Our family had a surprise visit the other night from our friends, the Runyans. Abby served a mission in Nauvoo and she and her husband Todd played a big part in encouraging me to go there to photograph. While we visited with them I pulled out a couple of prints and started reminiscing. We had a storm come through Arizona the next day and ended up getting a decent amount of rain. Every time it rains now I think of Nauvoo and the frustration I felt, sitting for days, waiting out the rain. I checked the weather that night and found it was 55 degrees at about 8pm in Mesa. At the same time it was 58 degrees in Nauvoo. I bet that doesn't happen very often - at least in the winter.
     Nauvoo is a beautiful place, and after it rains the Temple really shines. I scouted this location several times before shooting and seriously considered making this a vertical composition. From this angle the Temple is actually taller than it is wide. While the image can be cropped vertically now, I would have been seriously limited if I had made the crop in camera. I think the trees on both sides of the Temple place it more in context and establish a nicer setting. It's hard to see at this size, but there's an American flag waving in the background, just above the sidewalk in the lower right corner.