Worlds Collide By Bodhi Smith

Dec 04, 2020

"worlds collide" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"as my heart and my mind battle for control of my soul, there's a huge collision between romance and reality, the celestial and the terrestrial...things can be so heavenly with my head in the stars, but in the end, being grounded in the real world seems to always come out on top...even so, i'm eternally a hopeless romantic. i never give up hope. i fight for my heart's desires in my every thought" ― bodhinku, worlds collide
 
"just like a supernova exploding, our two worlds are colliding. we are endlessly falling...just like a photograph ageing, fading, the cracks are slowly breaking and we are slowly changing. if the choices we make define who we are, then this is who i am. i will never let go when our worlds collide..." ― dead by april, our worlds collide
 
"oh please just let me sit here under the stars, on the threshold of two worlds. lost in the eloquence of silence" ― jalaluddin rumi
 
"and suddenly, it's as if there's no one in the world but these two, crashing through space to reach each other. they collide, enfold, lose their balance, and slam against a wall, where they stay. clinging into one being. indivisible" ― suzanne collins, mocking jay
 
"when we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty" ― john muir
 
"i was standing, you were there. two worlds collided (we're shining through), and they could never ever tear us apart" ― michael hutchence (inxs lead singer), never tear us apart
 
"being out at white pocket on a starry night is like stepping into a fairytale under a glowing curtain of stars" ― bodhinku, starry fairytale
 
"if the sky should fall, let it fall; if death open his wings, ignore his dark call; let the stars fade, let worlds collide; it matters not, for you are by my side" ― alexis steinhaur, dragon's flight
 
"nothing ever exists entirely alone, everything is in relation to everything else" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha
 
"we must walk the fine line between having what we want and wanting what we already have. we need to merge being grounded in the real world with keeping our head in the stars. stay focused on living in reality, walking our chosen path, yet always remain true to fulfilling our dreams along the way" ― bodhinku, worlds colliding
 
this tune is more metal than the ones i usually include in my blogs, but the lyrics to this song are just stellar, and powerful when combined with the driving beat and relentless rhythm of the music itself: "our worlds collide" dead by april ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"watching the flames fill up the sky when the world is on fire, we need to remember who we are. we're losing grip bit by bit, is it worth fighting for it? losing time day by day, are you gonna leave or stay? if the choices we make define who we are, then this is who i am. i'll never let go. when our worlds collide, when our worlds collide, i will never let go when our worlds collide. just like a supernova exploding, our two worlds are colliding. we are endlessly falling, just like a photograph ageing, fading, the cracks are slowly breaking, and we are slowly changing. i'm watching the flames painting the sky. the world is on fire, losing grip bit by bit, is it worth fighting for it? fading away piece by piece, struggling hard to breathe. if the choices we make define who we are, then this is who i am. i'll never let go, when our worlds collide, when our worlds collide...just like a supernova exploding, our two worlds are colliding. we are endlessly falling just like a photograph ageing, fading, the cracks are slowly breaking and we are slowly changing. if the choices we make define who we are, then this is who i am. i will never let go when our worlds collide, when our worlds collide, when our worlds collide..." ― dead by april, our worlds collide    
 
"nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"throughout my life, the one thing most inspiring is a starry night. i have always looked up there for inspiration, and i have never been let down...witnessing celestial bodies glowing in silent beauty as they dance with the zodiac all night long, filling the voids inside me with rapture wrapped in a sigh" ― bodhinku, a starry night
 
"shhhh...can you hear it? its peace? the silence of the light, and if you truly listen, it will surely guide you to where you need to be..." ― bodhinku, shhhh    
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MEANING
"anytime you look up to the stars, you become the conduit connecting the celestial to the terrestrial" ― bodhinku, the medium
 
life as we know it, truly is nothing more than contrary occurrences of two separate worlds infinitely colliding into each other. situations change with the collisions, but the need for balance between the two opposites is a constant. because we all need to find balance in our lives. 
 
balance between thinking with our heart and feeling with our mind; attachment to others and being free to live your own life...between being bad and being good; selflessness and selfishness; helping others and knowing when to ask for help...between hoping and knowing beyond hope; working to survive while living to play; dreaming with the innocence of a child and experiencing the harsh realities of having our eyes open...
 
