearn for more. let me see the facets of you longing to be traced by understanding hands full of reverence. you have the taste of my destiny on your lips and an essence that has swam in my blood since time began; a compass that navigated me wordlessly like a north star back to a safe harbor. you, the home of the soul i longed a lifetime for, the lyrics to a melody i hummed before learning all of your words...wishing only that i could give you my eyes so that you could see your own brilliant unfolding and witness your landscape that has to me become so precious. you, who comprehend the foreign language i speak that fell on deaf ears for an eternity, it’s tongues finally heard fully quenching my parched and misunderstood soil that once stood solitary and barren against the tides...planting 1000 kisses upon your naked heart in worship and in awe of your existence in this universe, i am replete with joy. if a million stars fell from the skies whispering their wishful promises into my open ear, not a single one would i entreat to change a single layer of you. let us stretch our fingers towards eternity together wrapped around dreams and laughter, souls bare and hearts open" ― c. ara campbell, soul bare and heart open (with additions by bodhinku)
 
"night air, good conversation, and a sky full of stars can heal almost any wound" ― beau taplin, remedy  
 
"human beings are made of water...we were not designed to hold ourselves together, rather run freely like oceans, like rivers" ― beau taplin, remedy
 
"perhaps you are not yet where you feel you should be...but from one dreamer to another, a careful word of advice: you could reach every last one of your goals and still find yourself unfulfilled at the finishing line...the true essence of life exists in the in-between. it is in the striving, that your excellence is exposed to the world. it is in the setbacks, that the strength of your spirit is learned. in the unfinished dream lies the full and burning heart of life...it is only a spell of the mind, an artful deception, that you might find fulfillment in fortune, fame, perfection or power. but, real fulfilling life is not lived here. the real fulfillment exists in the distance you still have left to travel. that is where the true magic happens" ― beau taplin (with some additions by bodhinku), the ascent
 
"how you must have suffered getting accustomed to me, my savage, solitary soul, my name that sends them all running. so many times we have seen the morning star burn, kissing our eyes, and over our heads the grey light unwinds in turning fans" ― pablo neruda   
 
"man ordinarily lives in loneliness. to avoid loneliness, he creates all kinds of relationships, friendships, organizations, political parties, religions and what not. but the basic thing is that he is very much afraid of being lonely. loneliness is a black hole, a darkness, a frightening negative state almost like death…as if you are being swallowed by death itself. to avoid it, you run out and fall into anybody, just to hold somebody’s hand, to feel that you are not lonely…nothing hurts more than loneliness, so you continually are running from it. but the trouble is, any relationship that arises out of the fear of being lonely is not going to be a blissful experience, because the other is also joining you out of fear. you both call it love. you are both deceiving yourself and the other. it is simply fear, and fear can never be the source of love. only those who love are absolutely fearless; only those who love are able to be alone, joyously, whose need for the other has disappeared, who are sufficient unto themselves…the day you decide that all these efforts are failures, that your loneliness has remained untouched by all your efforts, that is a great moment of understanding. then only one thing remains: to see whether loneliness is such a thing that you should be afraid of, or if it is just your nature. then rather than running out and away, you close your eyes and go in. suddenly the night is over, and a new dawn…the loneliness transforms into aloneness...aloneness is your nature. you were born alone, you will die alone. and you are living alone without understanding it, without being fully aware of it. you misunderstand aloneness as loneliness; it is simply a misunderstanding. you are sufficient unto yourself. be a runner to aloneness and never fear loneliness" ― osho, book of wisdom
 
"rather than putting your energy into being special, put your whole energy into being yourself. just find yourself, because in trying to be special you are running further and further away from yourself" ― osho, the responsibility of being oneself
 
"a sky
full
of stars
and he
was staring
at her" 
― atticus, love her wild
 
"be present. make love. make tea. avoid small talk. embrace conversation. buy a plant, water it. make your bed. make some one else's bed. have a smart mouth and quick wit. run. be a runner. make art. create. swim in the ocean. swim in the rain. take chances. ask questions. make mistakes. learn. learn to breathe. know your worth. love fiercely. forgive quickly. let go of what doesn't make you happy. smile. smile some more. grow" ― paulo coelho (with additions by bodhinku)
 
