On a recent March trip to Utah I scouted several Temples. With some Temples I want to photograph when the sun is further north or south in the sky. Some look better in the summer when the trees have leaves and the grass is green. I wanted the sun in the southern sky for the Manti Temple and decided to go there when a late winter storm was passing through. Great clouds often mean rain or snow, and that's what I got. Manti doesn't have a lot to do, but it's in a beautiful area and I enjoyed exploring and getting to know the surroundings. I also met a few of the local kids who wanted to know why I spent so much time at the Temple with a camera and tripod. They told me that Manti has the "best kids in the country" and "nothing bad ever happens in Manti". Nothing like a little hometown pride.
     The Manti Temple has always been one of my favorites and is the most prominent landmark in the area. Because it's so tall and so high on the hill it tested the limits of my large format camera. This image was taken with my digital camera, and through the magic of Photoshop I was able to straighten it out and make the Temple look truly vertical even though I was pointing the camera up at a pretty steep angle. It's a nice work-around but requires distorting of the original image and some cropping.
     While the lighting lacks drama, the composition is simple and highlights the beautiful architecture. My waiting paid off the following day and I captured the Temple in excellent side light with really dramatic clouds. I'm still preparing that image and will post it at a later time.