"be practical as well as generous in your ideals. keep your eyes on the stars, but keep your feet firmly on the ground" ― teddy roosevelt, the greatest american president 
 
we need to find balance between listening intently and still having our voice heard; finding humility alongside our ego; being lovers but still loving our own self...between the comfort of the crowd with the silence of lonely solitude; planning our next step and spontaneously taking a leap of faith; walking our path alone while in the company of others...
 
as two opposite worlds are perpetually colliding with one another, we must walk the fine line between having what we want and wanting what we already have. we need to merge being grounded in the real world with keeping our head in the stars. stay focused on living in reality, walking our chosen path, yet always remain true to fulfilling our dreams along the way...
 
in a way, our life flow is just one enormous little oxymoron... 
 
for me, life is what it is....as my heart and my mind battle for control of my soul, there's a huge collision between romance and reality, the celestial and the terrestrial...things can be so heavenly with my head in the stars, but in the end, being grounded in the real world seems to always come out on top...even so, i'm eternally a hopeless romantic. i never give up hope. i fight for my heart's desires in my every thought...for when these worlds collide, only i can choose my own fate...
 
"i do not know why things are they way they are...she appeared in front of me and our worlds collided, i thought we were connected, but she just keeps revolving around her own planets, not in my world's elliptic, not in this universe where i need her...but i know what i want"― bodhinku, worlds collided
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STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"life as we know it, truly is nothing more than contrary occurrences of two separate worlds infinitely colliding into each other. situations change with the collisions, but the need for balance between the two opposites is a constant. because we all need to find balance in our lives" ― bodhinku, two worlds colliding
 
pictured here is white pocket under an october starry night...but to me, this impression almost looks like a winter scene...the bright stars look like snow falling, and the luminous white striations in the rocks look like fresh fallen snow to me...this glowing tone throughout the image creates a magical and unique wintery mood to me...
 
in the northern hemisphere, the colorful milky way core is closer to the horizon in october as it begins to disappear from sight until late february of the next calendar year...this makes for a more dramatic effect with it being closer to my subject in perspective than it would be earlier in the milky way's photographic season...
 
i decided to take my pup besos and visit white pocket on the weekend of 10-10-20 with a really good friend (sam) and his doggie (hugo) since the weather was also going to be very conducive for my photography--not too hot, no winds (important for my long exposures), clear skies-no clouds, and no rain in the overnight forecast--along with the cycle of the moon permitting for the early evening capture of the milky way core...   
 
my "worlds collide" here was the result...no crowds, so beautiful, so quiet, so peaceful, so remote, so spiritual...and a no-brainer for me as the name of this beautiful image and experience on white pocket just two weeks ago...
 
i have been to white pocket numerous times now, haven taken clients and friends there on many different occasions, so i guess i am quite experienced in getting safely in and out and navigating the difficult sand roads (the last three miles)...and for his first trip there, this was to be good experience for sam to drive in deep sands with his new subaru that was equipped for extreme driving conditions...we took both our vehicles in, and he followed behind me in my jeep grand cherokee 4x4 limited x...and he did exemplary for his first time, making only one mistake, which caused us only a slight delay, and one that was easily corrected, although he never got it out of his mind later unfortunately...
 
when you know how to get there, know what you are doing in deep sand, and have the right vehicle, the road to white pocket is such a fun drive...it's like an amusement park ride full of adrenaline rush and excitement, always pushing the limit that you could get stuck with the wrong maneuver, speed, or turn...but then exuberated when you make it there, and then back out the next morning...
 
and a bonus, white pocket is currently doggie friendly, and our doggies loved it there...sam's pup hugo is only one year old, and besos is two years old, so they are always full of playful energy...seems the whole weekend they were running and playing like crazy with each other...they had an absolute blast together...
 
