Mesa Temple Sunset Glow
This photo is nearly seven years old and has been one of my most popular color images. The popularity of color decreased somewhat when I started introducing sepia and black & white images several years ago, but it remains the choice for some.
The question I'm always asked about this image is, "What filter did you use to make the Temple look like that?" The answer is, "No filter, it's all existing light".
I had been watching the sky for several days and waited until there were high, thin clouds in the west. The Mesa Temple is only a few minutes from my house, so I drove there before sunset and set up just outside the fence on the west side. The sun set and the light was pretty unremarkable for the first fifteen minutes or so. During that time I continued to take light meter readings off the front of the Temple and adjust my lens accordingly.
As the sun sets, the shadow of the earth rises in the east, darkening the sky to a rich blue/purple tone. When the sun reaches a certain angle below the horizon, it strikes the high, thin clouds and lights them up, creating a broad, soft light source in the western sky. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the clouds in the glass just above the Temple doors. The artificial lights for the Temple came on as well, supplementing the natural light. The Temple seems to glow in these conditions.
While the light changes I take a series of images, keeping the exposure fairly constant for the Temple and letting the light in the background evolve. After processing the film, I select my favorite exposure out of the batch. It's hard to predict sometimes which will be best because the human eye and film see things so differently.
There's a fair amount of luck and timing involved in an image like this. Twilight is a popular time for couples and families to visit the Temple and walk around the grounds. Each exposure is approximately 40 seconds with about a minute in between sets. I'm fairly obvious, sitting on my ladder, and people are generally very polite and patient in helping me as I create these images.
The question I'm always asked about this image is, "What filter did you use to make the Temple look like that?" The answer is, "No filter, it's all existing light".
I had been watching the sky for several days and waited until there were high, thin clouds in the west. The Mesa Temple is only a few minutes from my house, so I drove there before sunset and set up just outside the fence on the west side. The sun set and the light was pretty unremarkable for the first fifteen minutes or so. During that time I continued to take light meter readings off the front of the Temple and adjust my lens accordingly.
As the sun sets, the shadow of the earth rises in the east, darkening the sky to a rich blue/purple tone. When the sun reaches a certain angle below the horizon, it strikes the high, thin clouds and lights them up, creating a broad, soft light source in the western sky. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the clouds in the glass just above the Temple doors. The artificial lights for the Temple came on as well, supplementing the natural light. The Temple seems to glow in these conditions.
While the light changes I take a series of images, keeping the exposure fairly constant for the Temple and letting the light in the background evolve. After processing the film, I select my favorite exposure out of the batch. It's hard to predict sometimes which will be best because the human eye and film see things so differently.
There's a fair amount of luck and timing involved in an image like this. Twilight is a popular time for couples and families to visit the Temple and walk around the grounds. Each exposure is approximately 40 seconds with about a minute in between sets. I'm fairly obvious, sitting on my ladder, and people are generally very polite and patient in helping me as I create these images.
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