Which Angle to Take; Take Them All Of Course
Jan 30th, 2008 by jeremy
I have been busy on a somewhat arduous yet enjoyable task lately…organizing and cataloging my photos from 2007. This task has been long overdue, and there is quite the number of photos I am dealing with. I may write up a post soon about the process I am going through. Unfortunately I have been so wrapped up in it that I have simply forgotten to write up a post in the last couple of days.
For today’s post I decided to pull some photos from the archives I am working through, back to last April. Today was a particularly blustery day here in Utah, so I figure some photos of the sun that is to come isn’t such a bad thing. Last year we did some camping in southern Utah with some friends and passed by the Manti LDS Temple on our way to and from. We stopped on the way back for a walk and some photos (of course).
Whenever I photograph a building, particularly a popular one, I am always wondering what is the best angle to take the photo from. I always make a conscious effort to capture the “obvious” snapshot that everyone else takes, because, well that obvious shot is usually a pretty good one. But then I feel compelled to try and take things from a different angle than the norm. I enjoy coming home and looking through the photos I have taken and seeing which out of the various angles I end up liking best.
I would call this first shot (above) the most popular as it shows the entire building from the hill where they hold the annual Manti Pageant. It does take a bit of a trek to get in position for the shot, but well worth the view. As I traveled around the building, I snapped a few other shots from perhaps other typical vantage points, and some less typical.
So, my question to you is, which do you prefer. Or, perhaps, do you think I could have done better and how? Honestly I wasn’t attempting to create a work of art while snapping these shots, hardly possible when you have kids in tow and no time to plan a shot or wait for the best possible lighting. That aside, I was happiest with the last shot for perhaps being the most interesting with the trees in the foreground. There is a little more obstruction of the building than I think most would like, but I rather like how the building just pokes out from the trees.
All in all, I think the message is my typical one. Take all the vantage points, it doesn’t cost you more! In the world of digital you can always toss out shots later if you must. Half the fun is searching for creative ways of viewing things in ways that others may not notice.
Canon 20D, 28-135, various settings.
also seen on flickr
Good morning Jeremy!! Even before you said it (Honestly!!) I enjoyed the shot through the trees the best!! Maybe because of the -40 degree below windchill temps here in MN, but the green captured my eye without taking away from the amazing beauty of the temple!!
Oh, Jeremy, I love them all!
I am sitting here smiling as this was the temple Mitch & I got married in - Aug. 1979! Your first shot tugs at my heart because it was from us sitting there watching the Manti Temple Pageant on a Fri. evening that Mitch knew for sure that he wanted to marry me - and he proposed the next morning! 
Since it was not really our temple district, we never attended this temple again since we went to the ones we lived close to - but in 2006 - that same week we came to your house for your BBQ, he & I went to do a session there again & it was so unbelievably sweet to us to go back there after all those years! Got to see our sealing room (the Blue room that’s not in use anymore). One of the workers took us downstairs so we could look all the way up one of those spiral staircases. I so wish we’d had more time on our wedding day to walk around & get more photos like you have here - everything was on a time crunch so we don’t have many photos from our wedding day there - most were from our reception in Orem a few days later. My fave one from our wedding day was not any of the posed ones, but one the photographer got as Mitch & I were walking down the hill:
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f142/grandmadarlene/Utah/Portraits_1_025.jpg
In 2006 we were in a time crunch again & barely made it there for the session, so I only had time to snap a couple photos from the parking lot when we first arrived - here is my “typical” shot! LOL
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f142/grandmadarlene/Utah/mantitemple.jpg
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful photos! I agree that digital cameras have freed us up to be able to take sooo many shots now - you can just toss the bad ones but keep the treasures so much more readily now. I just recently made a book of my daughter’s first 22 months of life from when we lived in Utah. We were so broke back then that buying & developing film was a luxury - heck, I can take more photos of Donny now in one concert than I have of my daughter’s first 22 months of life!!
Darlene
Jeremy
Those are lovely photos and what a fantstic building.. my fav picture is the 2nd one, I think just because you took it atan angle not normally associated with building photos.
Darlene, loved your photo of you and Mitch on your wedding day there.. how lovely for you to see those of Jeremy’s today.
Blessings to you both
Sue