"by no means do i think of myself ever as someone's sunshine...honestly, i think i can be personified as like that of a starry night...mostly darkness with some bright light shining through here and there" ― bodhinku, like a starry night     
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MORE COOL MUSIC TO GIVE A LISTEN  
this tune has always been one of my favorites from the australian alt band inxs, and it seems to often appear in my blogs...it's a quirky quasi jazzish rhythm and melo... i'm captivated by these lyrics, so strongly delivered by the soulful voice of the late michael hutchenson...this song has always pierced into my being, and always will: "never tear us apart" by inxs ...(just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"don't ask me what you know is true. don't have to tell you, i love your precious heart. i, i was standing, you were there. two worlds collided, and they could never ever tear us apart...oh, and we could live for a thousand years. but if i hurt you, i'd make wine from your tears...oh, i told you that we could fly. 'cause we all have wings, but some of us don't know why...i, (don't ask me), i was standing (you know it's true), you were there (worlds collided) two worlds collided (we're shining through) and they could never tear us apart...you, (don't ask me), you were standing (you know it's true), i was there (worlds collided) two worlds collided (we're shining through) and they could never tear us apart...i, i was standing, you were there. two worlds collided..." ― inxs, never tear us apart  
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MORE BODHIKU QUOTES
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"i know of a place, that is the place for me. out in the wilderness under the beautiful canopy of the milky way stretching across the entire sky. its silence speaks to me, telling me with all certainty this is my place where i need to be, my favorite place, when the darkness is so dark, that the stars light up everything dark inside me and out, illuminating everything all around with their collective energies, painting a starry night into my soul" ― bodhinku, starry night
 
"i really need to be illuminated daily by the starry night that so inspires me, helping me glow from my deepest depths...illuminating my inner shadows, those hidden dark parts of me, personal secrets that make me who i am, even if i am not proud of them" ― bodhinku, illuminated 
 
"realistically, i'm an endlessly flawed person...i'm the stubborn creek with many rocks that doesn't flow easily, a clear blue sky filled chatty blackbirds. i have way too many shortcomings to count. i'm the rainbow that’s not long enough, a starry night cluttered with clouds, a sunrise in the dense fog...but alas, i'm grateful for the lady in my life who accepts me just this way. and i can only deeply appreciate all the people in my life who look past my stubborn rocks, love the blue sky with too many chatty blackbirds, remain patient with a rainbow that isn’t long enough, knowing with certainty the stars will come out from behind the clouds and the dense fog will burn off...and because of this, i am taught love. because of this, i love my lady, my family, my friends. i love these people with all my heart" ― bodhinku, a starry night with clouds             
 
"when i first saw
your eyes
i knew you already
from gazing upward
at all the stars

i'd been looking into
your eyes
for so long already
across the universe
my whole entire life

if stars would become
your eyes
they'd truly know already
their exact name
was always yours" ― bodhinku, eyes of the universe
 
"there's a secret current behind the stars that carries you to the end of you" ― bodhinku, secret of the stars
 
"sitting here on this night, under this glowing milky way, i feel so utterly lost in silence...and at the same time, i'm found, knowing my meaning is written somewhere into all those billions of stars above me" ― bodhinku, written somewhere
 
"i love the milky way...she is my beautiful temptress that visits me constantly in my visions, both awake and asleep. she is made up of the light glowing from billions of suns, shining eternally, leading me into and though the darkness, guiding my path...and my meaning is destined to be forever written in those stars of hers" ― bodhinku, written in her stars
 
"in sweet silence of the star light, i see her radiance glowing bright above, i feel her angelic innocence, i play in her magical wilderness...i know my focus is always up to her" ― bodhinku, bright above
 
"eternally each night, she glows down freely from the heavens, but without somebody to see her, she has no meaning... his eye is what interprets her impression. his eye sees and understands her for who she is...so, his eye creates the art of her light for all to see, and captures her beauty forever...he becomes the eye of her light, he becomes her meaning...and she becomes his purpose"  ― bodhinku, his eye-her light
 
"thoughts of you fill the starry night
feeling so sensual never felt so right
i'm crazy obsessed by your afterglow
your joy of life is all i want to know
i'm wildly addicted to your light
and so badly aroused by your sight" ― bodhinku, afterglow
 
"i know i was meant to see this and be at this spot, at this very moment in time...it was meant to be, so perfect a scene to capture with my camera for others to see and experience with my heart and soul...i was lucky, but it was not luck..." ― bodhinku, silence of the snowflakes
 
"the more of us that feel a starry sky, the better off we will be in this world" ― bodhinku, feel a starry sky
 
"in the calm all becomes better...when you instill silence within your mind, calm within your heart, and simply let go, a peaceful warmth will blanket you. your soul will blossom into new depths of beauty" ― bodhinku, white whispers
 
"everything was so hushed, i was being politely slapped in the face with a resounding quietude filled with such alluring and irresistible wonders that my soul was blushing..." ― bodhinku, hushed
 
"listen with all your senses and just 'be'...immerse yourself in nature. breathe, and relax, your well being will improve" ― bodhinku, shinrinyoku
 
