The Dawning of a New Day in Sacramento, Part 4
A Photographic Essay by Scot Facer Proctor

The Day Dawn Had Broken

The morning light comes and goes so fast I literally have to run from place to place to get the pictures that I need to show you. I always have a sense about me that my camera and my eyes are your view from whatever quarter of the earth you live. It is an important duty I have to give you the best possible “seat in the house” or view of whatever I’m shooting.

Click on photos to enlarge.

It is time now to see the whole temple. I have shown you parts and angles but not the entire structure (or at least most of it) until now. It is stately and majestic. It is calming to the soul and inviting to the spirit. It is restful. It is a fortress of strength and a true place of refuge. If you follow the tower down right to the base of the temple and then just go over to the right a little bit you will see the little temporary awning and platform that were built just for the cornerstone ceremony. We covered that in an article yesterday. Click here if you missed it. http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/060907cornerstone.html

Oh I love shooting water. I love to shoot fountains. I don’t think it is insignificant that to enter the temple you pass by these waters. There are certainly multiple meanings in that. You can see that the light is just touching the tops of the spouts here at the entrance of the temple. It’s now 7:06:56 AM.

This gives you a sense of the proximity of the fountain to the front façade of the temple. I love the entry here. It really does bespeak reverence. Doesn’t it make you want to attend the temple?

I also enjoyed turning my camera east here and looking at the glow of the sun coming in around the entrance both at the top and the bottom of the picture there. This is a place of great light. There is no question about that.

This is looking from the western portico of the temple — the covered walkway beneath arches that leads over to the Mormon Center (as they call it). I loved the design of the fountains here.

We will tell you the miracles about the landscaping of the temple in upcoming articles. I love this angle as well and love the beautiful flora surrounding the fountain. We will have many remaining articles to publish, which will include many interviews with the people of the Sacramento Temple district and those who built the temple.

Okay, just one more of the fountain. This is looking directly into the sun — hiding it just a little bit behind the main spouts of water rising. I shot this 4 stops over exposed so it wouldn’t be a silhouette. It is a symbolic shot reminding us of the bursts of knowledge available as we attend the temple and seek the Lord whose house it is.

We’ve been together, in photographic time, for 63 minutes. This is my parting shot of the entrance of the temple. 33 minutes after this picture was taken the Prophet arrived. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to share these pictures with you. I had intended to publish other pieces today on Sacramento, but alas, it is past midnight just seven hours before publishing deadline and I must stop. I end with an old Irish blessing (I have Irish in me): May the road [to the temple] rise up to meet you. May the wind [carrying you to the temple] always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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