One of our (my wife and I) favorite places is Florida. When I learned that her and her business partners were inviting me to tag along on a trip to Orlando, I knew immediately that I had to photograph the Orlando Temple.
This turned out to be a bit tricky as I was a guest and had to massage the schedule a bit so I could have some time to get to the temple. This was in early November of 2020, what a beautiful time to visit Orlando! We were however, still experiencing the effects of COVID-19 and I knew that the Temple gates would likely be locked.
My research showed that there were also a lot of big trees around the temple grounds, not to mention the fence. I planned to take advantage of one of our down days, when everyone would be relaxing and no specific activities were planned. Two trips would be made, one for the sunrise and one at sunset.
I left everyone asleep and arrived at the temple grounds around 5:30 a.m. It was plenty dark. By November, many of the temples were performing live sealing’s by appointment only. There was some activity at the gate so I walked up and spoke with the brother manning the gate. I asked if there was any way I could come in for just 15 minutes to get some photographs. He politely declined my request but was very nice and understanding.
As it turned out, I think the better compositions were outside the fence. It was just a matter of dancing with the trees and finding the magic spot to shoot from. It was an interesting learning experience. I noticed as the sun began to rise over the ocean (which I could not see), the clouds where being sucked downward as if to be swallowed up by the water.
Each sequential shot I took, the clouds in the background dropped lower and lower. What is normally a race against time to catch the sun where you want it, turned out to be a race to freeze the clouds in the desired location on the canvas.
I left the temple not really sure if I had captured what I needed but knowing I would be back that evening to capture some more moments in time.
For my evening photo shoot, I had the whole crew drop me off, so I could create while they nailed down plans for dinner. This would be my last chance to capture something spectacular and the pressure was on. My wife is always quick to grab breath taking photos with her iPhone when she is with me. This time was no different as she and her business partners showed back up just as the sun was setting. They all snapped pictures with their phones and then said “See ya in 30 minutes” and they were gone again.
As I prepared for the blue hour, my absolute favorite time of day, to my horror, the winds picked up and started rocking my camera. I had my lightweight travel tripod and the wind was a challenge. I alternated between several techniques to reduce camera shake and continued to click the shutter. I would not know until I got home if my efforts were successful.
It is hard to be disappointed when the heavens perform. I watched in amazement as the stars and the moon appeared, reflecting off the beautiful blue brilliance of the night sky just after sunset.