"under the stars i have all the light i need, all night long they illuminate my world. bringing me out of my darkness. i can see all i need to see, as i embrace this fairytale in my arms all through the night. and until it ends, there is no end..." ― bodhinku, all through the night 
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HISTORY AND INFO ABOUT WHITE POCKET
"being out at white pocket on a starry night is like stepping into a fairytale under a glowing curtain of stars" ― bodhinku, starry fairytale
 
white pocket (arizona) is a superb photographic destination about five miles due east of south coyote buttes. white pocket is officially part of vermilion cliffs national monument, and now there are signs that have been newly erected up along parts of the route to get to white pocket that denote this fact. and once arriving there,  it is a relatively small area, about 2 square miles. and as of this writing in october of 2020, no permit is needed for white pocket...
 
it was "discovered" by photographers only about 15 years ago around 2005. originally for years white pocket was just a second choice, fall back to plan, a place for people to go that could not get the elusive permit via a lottery to visit the over-popular "wave" formation on the northern coyote buttes (only 20 people a day are ever permitted)..however, white pocket has recently become even more popular than "the wave", and is now an extremely sought after first destination, excessively desired by photographers over the past couple years due to its high visibility on instagram by other "look-at-me" photographers and adventurers. 
 
the name white pocket actually refers to two areas: on the topo map there is a tall monolith about 500 feet high that can be seen from miles around, this butte is known as the white pocket butte. and the second one being the area with white-gray rocks that have numerous pockets that fill with water after rainfall and have traditionally allowed for free range cattle that inhabit the area to have a water source in the hot northern arizona climate in the summers...be aware, at any time cattle could roam through white pocket...
 
and conversely, photographers use the term white pocket to refer to the area of white and coral colored cauliflower rock (aka brain rock) to the east of the white pocket butte. this area has many of those aforementioned water pockets, and is the area of photographic interest.
 
it is extremely difficult to get to the white pocket. knowledge and experience with driving in deep sand, as well as an accompanying high clearance 4x4 vehicle is needed due to that deep sand. deflate your tires to around 20psi, and re-inflate them once back out of the deep sand parts of the route. always carry a shovel, extra water, a full sized spare, and a good portable air compressor. plus i recommend due to the bad roads, after you are done shooting at white pocket, do not try to drive out in the dark ever. i emphatically recommend camping at the trailhead overnight and driving out the next morning. and remember in times of rain, the road in and out is impassable,  it is impossible to get to or back out of white pocket...if it rains while you are visiting, give the road time to completely dry out, or you will be totally stuck and in worse shape than if you just would have waited out the rain. 

after a rainfall there are many shallow pools in the lower area of white pocket. these can be used to frame reflections of either the white pocket butte or the swirl formations. there are deeper pockets in the upper area which yield reflections of the two trees. and remember and be aware again that after a rainfall you will absolutely not be able to access white pocket as house rock road as well as the sand track blm road to white pocket will both be impassable. after very heavy rains, you may even find quicksand on some of the roads into the white pocket too. quicksand is rarely more than knee deep but if you drive into it, you will be in a world of shit and not be able to get your vehicle out without a winch or tow...

when the potholes are full of water you may find hundred of tadpoles and tadpole shrimp in them. desert tadpoles grow into toads, not frogs. while both are amphibians, toads live on land rather than in the water. toads spend their adult lives finding shelter in vegetation, under rocks, and in abandoned burrows. after a heavy rain, male toads find a water pocket and begin croaking to attract a mate. i have heard toads croaking at the wave formation close by in mid april after a heavy rain. toad croaks are very load and toads may croak for hours till they mate. after fertilization, eggs take a bit over ten days to hatch into tadpoles. tadpoles then spend the next 9-12 weeks transforming into toads so that they can survive on land. not many make it, often the pool dries up before the tadpole can mature. desert shrimp have a totally different life cycle since shrimp survive only in water. after sufficient rain (seen by the shrimp eggs as sufficient water pressure) shrimp eggs, which may have been dormant for years, hatch into shrimp. the shrimp have a very short lifespan, they live, reproduce, and die over a period of just a few weeks. tadpole shrimp and tadpoles are good subjects for video, especially if you have a macro lens with you...
 
