"Murmur of a Sigh" newest release from Bodhi Smith

Entitled, "Murmur of a Sigh," this is my newest release from my Easter Island (La Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui) series of compositions. 

I captured this composition during my recent trip to the island a few months ago at the end of December and beginning of January. As it turns out, this was my last picture taken in the calendar year of 2014. Looking back, this is really a mighty nice image to cap off what was truly a very, very good year for me. 

For this image, I again traveled from the town of Hanga Roa where we were staying across the island to the Tongariki Ahu (ceremonial platform) to try to capture these magnificent moai (statues) under the stars, and then stick around to be hopeful of a stellar sunrise. I got the former, but not the latter on this morning. But the things I got to see, memories to behold which no camera could bring justice to, emblazoned images found only in the recesses of my brain, sights to behold for my eyes only on that morning...this all just left me longing for the moment in this picture with a big sigh (and hence the image's title). 

This composition is really a segue image between a full blow starry sky and a morning sky with a glowing sun. In this image you see the longest rays of the sun starting to awaken the sky and wispy clouds, but you still can catch a fleeting glimpse of the brilliant stars of the southern hemisphere before they go to sleep for the day. It is a departure from my ultra long exposures into the world of just a few seconds of exposure, but is still retains my dreamy style...the impression I am trying to give is of elegance that routinely wakes up every morning like clockwork; its excruciating exquisiteness repeated, over and over, day after day, year after year, and all the same while being unbeknownst to itself; the beauty goes to sleep at the end of the day to rise and shine and repeat it all over again, never knowing how discerningly lovely it really is...<sigh>

I can only hope that you enjoy this image a fraction of the amount I enjoyed being there to witness and capture this image...

Camera Settings: ISO-1250, 24mm at f/1.4 for 4 seconds at 5:30am this past New Year's Eve at about one hour before sunrise. 

I hope this message and image find you well.

peace,
D. "Bodhi"

‪#‎LeeFilters‬ ‪#‎Dolica‬ #Tripods ‪#‎Nikon‬ ‪#‎D800‬ ‪#‎Nikkor‬ #24mm ‪#‎BodhiSmith‬ ‪#‎LongExposure‬ ‪#‎expressionist‬ ‪#‎Impressionist‬ ‪#‎Surreal‬ ‪#‎EasterIsland‬ ‪#‎SouthPacific‬ ‪#‎Ocean‬ ‪#‎Nightscape‬ ‪#‎Stars #Moai #Tongariki #‬RapaNui #Isla #Pascua 

New image, "Ojos Fantasmal" from D. "Bodhi" Smith

This is my newest release from my Easter Island series (yeah finally!) entitled, "Ojos Fantasmal" which translates in English roughly to spooky or ghostly eyes...

While I spent time on Rapa Nui ( a.k.a. La Isla de Pascua or Easter Island) , I kept coming back to this lone moai (sacred statue) that's right next to the ocean on a cliff close to the island's only town of Hanga Roa which is located on the west side of Easter Island. Hanga Roa is quite small and is the only place to find lodging and modern amenities while visiting this remote island. Since this is where I was staying, and this moai is located just north of town, it was an easy hike to visit this statue almost daily (either at sunrise or more often at sunset).This particular statue stands alone on the north section of the ceremonial Ahu Ta'hai and is named the "Ko Te Riku" which translates to "with abundant growth."

I was absolutely entranced by the eyes on this particular moai...a unique trait of the Ko Te Riku that set it apart from all the other moai on the entire island, for no other moai on any ceremonial ahu have eyes. The whites of his eyes are made of white coral and the pupils are made of red obsidian and are really offset beautifully by the Ko Te Riku's maroon pukao (tophat). And under the moonlight, his eyes glowed with an eerie effervescence which is what instilled the desire in me to capture this impression as I did.

All of the moai on this tiny island (it is only about 35km across) in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean were symbols of authority and power, both religious and political. But they were not only symbols....to the native Rapanui who erected and used them, they were actual repositories of sacred spirit and centers of ancestral respect. Carved stone and wooden objects in Rapa Nui, when properly fashioned and ritually prepared, were believed to be charged by a magical spiritual essence called mana. Mana is a form of spiritual energy and also healing power which can exist in places, objects and persons. Also, almost all of the moai (statues) face away from the ocean and inland towards the settlements as if to watch over the people of the island. The lone exception is the seven moai on Ahu Akivi (that are inland but much higher in elevation to the coast) which face out to sea...myth has it to they were placed to help travelers find the island. There is a legend that says there were seven men who were waiting for their king to arrive. Sorry, I guess as I ramble here, you can see my fascination for this special little island in the middle of nowhere...

Anyway, this new image is just the first of a many compositions of this moai that I will be releasing since I was so transfixed with the eyes of the Ko Te Riku, I was almost hypnotized by them....

Camera settings: ISO-100, 24mm at f/4 for 30 seconds at 10:05pm under moonlight and clouds (about 45mins after sunset) on December 27, 2014...using one Lee Proglass .6ND filter (2 stops) and one Lee .75ND Grad filter to balance down the sky 2.5 stops...and for two seconds using flashlihts, light was painted on both the right side of the moai (by me) and the left side of the moai (by my friend Sam)

I hope this message and image find you well.

peace,
D. "Bodhi"

#Nikon #D800 #Nikkor #Dolica #LeeFilters #EasterIsland #RapaNui #Ahu #Tahai #KoTeRiku #HangaRoa #Chile #Isla #Pascua #Expressionism #Surreal #Impressionist #SouthPacific #Moai