I've had people asking me to be sure to photograph the Gila Valley Temple since long before construction was complete. I wasn't likely to overlook it. I've had ties to the Gila Valley my whole life. I lived there as a newborn while my parents were attending EAJC. I went to EAC for a short time before my mission and made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun. I've grown very fond of Mt. Graham over the years and even photographed a portfolio of the mountain for Arizona Highways magazine.
     I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Temple open-house twice and was able to scout for photo possibilities. The Temple faces northeast, so my timing for the right angle of the sun was important. Summer is good for interesting clouds that build over the mountain in the monsoon season.
     I wasn't able to travel to the Gila Valley most of the summer and worried I would miss out on the stormy skies. I kept an eye on weather.com and planned a trip when the storms were supposed to return. I loaded my gear in the car the night before, slept a few hours, got up at 3 am, and drove the three hours to the Temple. Sunrise was less than spectacular, and the clouds really let me down. I decided I needed to stay for sunset and try to salvage the trip.
     Big, dark clouds built all day, but decided to go away right before sunset. I had just enough for this image. The post-sunset light on the Temple was warm and soft and gave some nice pink highlights to the clouds.
     The little crescent moon had me worried. During long exposures it makes a distracting blur. The exposure was 20 seconds, but the moon was small enough in this wide-angle view to not show much of a blur.