Author Archives: Travis

Here’s a wallpaper of the LDS Utah Timpanogos Temple. : )

C. S. Lewis is a favorite of mine. The quote above is from Mere Christianity. The picture below is at his gravesite near Oxford.

If you’ve never read beyond the chronicles of Narnia, I recommend you start with The Great Divorce or The Screwtape Letters.

This is a slight shift in gears. I plan to share cool quotes like this on HelamanGallery.com too. I hope you don’t mind. And don’t worry, I’ll get back to temples right away.

P. S. I’ve been swamped with school, so forgive me if I miss a weekly post here and there.

This one’s just for fun, I guess.

It’s more of a tragedy though. I’ve been to a lot of cool countries, but it was before I had the idea to be the world’s premiere temple photographer. This is the best shot I have of this temple, and there’s a bloke in the way.

But maybe not a tragedy. It just means I have to go back.

So, let’s see. There are two temples in England I missed. Then there’s Chile, Argentina, Peru, and a few others. But don’t get antsy. I have to get rich first.

-HG

I shot this back when I just had a point-and-shoot, so I cheated a lot in post-production (retouching). Of course, I always cheat a lot in post.

I modified the clouds a little (I’m embarrassed to admit), and then sent it through an HDR filter.

What can I say? I’m an amateur. But I’m definitely improving.

I’m going to experiment with some sepia / antiqued photos. How do you like it? Is it too much?

If you don’t like it, feel free to send me examples of how you think I should do it (i.e. your favorite photos).

This is my temple. In fact, if you want to do lots of temple work back-to-back, this is the place to go. They’re so well staffed and they have endowment sessions every 20 minutes. I love it.

My parents were married here back in the day. And my mom’s not a huge fan of the design. This photos was my first try at making her change her mind. She’s likes the photo and says it’s her favorite picture of the Provo temple ever, but then–she’s my mom. : ) I’ll do some more later.

Also, is anyone here a fan of sepia/antiqued photos? If so, I might do some alternate versions in that style… Let me know.

Does anyone know which LDS temples don’t have an angel Moroni? I know this one, Mesa, AZ, and Laie, HI, don’t. Are there any others?

Here’s a cool tidbit: A brother at the temple told me the orb on the pinnacle of this temple is a (symbolic) urim and thummim.

I went to Canada for the first time last week (and visited my cousins in British Columbia). We stayed a night in Cardston, and arrived just before the sun went down.

It’s a beautiful temple. I wish I’d had more time for a wider variety of shots. I do have one more on the way though…

Also, my family and I just watched the Joseph Smith movie on YouTube. It’s an excellent way to spend an FHE. The updated version is narrated by Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith (and it removes the parts about the British convert). It’s a little more factual and less emotional, but in a good way. It would be a great way to introduce some of the church’s basic teachings to a friend.

This is nearly the same as the shot I shared before, but it’s more symmetrical, and it’s landscape, rather than portrait. This is actually one of my favorite temple photos so far. But I hope to keep improving as I go too.

Here’s what’s going on with the renovation: 

(http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/boise/)

On May 10, 2011, the First Presidency issued a letter to priesthood leaders announcing the closure of the Boise Idaho Temple beginning Monday, July 11, 2011, to accommodate an extensive renovation of the building. Following the renovation, the temple will be rededicated. No anticipated construction timeline has been announced. During the closure, patrons will be accommodated at the Twin Falls Idaho Temple where clothing rental is not available, and ordinance work is generally scheduled by appointment. Please call 208-736-7070.

Interior. The interior of the temple will be renovated with new finishes and furnishings and remodeled restrooms. The structure will be reinforced with new shear walls, steel beams, floor joists, and floor sheathing. The mechanical mezzanine will be largely reconstructed, and mechanical access platforms will be added over hallways above a new suspended gypsum board ceiling. A fire sprinkler system will be installed throughout.

Landscaping. The current landscaping will be removed and replaced with a new landscaping plan featuring new concrete sidewalks, stairways, retaining walls, and planters; new plants, shrubs, and flowers; a new decorative water feature; and new benches and water fountains. Sections of the perimeter fence will also be modified.

Addition. On the south side of the temple, an existing 2,000-square-foot maintenance shop and storage area will be demolished. In its place, a 4,959-square-foot basement addition will be constructed to house a grounds shop, engineering/maintenance area, boiler room, and chiller room.

