Still Cruisin by Bodhi Smith

Jun 19, 2020

"still cruisin" an impression from me from 2016 (with this newly written blog!!)...

"just as with this old 1936 chevy, love can make you come alive again, no matter what state you find yourself in..." ― bodhinku, alive again

 
"the world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive" ― rick riordan, the last olympian
 
"come on sweetheart, let's adore one another before there is no more of you and me" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved 
   
"love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone" ― mitch albom  
 
my first choice of a truly beautiful tune to listen to accompany my blog today is from my favorite u2 album of all time, "joshua tree" which actually has the album's cover photos shot in the eastern sierra not too far down the road from this scene in my image here (it was not shot in joshua tree, but rather in darwin, ca): "where the streets have no name" by u2 ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...this song is just absolutely perfect, so perfect with its applicable lyrics for the meaning of my impression today (as well as the location of this impression)...  
 
"i want to run, i want to hide...i want to tear down the walls that hold me inside. i wanna reach out and touch the flame where the streets have no name...i want to feel sunlight on my face, to see that dust cloud disappear without a trace. i wanna take shelter from the poison rain where the streets have no name (where the streets have no name, where the streets have no name)...we're still building then burning down love, burning down love...and when i go there, i go there with you, it's all i can do...the city's a flood and our love turns to rust. we're beaten and blown by the wind, trampled into dust. i'll show you a place high on the desert plain where the streets have no name (where the streets have no name, where the streets have no name)...we're still building then burning down love, burning down love. and when i go there, i go there with you, it's all i can do...our love turns to rust, we're beaten and blown by the wind, blown by the wind. oh and i see love, see our love turn to rust...we're beaten and blown by the wind, blown by the wind...oh when i go there, i go there with you, it's all i can do" ― u2, where the streets have no name  
 
"i understand her. she was discarded as useless, but i see a glimmer of the jewel of light inside her. there is a magical glow just beneath her surface. i want to electrify her again, rejuvenate her. i want to bring that out, make her shine again like she did when she was loved for who she was" ― bodhinku, i see her
 
"i was dead, then alive. weeping, then laughing. the power of love came into me, and i became fierce like a lion, then tender like the evening star"  ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god
 
 "if you want to be more alive, love is the truest health" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
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MEANING 
"making her alive again, makes me alive again"  ― bodhinku, alive
 
this imprrssion was captured at the ghost town of bodie, high in the eastern sierra mountains of california back in august of 2016... this is something different for me, i do not usually shoot vehicles in my photography, but in this case, this particular lonely car had been on my mind for some time, and is quite special since i had the vision for this composition in my mind's eye for some time before capturing it...and i exceeded my hopes, as this car came alive for me again with this impression...
 
bodie is full of little things like this old 1936 chevy jalopy to personify and create compositions...so many things all over this ghost town that were abandoned to be left forgotten about until they catch the eye of a willing photographer. for me, i was drawn to this particular car. i had an impassioned empathy for it. i related to it on a primeval level. it is all alone, one of a kind, just sort of out of place in a town full of historic wooden building--it is just way too modern of a machine to be in this scene of an old western town, but at the same time, forgotten about and abandoned to become weather beaten and broken down as all of the years pass on and on, just like the rest of bodie was left suddenly.
 
i wanted to do this rustic subject before me a true justice in a portrayal of its essence. i have such a strong affinity for this car, so i felt compelled to do just that. so, i personify this car as a beautiful woman with attractive curves and lines and headlights; she is laying here all bare and natural; she has been left alone, abandoned, burdened down, partway buried by her life; she is often hidden and unnoticed; people walk by her and do not see her at all; she is unassuming; she is dulled by time but still carries on; she is trapped, a prisoner of her own devices; she is exposed to me, but does not mind as she is comfortable with me standing before her non-judgmentally. she is perfect to me, i am her suitor. i know i can bring her back to life and give her a glow once anew...
 