from the winter months through july and august, you will usually find water at white pocket. while the smaller pools will dry up within a day or two of rain, the larger ones, such as those created by rancher dams, will keep their water through the whole period. look for pools that are evenly lit. if you shoot ground level from the edge of the water the pool will look more like a lake than a pool  

white pocket photographs well at both sunrise and sunset. at sunrise, the best light is blocked in some parts white pocket by cliffs to the east, although white pocket butte lights up beautifully at sunrise throughout the year. white pocket butte is a good panoramic subject when shot from the southern side of the white pocket at dawn. if you shoot from the central area at sunrise your view of the butte will be blocked by a small hill. when water is present, shooting the butte from the pools just south of the swirl also works well. the cliffs to the east of white pocket also get very good color at sunset and are worth photographing. it is possible to climb the cliffs to the east, just head for the central area. there is no trail and there is some exposure but the climb is not difficult if you pick the right route.

white pocket has an upper and lower level. the lower level is to the west, the upper to the east. the lower level is best shot mid-late afternoon and is in shadow at sunrise and for an hour or so thereafter. the lower level includes the formation called the swirl which is probably the most popular white pocket subject. the Swirl is best shot late afternoon. near the winter solstice it is nicely lit on both the SE and SW sides, during the rest of the year only the SW side is lit at sunset...the upper level gets good light a bit after sunrise and at sunset. there are two trees on the upper level as well...

you can shoot at white pocket well into the "blue hour" since it is only a half mile back to your car from almost anyplace in the area. the blue hour happens when the sun is about 4-8 degrees below the horizon either after the sun sets or before it rises. during the blue hour, the sky takes on a brilliant blue color and the landscape takes on a blue glow. this occurs because only the blue rays of the solar spectrum are bent by the atmosphere towards the earth, the warmer tones pass through the atmosphere into space. my best photos of white pocket have all been taken a few minutes after sunrise or before sunset, in this blue hour, or at night. during the blue hour exposure times can be long with 5 - 30 seconds (or much more using nd filters as i do) typical when shooting with a low iso. you'll need to use a tripod. 
 
white pocket is an excellent location for night photography. there is little ambient light except to the east which has some glow from page, az....the s-curve with the citadel formation in the middle-ground is also good foreground for the milky way. the swirl faces south, so star trails work well here...but there are literally thousands of other un-shot locations in the area with unique rock formations, pools of water, and vegetation to use with the stars, you just need to spend the extra time searching for them and scouting them out during the harsh lighting conditions of the day (what else is there to do anyway?)

if you do shoot at night, make sure you mark the location of your vehicle with a gps...for white pocket has no trails except for the short path going in...at night everything starts to look the same in the shadows from a headlamp. it is easy to get disoriented and lose your bearings, get lost and not find your way back to the parking lot without the landscape being illuminated...remember, this is a wilderness, so be careful and plan ahead, or else you might end up spending a cold evening under the elements...

but enjoy exploring the awe-inspiring slickrock. these windswept layers of orange, yellow, and white formations were created over time by mineral deposits and shaped by the elements. please help preserve the geologic formations so that present and future generations can enjoy them today and for years to come. you are responsible for your safety. if you get lost while hiking, experience a non-life-threatening emergency, or if your vehicle becomes stuck or breaks down, it is your responsibility, not the responsibility of emergency services or blm to deal with the situation. and to compound the situation, the is no cell phone coverage anywhere close by. 
 
the roads that access white pocket trailhead consist of deep sand and patches of sharp rock. most awd rentals will not make it in and out safely, and rental car companies as well as aaa does not cover any towing services here. four-wheel-drive high-clearance vehicles are required. but every year, many groups get stuck and stranded on the way to this trailhead as a result of attempting the drive without enough experience or in inappropriate vehicles. this can be life threatening and cost thousands of dollars to have your vehicle extracted. if you are unsure of your vehicle’s capabilities or simply don’t want to assume the risk, i recommend hiring an authorized guide such as myself. information about other authorized guides may be found at blm visitor centers or on their website.
 
if you go to white pocket you should car camp overnight rather than try to drive in or out in the dark. going with a guide is a good option...i offer guided tours for 1-2 days stay at white pocket focusing both on shooting locations in the area at both sunrise and sunset, then camping overnight...white pocket from late spring through the summer and into early fall has become extremely popular for car camping lately, so there is almost always company now there unfortunately....

