After getting up at 5 am to shoot in St.George I went back to my motel to get some more sleep before driving to Las Vegas. No such luck - they were having a softball tournament in town and every available teenager was playing at the pool near my room. The weather report showed the clouds were supposed to clear out during the day, so I hurried down to the Las Vegas Temple to shoot with what few clouds remained.
     I was pleasantly surprised that clouds drifted by throughout the afternoon. I was anxious to shoot but had to find a good composition first. Most Temples are difficult to photograph well and Las Vegas is no exception. The long, low structure with the tall spires is hard to frame. The nice background (the mountain) shows only when you shoot from the back. There are lots of trees, fences, parking areas, signs, etc. I found one composition that I really like, and I'll post that later. It almost cost me my camera, tripod, and ladder, but that's another story.
     I really wanted to get an image with the mountain in the background and found this area near the west fence, just above the retention basin. The light (front light) is not ideal - you can see only part of the shadows of the spires on the Temple and next to no shadows on the mountain. Not much texture in the scene, but the light was nice and warm. One thing I can't complain about is the clouds.
     My plan was to stay put at this spot and photograph as the lights came on while the mountain was (hopefully) lit by the glow from the sunset. As I stood there waiting, one of the security guards came over and we started talking. I got so engrossed in his stories that I almost missed the light. I've found the guards and groundskeepers to be very nice in every case, and helpful too. It's always good to know when the sprinklers will come on where you happen to be standing.