i understand her. she was discarded as useless (similarly to me i feel sometimes), but i see a glimmer of the jewel of light inside her. there is a magical glow just beneath her surface. i want to electrify her again, rejuvenate her. i want to bring that out, make her shine again like she did when she was loved for who she was, and was proudly driven on the streets with her pride of youth. i want to save her from this confinement. i want to make her shine with luster and verve again, take her back to those innocent days from years gone by. 
 
i want her to be bold and brazen and confident in her loveliness. i want to bring her back to life and make her gracefully glide across the earth again as she once did so fluidly. i want her to be alive again and dance in the streets, where the streets have no name. i want her to cruise unabashed in true beauty...
 
i want to show people her sexy curves and perky headlights as she flows through time and space under the clouds of the heavens. i want to make all those people regret for having not noticed her mystique, for passing her over...she is my new obsession, and i am compelled to create something magical and worthy of her in my impression you see before you. making her alive again makes me alive again. seeing her cruise once more in eloquence renewed makes me want to go for a neverending joyride...
 
so, i guess this ramble here is my attempt at giving you my meaning and a quirky insight into my mind as a corny artist, eh?!? i love this picture as i love my subject here, hope you feel the same as me!
 
there are a few more quotes from bodhinku to deeper realize this meaning...
 
"love is the enigma that can solve most enigmas"  ― bodhinku, enigma  
 
"all someone needs is some one, and sometimes all you need is one time" ― bodhinku, one  
 
“you must find your own light, just like the light does" ― bodhinku, your own light
 
"here i am, you are here too" ― bodhinku, here
 
"if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i laugh, if i dance, then i have lived a full days worth of love" ― bodhinku, if
 
"without you, i am missing" ― bodhinku, missing
 
"there is only one thing i need from you: every thing"― bodhinku, everything
 
"love is so powerful that it is almost always the solution to most problems that seem to have no solution"― bodhinku, love is the solution
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STORY BEHIND THE IMPRESSION
"she is laying here all bare and natural; she has been left alone, abandoned, burdened down, partway buried by her life; she is often hidden and unnoticed; people walk by her and do not see her at all; she is unassuming; she is dulled by time but still carries on; she is trapped, a prisoner of her own devices; she is exposed to me, but does not mind as she is comfortable with me standing before her non-judgmentally. she is perfect to me, i am her suitor. i know i can bring her back to life and give her a glow once anew" ― bodhinku, she is her
 
this next song selection is another favorite of mine, its a "one hit wonder" by lve and rockets in the late 1980's, from my alternative dancing in college days, very rhythmic and filled with jazzy and catchy lyrics: "so alive" by love and rockets ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...

"i don't know what color your eyes are, baby, but your hair is long and brown. your legs are strong, and you're so, so long, and you don't come from this town...my head is full of magic, baby, and i can share this with you: the feel i'm on a cross again, lately, but there's nothing to do with you...i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive. i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive...your drug makes me crazy, makes me see you more clearly, oh, baby, now i can see you. wish i could stop, switch off the clock, make it all happen for you...i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive. i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive...i don't know what color your eyes are, baby, but your hair is long and brown, your legs are strong, and you're so, so long, and you don't come from this town. my head is full of magic, baby, and i can share this with you: the feel i'm on top again, baby, that's got everything to do with you...i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive. i'm alive, oh, oh, so alive..." ― love and rockets, so alive
 
the rusted out old 1936 chevy coup pictured here is just a tiny part of the history of bodie, ca...
 
bodie, california (est. 1861) is a town frozen in time, and preserved by the california state parks in a state of “arrested decay.” bodie became a state historic park in 1962, and maintains the buildings just as they were found when the state took over the town--but they do not restore the buildings, instead choosing to simply preserve the buildings in their aged and weathered 1880s appearance.
 
in 1859, william "waterman" s. bodey discovered gold near what is now called bodie bluff at. close to and northeast of what is now yosemite national park. a mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. it started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880...by then, the town of bodie bustled with families, entrepreneurs, miners, store owners, bankers, lawmen, clergy, robbers, gunfighters, prostitutes, and people from every country in the world. at one time, there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. among the saloons were numerous brothels and ‘houses of ill repute’, gambling halls and opium dens--an entertainment outlet for everyone.