the popularity of white pocket is now leading to shameful impacts in the form of exposed human waste and toilet paper, excessive campfire rings, and vegetation damage. i've even seen photographers marking spots in the slickrock by scraping and etching with stones...please do your part to keep these areas clean and natural. if you camp in the area, camp in your vehicle or use existing campsites/fire rings, and keep campsites small. to minimize impact, do not damage trees or collect firewood 
 
and it should be noted that there is no cell phone service for miles surrounding white pocket. be prepared to handle emergencies on your own. only you are responsible for your own safety. and there are no toilets or potable water at white pocket...you need to bring in all of the supplies you will need: food, water, firewood, tools, equipment, emergency kits...and you will need to bury all human and doggie waste at least one (1) foot deep with a shovel, and pack out all your own garbage including food scraps, toilet paper and wet wipes...please, please be a good steward and respect the area as the beautiful wilderness that it is, use common sense, leave it in just as good or better condition than you found it...take only pictures and leave only footprints in the sand...for we all need to do our part so, we can continue to enjoy these wild areas like white pocket in their natural beauty for years to come
 
"there are all these people, thinking 
they can be that person they 
hope to be, and can be...but then 
in a moment, they see exactly just 
who they really are, two worlds collide. but, 
they simply do not see 
the significance of it, or 
the importance of this reckoning. so, 
it's therefore impossible in the 
next moment for them to see 
that person standing right in front 
of them either...they just go on with life, 
unable to recognize the beautiful 
prospects of the love they just 
overlooked because they were just 
too busy being wrapped up in 
their own world, too occupied 
to acknowledge the beauty inside 
the other world that was right 
in front of them, which they just 
couldn't see" ― bodhinku, overlooked love
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
this is a tune that fits romantically with this image, and its mood and feel, along with similarly my feelings of late...it's a melodically beautiful song, with soulful and loving lyrics sung from the mindset of a person who's a bit broken: "collide" by rachel platten ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"lately, i feel like i'm pushing you away, acting moody for no reason. and even though you know i'm always gonna stay, i've been talking like i'm leaving. i don't know why i keep playing these dumb games. love is not a competition, and no one's winning when i'm pushing you away. some times darkness is a prison. turn the lights on, honey, honey, i don't wanna hide. turn the lights on, honey, i'm surrendering tonight. although i'm not perfect, i feel perfect in your eyes. turn the lights on, honey, i don't really wanna hide, not tonight. come and crash into me 'cause i want us to collide, collide, collide, collide, collide, collide, collide...look into my eyes and tell me we're okay, and we both can be forgiven. kiss me gently, say the things you wanna say. you don't need to ask permission. i'm a stormy ocean, but you're steady, and i'm a commotion, but you get me. too many emotions, but you let me, let me blossom in the dark. turn the lights on, honey, honey, i don't wanna hide. turn the lights on, honey, i'm surrendering tonight. although i'm not perfect, i feel perfect in your eyes. turn the lights on, honey, i don't really wanna hide, not tonight. come and crash into me 'cause i want us to collide, collide, collide, collide, collide, collide, collide..." ― rachel platten, collide
 
"in silence you will hear the cadence of the entire universe" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha
 
"do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate on the present moment...like the stars, come out from behind the clouds! shine" ― siddhartha gautama buddha, the dhammapada  

"if a man crosses a river
and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
even though he be bad tempered man
he will not become very angry.
but if he sees a man in the boat,
he will shout at him to steer clear.
if the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
and yet again, and begin cursing.
and all because someone is in the boat.
yet if the boat were empty,
he would not be shouting, and not angry.
if you can empty your own boat
crossing the river of the world,
no one will oppose you,
no one will seek to harm you" ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
 
"empty yourself of everything. let the mind become still. all things in the universe rise and fall while the self watches their return. they grow and flourish and then return to the source. returning to the sourse is stillness, which is the way of nature" ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"the tao can only be communicated from heart to heart, from being to being, from love to love, from silence to silence. truth is always realized in silence. in silence, the truth is realized. you reach truth through silence." ― lao tzu, tao te ching
  
"he who defends with love will be secure; the starry night will save him, and earth will protect him with love" ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"i don't know whether the universe, with its countless galaxies, stars and planets, has a deeper meaning or not, but at the very least, it is clear that we humans who live on this earth face the task of making a happy life for ourselves. therefore, it is important to discover daily what will bring about the greatest degree of happiness" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness  

"you're my star, a stargazer too, and i wish that i were heaven, with a billion eyes to look at you!" ― plato, phaedrus  
 
