Oquirrh Mountain Temple – nancy merrill photography

You are getting two post today because yesterday was too full to do a post (gone from 8 in the morning until 11 in the evening). And the first one today was for fun (see Thankful November 24th: Chocolate for reference.) This post will be much more serious. I’m sure that many people who follow this blog and read my posts are aware that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes known as the Mormon Church). I haven’t tried to make it a secret. I have also tried to not be overbearing about it. I was born and raised in Utah in a family that is very actively involved in this religion. When I was 22 years old, I served as a volunteer missionary to Wisconsin. I married my husband in the beautiful Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah. I have been living my religion as best as I can for almost 53-1/2 years. Having faith has grounded me, given me hope as I see things happening in the world around me, and provided me with a community wherever I have moved. I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ. I have faith in a Heavenly Father, who loves and knows me. I’m grateful for scriptures I can turn to for comfort and guidance during difficult times in my life.

Whatever your religious (or non-religious) life may be, I hope that you find love, happiness, and joy in the Christmas season this year. I love celebrating the birth of my Savior with the entire world.

Skies can be tricky. The best lighting for human subjects is a slight overcast or near dusk/dawn, which can leave your sky a little washed out or darkening. Or if you wait until sunset, you have to get creative with lighting your main subjects (unless the sky is your main subject). Occasionally, I luck out and can get a great sky without sacrificing whatever else is in the picture. The last few weeks have seen a lot of interesting weather in the Salt Lake Valley, from extreme heat (several days in a row over 100) to more rain in a single downpour than we usually get in the entire month of July. Something the sudden storms give us is interesting clouds and early afternoon deep blue skies. For this picture, there were just enough clouds to buffer the LDS Oquirrh Mountain Temple from harsh afternoon sun shadows and allow me to capture some of the beautiful blue sky.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE YOUR FAVORITE SHOTS OF SKIES.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography. Here’s how it works:

Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ and “Photo a Week” tags.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Tag: Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Thankful November 24th: My Faith

A Photo a Week Challenge: Perfect Sky