on a daily basis, miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. the mixture of money, gold and alcohol would sometimes prove fatal. newspapers reported that townspeople would ask in the mornings “have we a man for breakfast?” meaning "did anyone get killed last night?'

some records show that a “wm. bodey” took a ship from new york, around the horn, to end up in san francisco. it isn’t clear if that’s the same man who was prospecting near present day bodie. in any case, the spelling of the name was changed at some point before the majority of the people made their way to bodie, and it stuck.

the town peaked with mining its gold around 1880, with close to 10,000 people and 2000 buildings. over the years, bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly $34 billion usd. but after hitting its peak in the 1880's, bodie started to produce less and less gold and the town went into decline in the subsequent decades and came to be described as a ghost town by 1915...  
 
by 1920, bodie's population was recorded by the us federal census at a total of 120 people. despite the decline and a severe fire in the business district in 1932, bodie had permanent residents through nearly half of the 20th century. and a post office operated at bodie from 1877 to its closing in 1942...in the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. the cain family, who owned much of the land, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town's structures. martin gianettoni, one of the last three people living in bodie in 1943, was a caretaker.

bodie is now an authentic wild west ghost town. the town was designated a national historic landmark in 1961 (on its 100th year of existence). and in 1962, the state legislature authorized creation of bodie state historic park. a total of only 170 buildings remained. bodie has been named as california's official state gold rush ghost town.

today, bodie is still pretty far off the beaten path in the barren desert-like highlands of the california easter sierra mountians...access to it is up a dusty, bumpy, slow, 13 mile long climbing road off state highway 395 just south of bridgeport, ca, and it’s amazing how many people are aware of this once glorious town....about 200,000 visitors a year come to bodie eventhough bodie is so remote, and the fact that bodie is closed at least half of the year because of the winter with its heavy snowfall, extreme weather and high winds (often with velocities well over 100mph) and unforgiving temperatures, even during summer months it can drop below freezing at night at its high elevation...

there’s an amusing story about a little girl whose family was moving from san francisco to bodie in the late 1800s in hopes of "striking it rich"...the little girl, depending on who tells it, wrote in her diary either: “good, by god, i’m going to bodie”-or-“goodbye god, i’m going to bodie.”

"you think you are alive
because you breathe air?
shame on you,
that you are alive in such a limited way.
don't be without love,
so you won't feel dead.
die in love
and stay alive forever" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved 
 
"in your light, i learn how to love. in your beauty, how to make poems. you dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes i do, and that sight becomes this art" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god
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BOOK A CUSTOM TOUR WITH ME!
"bodie is full of little things like this old 1936 chevy jalopy to personify and create compositions...so many things all over this ghost town that were abandoned to be left forgotten about until they catch the eye of a willing photographer" ― bodhinku
 
if you have never visited bodie, put it on you list of things you must see and do. and remember, i do provide group as well as private tours with my photography business...if you are interested, just drop me an email and i will work with you personally to customize a tour that fits your pricing range and fulfills your needs and desires of places to see and do...and the ghost town of bodie in the eastern sierra mountains of california would be a very nice place to visit on any list...
 
with us finally coming out of the chaos that the pandemic created here in the states and internationally, this scene before you is just one of the many that you could have the chance to witness in person with your camera in the american southwest this summer, or next summer. if you chose to book a custom tour with me...
 
i can take you seemingly back in time to explore the ageless scenery that has made the american southswest region popular in movies and photography. you will get to see stars and the milky way like you have never seen before. i always try to aim for one of the three days out of the year where bodie is open until 10pm that fits with the lunar cycle so you can see a sunset and the stars over this mystical ghost town that is in a state of arrested decay. plus, you will witness some incredible sights with locations made famous in movies...
 
you will get to stand where forest gump made his jogging turn around on the highway, plus see where the westerns maverick and django unchained were filmed, get to see the joshua tree from the joshua tree album by u2, as well as where many of john ford's and john wayne's characters stood alongside other renowned actors and directors of the old southwest. and who knows, you might even get to hold hands with a ghost!...photography, history, and adventure all wrapped into one tour customized to you personally...
 