"when we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty" ― john muir
 
"the lyrics of this love are etched upon the walls of this beating heart the melody echoing within me during waking hours and dream filled sleep. i must have written them in the stars many lifetimes ago with these unsteady hands filled with longing, inspiration found in the unseen and the unspoken, that to this day ring deep within my aching soul...the celestial wind whispers a lonely lullaby over the mountain peaks and through the trees, seeming to call your name somehow into my sleeping soul. i wonder if you know that you live there, nestled in between the breaths of air and beating of my heart, where time stands still and eternity waits on the edge of the horizon. i wonder if you know that it’s you that holds me even while you are so far out of reach; you who are the lyrics of a love song etched deep within the walls of this aching heart, singing a timeless song written in the stars" ― c. ara campbell, written in the stars   
 
"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... 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 under the starry night" ― c. ara campbell, soul bare and heart open    
 
"the one thing i know for sure is that feelings are rarely mutual, so when they are, drop everything, forget belongings and expectations, forget the games, the two days between texts, the hard to gets because this is it, this is what the entire world is after and you’ve stumbled upon it by chance, by accident...so take a deep breath, take a step forward, now run, collide like planets in the system of a dying sun, embrace each other with both arms and let all the rules, the opinions and common sense crash down around you. because this is love kid, and it’s all yours. believe me, you're in for one hell of a ride, after all...this is the one thing i know for sure" ― beau taplin, the wild heart  
 
"it can’t be helped. it’s you. and there’s nothing else. you are my eye’s only focus and my heart’s single truth. we could be standing on the surface of the moon beneath a blanket of stars, and still, i would see only you" ― beau taplin  
 
"night air, good conversation, and a sky full of stars can heal almost any wound" ― beau taplin, remedy  
 
"some nights i wonder if the stars watch us the same way we watch them, other nights i think of you and i'm sure of it" ― beau taplin, playing with fire 
 
"the night is starry and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance. the night wind revolves in the sky and sings..." ― pablo neruda   

"and i, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
i felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
i wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke free on the open sky" ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets
 
"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
 
"a certain darkness is needed to see the stars" ― osho, the secret of secrets
 
"look at the stars, and let that silence penetrate you. or look at the starry night and let that velvety darkness surround you, envelop you, dissolve you. this is the way of the simple heart" ― osho, the book of nothing
 
"and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart...i carry your heart [i carry it in my heart]" ― e. e. cummings, 100 selected poems
 
"if hers are the stars in the nighttime sky, mine are the haunted empty spaces in between" ― nicholas sparks, dear john
 
"there must be a glowing light above. the joy must escape in light through the stones and shine dimly into the darkness. it is impossible that this sacred festival of destiny should not send a celestial radiation to the infinite. love is the sublime crucible in which is consummated the fusion of the final being, the human trinity springs from it. this birth of two souls into one space must be an emotion for space" ― victor hugo, les miserables
 
"let me die
from having being drunk on
indigo skies, my liver...
overflowing with stars" ― sanober khan, turquoise silence  
 
recommended by a friend for my blog today, this is another perfect tune that fits wonderfully with my impression and quotes today...there is just a wonderfully hopeless romantic mood of this tune: "collide" by howie day ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"the dawn is breaking, a light shining through. you're barely waking and i'm tangled up in you. i'm open, you're closed. where i follow, you'll go. i worry i won't see your face light up again. even the best fall down sometimes, even the wrong words seem to rhyme out of the doubt that fills my mind. i somehow find you and i collide...i'm quiet you know, you make a first impression. i've found i'm scared to know i'm always on your mind...even the best fall down sometimes. even the stars refuse to shine out of the black you fall in time. i somehow find, you and i collide. don't stop here. i lost my place. i'm close behind. even the best fall down sometimes...even the wrong words seem to rhyme out of the doubt that fills your mind. you finally find, you and i collide. finally find you and i collide..." ― howie day, collide  
 
"a starry night sky is something that touches your soul. our civilization's religion, philosophy, science, art and literature all have roots with our views of the heavens, and we are now losing this with consequences we cannot fully know. what happens when we cannot be inspired by the night sky?" ― alisha sevigny, summer constellations 
   
"sometimes i would look up at the stars and wonder if you were ever looking at them at the same time...and when i looked up at the stars, i saw us. you were the stars, and i was the dark sky behind you" ― jenn bennett, starry eyes   
 
