The Mysterious Golden Spires

Mysterious Beltway Spires –photo courtesy of Mshades

For decades, I’ve marveled at the “golden sticks” protruding out of the tree line bordering Interstate 495 (Washington beltway).  Those sticks (as I would learn embarrassingly late in life) are called spires.

Spire: A tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, typically a church tower.

Anyway, I wandered off the beltway and found myself purposely lost around the Rockville, MD area . To my surprise, I stumbled upon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In short, I believe this is a Mormon temple.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Unfortunately, I wasn’t traveling with my professional camera gear so I had to depend on my handy dandy Iphone 6. Luckily, it was an overcast day so my camera phone didn’t have to do any heavy lifting to obtain a balanced exposure. I did, however, pay attention to my composition and made sure I waited for most people to leave my scene.

Tips of the day:

• Don’t be afraid to become purposely lost. Explore the unfamiliar. Turn down an unknown road. Venture into a strange town. It’s a great way to find new locations to shoot.
• To quote commercial photographer extraordinaire Chase Jarvis, “The best camera is the one with you”. Embrace your camera phone.
• Even though you’re using a camera phone, still act like a photographer. Composition matters.
• Overcast, cloudy days are some of the best times to do outdoor photography.