"in your light, i learn how to love. in your beauty, how to make poems. you dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes i do, and that sight becomes this art" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING  
this next song selection is another favorite of mine, it is a bit older from 1976 and is a lesser know tune by gary wright (who gave us the famous iconic 70's melody of "dream weaver")...this tune is the absolutely perfect song full of the meaning i wish for my impression today to give: "love is alive" by gary wright ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...

"well i think it's time to get ready to realize just what i have found. i have lived only half of what i am, it's all clear to me now...my heart is on fire. my soul's like a wheel that's turning. my love is alive, my love is alive (yeah, yeah, yeah)...there's something inside that's making me crazy. i'll try to keep it together beause what i say may not happen the same way. now could be forever, my heart is on fire. my soul's like a wheel that's turning. my love is alive, my love is alive (yeah, yeah, yeah)...there's a mirror moving inside my mind reflecting the love that you shine on me. hold on now to that feeling. let it flow, let it grow (yeah, yeah)...my heart is on fire, my soul's like a wheel that's turning, my love is alive, my love is alive" ― gary wright, love is alive  
 
"because you are alive, everything is possible" ― siddhartha gautama buddha, the dhammapada
 
"a true teacher is one who, keeping the past alive, is also able to understand the present" ― confucius 

“...and it is because of a great love, one is courageous” ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other...give the one you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness 
  
"i am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing" ― plato, the republic
 
"when you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love..."― marcus aurelius, meditations  
 
“the most important thing you will ever do in your life is learn to embrace your unique, honest self. a boundless, infinitely populated universe, and there is nothing else here quite like you. this is your power. all those things that make you strange and different are what make you irreplaceable" ― beau taplin, the wild heart  
 
"i think the beating in our hearts was put there to remind us that even when we are alone in the world, we march on. that even in the enormous dark and quiet, we always have someone to lean on, to embrace and turn to. that even when we have no one else, we always have ourselves" ― beau taplin, buried light
 