"he may pretend to be running after wisdom, understanding, or enlightenment, but none of that matters. whatever he achieves will be incomplete if he fails to find his soulmate" ― paulo coelho, warrior of the light
 
"we are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. life is eternal. we have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. this is a precious moment. it is a little parenthesis in eternity" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"so that's the ghost you been running from....you know, the ghost, the memory. i've been watchin' you, workin' day and night, slavin' so hard you barely breathe. people do that for three reasons. either they're crazy, or stupid, or tryin' to forget. and with you, i knew you were tryin' to forget. i just didn't know what" ― nicholas sparks, the notebook
 
"sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright light on their dark places and they are not ready to work them through. sometimes they run away because they are not developmentally prepared to merge with another...they have more individuation work to do first. sometimes they take off because love is not a priority in their lives...they have another path and purpose to walk first. sometimes they end it because they prefer a relationship that is more practical than conscious, one that does not threaten the ways that they organize reality. because so many of us carry shame, we have a tendency to personalize love's leavings, triggered by the rejection and feelings of abandonment. but this is not always true. sometimes it has nothing to do with us. sometimes the one who leaves is just not ready to hold it safe. sometimes they know something we don't...they know their limits at that moment in time. real love is no easy path- readiness is everything. may we grieve loss without personalizing it. may we learn to love ourselves in the absence of the lover" ― jeff brown, sometimes
 
"many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling love with the mistaken belief that you can not bear the pain of loss. but you have already borne the pain. what you have not done is feel all you are beyond that pain" ― khalil gibran, the prophet
 
"you don't value things that easily come to you. you value things that are hard to get. you keep running after them and complain, why are things i desire hard to get?" ― shunya 
 
"the dancing stars and the dancing galaxies are the direct expression of our divine self" ― amit ray, world peace 
 
"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.  
 
"i like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till i drop. this is the night, what it does to you. i had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion" ― jack kerouac
 
"we all travel the milky way together" ― john muir, the mountains of california
  
"wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast" ― william shakespeare, romeo and juliet  
 
"for he would be thinking of love, till the stars had run away, and the shadows eaten the moon" ― william butler yeats, the unicorn from the stars
 
"think you're escaping and run into yourself. longest way round is the shortest way home" ― james joyce, ulysses   
 
"you call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing, and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. well baby, you're already in that cage. you built it yourself...it's wherever you go. because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself" ― truman capote, breakfast at tiffany's
 
"maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them" ― candace bushnell, sex and the city
 
"f-e-a-r stands for fuck everything and run" ― stephen king, doctor sleep
 
"we are three dimensional beings, and time is seen as the fourth dimension. try to imagine a life without timekeeping. you probably can’t. you know the month, the year, the day of the week. there is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. you have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. birds are not late. a tree does not check its watch. a dog does not feel tardy. deer do not fret over passing birthdays. man alone measures time. man alone chimes the hour. and, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures: a fear of time running out" ― mitch albom (with additions by bodhinku)
 
"it's an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their way" ― rollo may 
 
“mama always said, dying was a part of life. i sure wish it wasn’t” ― winston groom, forrest gump
 
"stupid is as stupid does" ― winston groom, forrest gump
 
"i trembled to think of a world without stars. no guide for the sailor to trust at see, no jewels to dazzle our sense of beauty...but all around the globe, the air is so dirty and the lights from the cities are so bright that for some people few stars can be seen anymore. a generation of children may grow up seeing a blank sky and asking, "did there used to be stars there?" ― michael jackson, dancing the dream
 
"look up; notice how the stars shine. look in; notice how the stars shine" ― laura jaworski 
 
"the fearful person runs on foot, along the surface. lovers move like lightning and wind" ― jalaluddin rumi
 
"each moment from all sides rushes to us the call to love. we are running to contemplate its vast green field. do you want to come with us?" ― jalaluddin rumi, a year with rumi  
 
"run from what's comfortable. forget safety. live where you fear to live. destroy your reputation. be notorious. i have tried prudent planning long enough. from now on i'll be mad" ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi
 
