The Dancer by Bodhi Smith

Aug 09, 2019

"the dancer" a new impression from bodhi smith...

“on this morning, you feel her touch deeply into your soul as the misty fog lightly brushes in whispering silence across the surface of your being, amidst the soothing fragrance of wet pine needles floating all around...she creeps playfully though in wavy reflections, warming your waters with her magic, her dance, the hope for a new awakening” ― bodhinku, the dancer  

finally, it has been 8 long weeks since i released an image, i've been quite busy travelling around the world and the united states....so after such a long wait, i hope this lovely tree and its reflection in the misty oklahoma morning does not disappoint those who have been waiting...

"blue jean baby, la. lady, seamstress for the band
pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
and now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
but oh how it feels so real
lying here with no one near
only you and you can hear me
when i say softly, slowly
hold me closer tiny dancer
count the headlights on the highway
lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today” ― elton john, tiny dancer
 
(and this song by elton john helped to inspire the name for this image (see explanation below in "meaning" section of today's blog)....

“both light and shadow are the dance of love"― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi  
 
“life is the dancer, and you are the dance.” ― eckhart tolle, new earth: awakening to your life's purpose  
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MEANING
this impression is dedicated to the memory of my loving grandma who was born very close to where this young bald cypress tree finds it's home in the backwaters of southeast oklahoma...
 
i took this image only a couple weeks ago in an early misty morning sunrise in oklahoma while on a month-long 11,000 mile road trip with my doggie, besos...this was the first really beautiful and unique image of the trip, of a location not captured by many other cameras before, and of many surprisingly more similar in-like uniqueness which were to come, as i would find on the trip...one of my most successful and magical trips ever...
 
as for the image title a name came quickly to me, brainlessly, as this tree looks like a dancer on the water, with her reflection emblazoned in the water...the song by elton john, tiny dancer, came to my mind as i took many other impressions of this scene...the song still is ringing in my mind as i type too...(click on link to hear the song, makes a nice backdrop while viewing this image and reading the quotes) 
 
this is another one of those spots i could visit over and over and over, full of reflection, magic, and calming peace...
 
as always, i used both gnd and nd filters for this composition...the nd filter was needed to soften the water/waves and slow down time, and to also help oversaturate the colors and enhance the yellow, green-blues in the image, plus i used two gnd filters to help balance the composition in-camera...
 
for this image i chose to use the newest progrey three slot g-120z magnetic filter holder, made for the 10-stop progrey antarctic 3.0nd filter (magnetic), as well as two other gnd filters to balance the much brighter incoming morning sunrise light on the right to make it much darker by 4 stops, and another to simply darken the light on the left of the tree and balance it with the darker waters in the foreground 2 stops...i used the .6gnd (left side) and 1.2gnd (right side) progrey genesis filters to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it, as well as create a natural vignette...
 
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 tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use...
 
"she danced with 
her own reflection, 
absorbed in a trance 
of morning light, 
a glowing impression, 
whose sheer beauty 
was pure and simply, 
her timeless simplicity" ― bodhinku, simplicity  
 
“the dancer resides within us all. some find it when joy conquers sorrow, others express it through celebration of movements; and then there are those... whose existence is dance” ― shah asad rizvi  
 
"we are only here on this planet for a little while...so dance, and love, and reflect what makes you happy, and then love and dance some more" ― bodhinku, the dance 
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HISTORY
the bald cypress is a very majestic tree, and can live to be thousands of years old (a grove in the black river swamp of north carolina are as old as 2700yrs)...this tree i have pictured, as well as the several others in the backdrop are all quite young for a bald cypress tree, under those terms...
 
is a deciduous conifer (sheds its needle yearly and grows new ones) and is native to the southeastern united states...from southeast oklahoma and east texas, across louisiana (state tree), mississippi and alabama, down to florida and then all the way up to lower delaware...hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide range of soil types, whether wet, dry, or swampy. it is noted for the russet-red fall color of its lacy needles.
 
the bald cypress is often cultivated to be harvested, as the lumber is valuable for building construction, fence posts, planking in boats, river pilings, doors, blinds, flooring, shingles, garden boxes, caskets, interior trim and cabinetry. the odorless wood has long been valued for its resistance to water....
but i desperately hope they never cultivate this beautiful little grove of bald cypress trees i found in hills and backwaters of extreme southeast oklahoma...
 
"in misty beauty never before seen,
sweet sounds of a forest so serene,
embracing and peaceful, so fresh and clean
as birds songs are whispering their routine.
 
those reflections gleam in the aquamarine...  
morning light glowing on your leaves so pristine,
so angelic, so ageless and always evergreen, 
dance with me, my lady, my love, my queen" ― bodhinku, dance with me 
 
 “it moved like a dancer, which is not surprising, but it is perhaps most remarkable because it moves as if it always hears music.” ― mark helprin, winter's tale
 

“sometimes in life, confusion tends to arise, and only the dialogue of dance seems to make sense” ― shah asad rizvi

 
“dancing is creating a sculpture that is visible only for a moment” ― erol ozan, talus
 
“you dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes i do, and that
sight becomes this art” ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi  
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING  
“life is an affair of mystery; shared with companions of musicians, dancers and poets.” ― shah asad rizvi
 
“of two sisters 
one is always the watcher, 
one the dancer.” ― louise gluck, descending figure
 
“dance less in motion and more in spirit; awaken the dreamer within.” ― shah asad rizvi  
 
“‎dancing is not just getting up painlessly, like a leaf blown on the wind; dancing is when you tear your heart out and rise out of your body to hang suspended between the worlds.” ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi
 
“to be creative means to be in love with life. you can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” ― osho 
 
“dance is that delicacy of life radiating every particle of our existence with happiness” ― shah asad rizvi  
 
“a recent scientific study found that the hearts of lovers really do beat in sync - that after only a few moments of close proximity they will begin to follow each other’s lead until they beat as one. as though our very hearts leap out of our chests, and ask one another to dance”  
 
"from the beginning of the world i knew you...since time first stirred and the seasons were born, the memory of your mystery called in my veins awakening within me the truest memories of my soul, asking me, will you dance with me?" ― c. ara campbell  
 
"if but a moment
i have with you, one that's spent
dancing, i'm content" ― bodhinku, haiku: dancing together
 
"unload the weight of noise, become light enough in spirit and mind to play, and radiate, and reflect, and sing, and dance down this path to enlightenment"  ― bodhinku, dancing path  

"seduce me at sunrise, dance with me barefoot in the dew on the grass, make me wet and warm, and loved"  ― bodhinku, sunrise dance
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"her reflection captivates me
her darkness teaches me
her essence fills me
her light calms me
her soul caresses me...
she is my fascination
she is is my art
she is my glow
she is my love
she is my dance" ― bodhinku, my dance
 
"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 within your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith. this is my world. awaken." ― bodhinku, my world
 
above all else as always, i hope this message and image find you well.

namaste,
bodhi
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