"she was broken from moment to moment, watching her world collide she felt lost inside herself. she fell apart for a passion that flamed beneath her. she waited and died a hundred times, it dripped from her pores. the moment she let go, she soared over the stillness like the star she was born to be"  ― robert m. drake
 
"she was scared
unprepared
lost in the dark
falling apart
i can't survive
without you by my side
we're gonna be alright
this is what happens when
two worlds collide" ― demi lovato
 
"at the sound of my name, those two worlds on either side of me collide, and my lips meet his. time ceases to exist, and so, apparently does any logic that my mind is hanging on to. logic would say that this is insane; every other fibre of my being says it's right" ― dianna hardy, til death do us part
 
"if the sky should fall, let it fall; if death open his wings, ignore his dark call; let the stars fade, let worlds collide; it matters not, for you are by my side" ― alexis steinhaur, dragon's flight 
 
"i stare at the photo...the shot is amazing, the way the wings are splayed on a flower between a slant of sun and shade, teetering between two worlds. she used to capture things most people wouldn’t notice—moments in time when opposites collide, then merge seamlessly together" ― a.g.howard, splintered  
 
"i’d study the science of you until i turned it into an art. the way your atoms rub together. molecules colliding. chemistry building. explosions of heat and radiation burning
like a star at the end of the world" ― iain thomas 
 
"we consist of two things. lusts and desires feed our animality in this material world. but as for our true essence, its food is knowledge, wisdom, and the sight of love. the animality within us flees away from love, while our spiritual self flees away from this world" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god 
 
"oh beloved, take me. liberate my soul. fill me with your love and release me from the two worlds. if i set my heart on anything but you, let fire burn me from inside...oh beloved, take away what i want. take away what i do. take away what i need. take away everything that takes me from you" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"vincent van gogh was not trying to make an exact copy of reality in his paintings. he did not use his choices of colors merely to imitate nature, but to express emotion...and through his inspirational guidance, this is something that i have also always done in all of my photographic impressions" ― bodhinku, vincent's inspiration 
       
this impression is a merged composition of two separate exposures taken in the early hours of the morning on 10-11-2020...composition was created by using layers in adobe photoshop cc to merge together the two separate exposures
  
in my photography, i always use filters to create longer exposure effects, saturate colors naturally in-camera, and balance the light in my composition in-camera. and this composition is no exception...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 i was looking for, i used two progreyusa filters along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder in the capture of this composition...  
 
with this being a merge of long exposures put together, i needed the great set of filters and filter holder from progreyusa to help beautifully block down the light 10 stops. and as with all longer exposures, a stable and sturdy tripod is an absolute necessity in order to keep the two separate exposed images in perfect line on the same vertical plane with each other, and in sharp focus in the places i wanted sharpness and permit for accurate motion blur for anything moving in the image (clouds)...for this i used my faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" carbon fiber tripod, because it is sturdy, tall, and perfectly compact for travelling 
 
the first exposure (24mm @f/1.4 for 15sec, iso-2000) of the stars, planets, and the milky way was taken using no filters in the middle of the night when the colorful milky way core was close to setting below the horizon at white pocket on 10-10-2020...  
 
and for the second exposure (24mm @ f/11 for 333sec, iso-64), i chose to use a magnetic 3.0nd progrey antarctica filter to stop down the pre-dawn light 10 stops on 10-11-2020 before the rise of the sun over white pocket and permit the ultra long exposure time of over five minutes to help naturally saturate in-camera all the colors happening in the blue hour, all the red colors of the foreground naturally...combined in tandem with a 0.9 gnd progrey aurora filter in order to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down an extra three stops the much brighter sky of the top 1/3 of the image...
 
and with using both filters together, i created in camera the effect of a richer sky with motion blur in the clouds to help merge this exposure more beautifully with the star exposure taken earlier in the night when the milky way was setting into the horizon...
 
i also used the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold the two filters and secure them to my nikon d810 with a nikon nikkor 24mm prime f1.4 lens for both exposures shot in a portrait orientation...first exposure: 24mm @ f/1.4 for 15sec, iso-2000...second exposure: 24mm @ f/11 for 333sec, iso-64...and then the two separate exposures were merged into one composition using layers in adobe photoshop cc to achieve the perfect lighting and celestial glow of the entire scene... 
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my faithful induro phq3 series 5-way panhead mounted on my dolica tripod 70" carbon fiber tripod, in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary" ― bodhinku, my diary 
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty. stop the world. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
 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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