"sitting and watching humanity in the midst of a global crisis is an interesting thing...i’m analytical at the best of times, but seeing how people deal with the chaos we find ourselves in the middle of is fascinating, heartwarming and at times horrifying...the uber religious who gather, despite every warning to not do so, thinking that in their coming together they will be spared the disease that moves aggressively through our world. i can understand the desire to gather, as there is great comfort in it. not so much during a global pandemic of this nature however where our very survival is based on keeping our distance from one another...there are others who disavow the scientists that are working tirelessly to save us, seek conspiracy around every corner and look for anyone to blame for our woes. i applaud their creative energy, though i do find the never-ending, "out there" theories exhausting at times. then there are those who seek to terrify everyone with their click-bait and their fear mongering. those that would profit off the misery and suffering of others, hoping to pad email lists or pocketbooks fueled by greed and corruption. this is scary as hell, no one is disputing that. but i have a lot of disdain for those who would needlessly put fear into others during this time in order to gain...and there are those that are helping, running into the fray with eyes and hearts wide open wanting to help. so often they find themselves alone in all of this, those on the front lines of the battlefield of this global war; disturbingly unequipped for the battle which they must now fight....his is a dark night of the soul for humanity, of that there is no doubt. it’s a lot to take in and a lot to make sense of. there is great wisdom in all of this, although it can be hard to see in the darkness. how we need to be more self sufficient. how the old system was broken and not working. how we need a new path forward. it highlights the hypocrites, the greedy and the flat out liars among the peasants and kings alike. the world leaders that are so self-centered and blind that they should never hold office again, and frankly i hope when all this is over are held accountable for their treason against humanity....i am reminded of the words from “message from the hopi elders prophecy”: “you have been telling people that this is the eleventh hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the hour. and there are things to be considered…where are you living? what are you doing? what are your relationships? are you in right relation? where is your water? know your garden. it is time to speak your truth. create your community. be good to each other. and do not look outside yourself for your leader. this could be a good time.”,,,,that’s a lot to absorb, especially in the middle of all this chaos. it’s time to start looking to our own lives and what needs to be shifted. we shouldn’t need a global shut down to ground us in our houses in order to follow our dreams and do what we want. i keep hearing people saying what we should do with this time or how they would spend it following their dreams. well if that isn’t a wake up call to look at our their lives and decide how they want to live it, then i don’t know what is. there shouldn’t have to be a crisis of this magnitude to give ourselves permission to do what we want with our lives....perhaps in the wake of all this we need to move forward and build a new world, for ourselves and the planet. i’m not trying to start any new movement or anything, it’s just time we lived from our truth. it’s time for a big shake up at the foundations of society. it makes me sick that in the middle of all this there are front line workers without proper protection. we have robotic vacuums and self parking cars but nurses don’t have protective gear? what the hell is that? that doesn’t even make sense. how can we call ourselves an advanced society when those than need go without? corrupt dictators are disrupting supply chains leaving those that are in need more isolated than ever. we’re failing at the basic aspects of being human....maybe i am talking about a new movement. maybe that’s the root of the pandemic playbook after all, shaking the old foundations in order to give birth to a new world...because the old one wasn’t working. maybe at the end of all this i’ll get a parcel of land and start a community. my coping mechanism during all of this has been to nurture my love of gardening, planting weird and wonderful things on my windowsill as i wait for winter to leave. who knows, maybe in my utopian dream village, i’ll be some wise sage herbal healer and provider of balms and salves....one glaring thing this crisis shows is where the hero’s truly are in our society. the health care workers. the first responders. the ones who provide food and supplies. those that put it all on the line every day. for them we need to be eternally grateful, for the price they are paying is with their lives. how can we repay this sacrifice? stop squandering our own existence....when this is over, i want you to promise me one thing...start to live in alignment with the truth of who you are and what you want. be the change you want to see in the world. and please, stop waiting for tomorrow. because tomorrow might never come. this has shown that the old way was a house of cards and we need to be what we want from this moment on. the time has come to rewrite the playbook and create the future we want....i realize this is a vast departure from my normal blogs. these are dark times and i find myself thinking things in solitude that i want to share, however difficult or odd they are at times as i know many of us are questioning everything right now. i find a touch of solace in being able to voice my experience in the midst of this confinement.  i’m grateful we’re all alive to continue to debate our different thoughts. i’m sure some will stop talking to me because of my views, and that’s okay, i understand. not like i can have them over for tea anytime soon anyways. stay safe everyone. we are, as always, in this together" ― c. ara campbell, it is time for the world to change
 
"i love you as certain things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the flame in the storm, and the soul" ― pablo neruda, all the odes
 
"what am i to do, love, loved one? i don't know how others love, or how people loved in the past. i live, watching you, loving you. being in love is my nature" ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets  
 
"it was the pure language of the world. it required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. what the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. he was more certain of it than of anything in the world. he had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed. but maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in the middle of some great storm. and when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. there is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. it is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"the real question is not whether life exists after death. the real question is whether you are alive before death" ― osho, the joy of living dangerously
 
"love is not a relationship, love is a state of being; it has nothing to do with anybody else. one is not "in love", one is love. and of course when one is love, one is in love–but that is an outcome, a by-product, that is not the source. the source is that one is love" ― osho, the secret of secrets 
 
"the emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it..." ― nicholas sparks, dear john

"unbeing dead isn't being alive...just remember one thing only: that it's you, nobody else, who determines your destiny and decides your fate. nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else" ― e. e. cummings
 
"i am doing my very best to make every effort because i am longing so much to make beautiful things. but beautiful things mean painstaking work, disappointment, and perseverance" ― vincent van gogh, letters to theo
 
"the only time i feel alive is when i am creating a work of art" ― vincent van gogh, letters to theo
 
"love is a portion of the soul itself...and it's of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise" ― victor hugo, les miserables 
  