"no matter how fast you run, your shadow more than keeps up. sometimes, it’s in front!" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi 
 
"your heart knows the way. run in that direction" ― jalaluddin rumi, whispers of the beloved 
  
"o fool, how long will you keep running away from yourself? in the end, the thing will happen anyway. just go in the direction where there is no direction. go, search there" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved
 
"life's waters flow from darkness. search the darkness, don't run from it" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god 
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION    
"what does it all mean? i just need to keep running down the road and figure it all out. and if i do not? who cares, because my life has been a wonderful journey so far. it's all been about the experience of living life on my chosen path for me" ― bodhinku, runner 
 
pictured here is a sculpture of a roadrunner that's made up completely of recycled trash sitting on a rock under the milky way and stars on august 7th, 2021...it's 6 meters tall (20ft) and over 12 meters long (40 feet), weighing close to 726kg (1600lbs)...
 
this roadrunner was created by olik calk and dan smith in 1993...and it's made entirely of discarded refuse from a nearby landfill. if you look closely you can see thousands of old running shoes and sneakers, crutches, cell phones, ironing boards, bike parts, golf clubs, computer keyboards, and volkswagen headlights...
 
the roadrunner was chosen for the sculpture since it's the official state bird of new mexico and was constructed to bring attention to our bad consumption habits and how much reusable stuff we toss away into landfills, and help bring light to the power of recycling...
 
the best view of this statue is looking to the north, but unfortunately, that's also the direction of a large city with lots of light pollution, plus the core of the milky way is found when looking mostly southward the time of year this impression was taken...so the vantage of this beautiful sculpture is not the most desireable and preferred aspect, but it's the only directional view in order to be able to capture the stars and milky way so beautifully into the frame with the giant roadrunner...
 
captured on August 7th, 2021, this composition is comprised two separate exposures captured in southern new mexico. the first is a star-tracked long exposure of the milky way and jupiter and saturn at 1:11am (f'/4@20mm for 260 secs, iso-800); the second is an exposure of the roadrunner taken over five hours later just after sunrise at 6:26am (f/11@20mm for 111 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...
 
for the first separate exposure of the stars i used a vixen optics polarie star tracker with vixen optics polarie tripod attached to my nikon d850 with a nikon nikkor 20mm f/1.8 prime lens... this permitted me to be able to capture a much longer exposure of the stars and not have any star trails, which also gives such beautiful enrichment to all the colors in the night sky while at the same time permitting a much lower iso setting and thus so much less noise (f/5@20mm for 260secs, iso-800), and no filters were necessary in the star exposure, so none were used...
 
but for the second exposure, to get the effects and balance i was looking for in the roadrunner frame of this composition (f/11@20mm for 111 secs, iso-64), i used two progreyusa filters...
 
first, a 3.0 nd progrey antarctica 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, green, and blue colors (rgb's) in the image...
 
combined with the second filter, a 0.9gnd progrey aurora filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the much brighter light in the sky, the post-dawn light, at the horizon level of the image an extra three stops and help permit details in the shadows amongst all the stuff in the sculpture to come out better in the exposure... 
 
i also used the progrey g-120 z magnetic holder to hold the filters and secure the filters to my nikon d850 with a nikon nikkor 20mm f/1.8 prime lens ... 
 
and with this being a long exposure of 111 seconds, a stable and sturdy tripod is an absolute necessity in order to keep the image sharp...i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my induro (now owned by benro) phq3 series 5-way panhead with induro (now owned by benro) carbon fiber stealth tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i hope, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life, i'm blessed...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else
 
"i do not want you to just be into my photography, instead, i'd much rather you take a journey into my pictures, and feel the impression i have created, feel it with all your senses" ― bodhinku, into my photography
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty. stop the world. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary" ― bodhinku, my diary  
 
i leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters...
 
and above all else,
i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
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#dream #roadrunner #recycled #southwest #progreyusa #benro #dolica #nikon #d850 #lowepro #columbia #stars #milkyway #nightscape #believe #inspiration #faith #namaste #impressionist #expressionist #surreal #bodhinku #osho #coelho #jalaluddin #rumi