This temple was converted from an old tabernacle. You can read the story here: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/vernal/.

This is a fantastic temple. If you haven’t gone to a session here, you really ought to. It’s a great experience.

This photos is enhanced with Photoshop’s HDR feature.

I shot the Timpanogos Temple last night at twilight. These three diptychs are a teaser of what’s to come.

Subscribe for updates if you want to get the FREE prints when they’re released.

P.S.: See HelamanGallery’s logo in the temple architecture? That symbol represents Jacob’s Ladder. More on that in a future post. Lot’s more.

It’s actually pretty simple. And, no, they don’t have watermarks.

I’m going to show you how to do it through Walmart. I know, I know. Walmart’s “the man” or Walmart’s ghetto. Whatever. It’s ubiquitous. I also recommend Costco Photo… But that requires a membership. Here are the steps.

First download a print:

1. Find the picture you like on HelamanGallery.com
2. Click “View the full post to comment and get FREE downloads”.
3. Click the icon of your favorite service–I’m guessing you’ll use Google or Facebook.
4. Sign in securely.
5. Click the 5×7 download link.
6. Save the file on your desktop (or someplace easy).

Then upload it (e.g. to Walmart):

1. Go here: http://photos.walmart.com/walmart/welcome
2. Click Sign In (or create an account).
3. Click Upload Photos (in the top blue bar).
4. Click Select Photos (yellow button).
5. Find the 5×7 file on your desktop and double-click it.
6. Click Done Uploading.
7. Click Order Prints.
8. Click Add to Cart.
9. Make sure you change the quantity from one 4×6 to one 5×7.
10. Click Proceed to Checkout.
11. The rest is up to you.

Pretty easy, right? And it’s a super good deal. (9¢ in the screenshot below.)

If you enjoy your print, please consider a donation for people who aren’t as well off as you.

I was raised in Idaho, and I received my endowments at the Boise temple. I’ve also had several siblings and cousins who were married there (and Grandpa was the sealer). It’s a special temple to me.

I got this shot one morning right before the sun came up.

A couple weeks ago I went to the Manti Pageant for the first time. It was pretty good.

Before the show started (and just before the sun went down), I walked around the temple a got a few shots of the temple. This wallpaper is a bit of HDR photography, done with Photoshop CS5. I’ll post a couple more later.

I was on my way home one weekend and decided to take a quick detour to see the Twin Falls temple. Luckily it was getting late enough that the lighting was decent. This is the only shot I liked though. (FYI, there were some cars in the lot, but my good friend Content-Aware Phil removed them for me. Thanks, Phil.)

I worked in South Jordan for a couple years, so this was my main temple for a while. Unfortunately, I never really photographed it while I was up there, except one quick shot in bad lighting. I had to make it black and white for it to look decent. Hopefully I’ll make it back there soon so I can get some better shots.

I heard from Chase Jarvis that to be a good photographer you’ve got to take a lot of pictures. With this in mind, I went on a photo walk around the Provo Temple, just shooting whatever. I took around 150 shots. Got about 10 good ones. Here are a few of those.

If I don’t have photos of your favorite temple, post a comment below for the one you’d like to see on HelamanGallery.com.

I love to travel, and I think it would be great to photograph every temple in the world. But there are no guarantees I’ll get to your temple quickly. Of course, posting a comment here will help me move yours to the top of the priority list :-)

Webdesign is a lot of work, and I still haven’t even gotten airborne. But I’m getting closer.

Here’s a wallpaper of the site’s logo.

I’ve designed logos here and there, some for fun, some for pay. This is one of my favorite logos though. I feel like it really represents the tone I want the site and downloads to have. Let me know if you have suggestions about it in the comments.

This is a digital painting I created using Photoshop.

The painting is the Plan of Salvation. In it you’ll see representations of premortal life, birth, mortality, spirit paradise and spirit prison, judgement and resurrection, and the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms.

I designed a similar piece of art back before my mission. I was young and amateur with Photoshop. My old version was more of a chart. When I revisited it, I decided I wanted to make a version that was still a chart, but that was also artistically beautiful. I hope I’ve accomplished it.

Here’s the old version, just in case you’re curious. I believe it has some value as well:

Check back soon for a wallpaper version (of the new one) so you can put it on your desktop. Also, I hope to be making the print available to you soon as well. :-)