“i don't like feeling sorry for myself. that's not who i am. and most of the time, i don't feel that way. instead, i am grateful for having at least found you. we could have flashed by one another like two pieces of cosmic dust....god or the universe or whatever one chooses to label the great systems of balance and order does not recognize earth-time. to the universe, four days is no different than four billion light years. i try to keep that in mind....but, i am, after all, a man. and all the philosophic rationalizations i can conjure up do not keep me from wanting you, every day, every moment, the merciless wail of time, of all the time i can never spend with you, deep within my head....i love you, profoundly and completely. and i always will...this kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime" ― robert kincaid, the bridges of madison county  

"love the life you live...live the life you love" ― bob marley  
 
"clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my skies”― rabindranath tagore, stray birds 
     
"where one can no longer love, there one should pass by" ― friedrich nietzsche
 
“today you are you, that is truer than true. there is no one alive who is youer than you"― dr. seuss, happy birthday to you! 
 
"don’t ask what the world needs. ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. because what the world needs is people who have come alive" ― howard thurman  

"what is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?"― john green, an abundance of katherines 
 
"if you're reading this...
congratulations, you're alive.
if that's not something to smile about,
then i don't know what is" ― chad sugg, monsters under your head
 
"the grief you cry out from draws you toward union. your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup. listen to the moan of a dog for its master. that whining is the connection. there are love dogs no one knows the names of. give your life to be one of them" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god 
 
"i desire you more than food and drink...my body, my senses, my mind, each hunger for your taste. i can sense your presence in my heart although you belong to someone else. i wait with silent passion for one gesture, one glance from you" ― jalaluddin rumi, in the arms of the beloved
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"i want to save her from this confinement. i want to make her shine with luster and verve again, take her back to those innocent days from years gone by. i want her to be bold and brazen and confident in her loveliness. i want to bring her back to life and make her gracefully glide across the earth again as she once did so fluidly. i want her to be alive again and dance in the streets, where the streets have no name. i want her to cruise unabashed in true beauty" ― bodhinku, i want her
  
there is definitely quite a bit of artistic liberty that i have taken with this picture. obviously the glow of the headlights was created in post processing (using topaz software's star effect). it is not meant to be realistic so much as it is meant to give you the impression of this car being able to move and shine once again like it used to. i was able to do this, this was my gift to this car!
 
the impression which you see here is a single exposure composition... camera settings: ISO-64, f/8 at 32mm for 915 seconds (15 mins, 15 seconds) at 5pm, abut 2.5 hours before sunset on 08-27-2016. 
 
in my photography i always use filters to create longer exposure effects and to 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 and saturation i was looking for, i used three progrey filters in the capture of this artsy ultra-long exposure impression...
 
for this, i chose to use the 4.2nd progrey aurora filter (and progrey g-120 holder) to allow for a much longer exposure (16 stops) to slow down the light and create the effect with the creeping clouds in the sky and erase any people who walked through the scene (about 20 people in all walked into my frame at various times during the exposure), plus the super long exposure allows for more saturation of the red rust and green grasses and blues in the clouds naturally in camera...plus in combination with two other filters: 1.2gnd and an inverted 0.6gnd progrey aurora filters to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it, as the sky was much more brighter, about 4 stops brighter than the rest of the darker parts, especially the darker shadows, while at the same time using the second inverted gnd filter to bring down the bright dirt in the foreground 2 stops...
 
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 trusty dolica tripods in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"i was drawn to this particular car. i had an impassioned empathy for it. i related to it on a primeval level. it is all alone, one of a kind, just sort of out of place in a town full of historic wooden building--it is just way too modern of a machine to be in this scene of an old western town, but at the same time, forgotten about and abandoned to become weather beaten and broken down as all of the years pass on and on" ― bodhinku, impassioned empathy
 
"contemplate without thinking. stop the world. slow down everything. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light that envelope you. see the melody and harmony that floats 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
 
above all else as always, i hope this message and impression find you well.

namaste,
bodhi
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please visit me at:
http://www.bodhismith.com
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